Kildonan School closing due to low enrollment

AMENIA — Just a few weeks after assuring the public that Kildonan School intends to move forward with arrangements for next year, the Kildonan School Board of Directors issued an announcement on Tuesday, June 18, to inform families of its decision to close its doors.

Since Diana Hanbury King, the late founder of both Camp Dunnabeck in Pennsylvania and Kildonan School, first established the school, Kildonan has forged a reputation for successfully helping dyslexic students achieve their full potential. Using the Orton-Gillingham teaching model, the teaching staff at Kildonan helped students build their reading, writing, spelling and language skills through one-on-one tutoring; beyond the classroom setting, students were given other opportunities to thrive in the school’s athletic programs.

Since the school anticipated a possible decline in enrollment, Kildonan School Treasurer Bruce Karsk previously reported that the board needed to reevaluate its finances, which included rationalizing its employee head count, payroll costs and the amount awarded in financial aid. However, he remained positive about the school’s financial circumstances, given the support it has received from the community over the years and its own fundraising efforts.

After reviewing the number of enrollment contracts and the prospects of securing additional students this summer, the board wasn’t confident that the school would be able to “assure returning families and staff of a robust program and ongoing financial stability.

“We apologize unreservedly for the heartache and sense of loss that our decision will cause for students and their families (past and present), our faculty and wider community,” the board wrote in its letter to Kildonan School families.

Following its decision to shut down, the board shared its intentions to return all escrowed donations and deposits for tuition and to inform the faculty and families of students that re-enrolled of its “decision and commitment to support them in every way possible.” Among its plans for the future, the board anticipates employing the school’s net assets to further the Kildonan School mission, which will include source placements and continued support for current and future students and staff at other schools next year. 

In carrying out the school’s mission, the board plans to facilitate one-to-one language tutoring through the Orton-Gillingham model when needed and build upon the school’s “center of excellence” for curriculum development and The Kildonan Teacher Training Institute for students with dyslexia at schools across the United States and on a global level.

At this time, more than 30 students have enrolled at Camp Dunnabeck this summer, which the board plans to continue into the future.