Why I am choosing GSA

Supporting our local high school strengthens our community, our kids, and the future of the Blue Hill Peninsula

By Sarah Gleason

Each spring, eighth graders in Blue Hill and across the peninsula face a unique decision: where to go to high school. Because our towns don’t have public high schools, families can choose among several schools, and our tax dollars follow that choice in the form of tuition payments.

For many families, that choice means exploring options far beyond our own community. Each fall, the school union even hosts a “high school fair” where area schools come to recruit our kids. The word fair evokes celebration—but I don’t celebrate the idea of our community’s children being invited to leave. I understand and respect that some families seek schools that meet specific needs their child may have—and those are important, personal decisions. But for most students, George Stevens Academy already offers everything they need to learn, grow, and thrive right here at home.

In our family, the decision to attend GSA was a thoughtful one—made together. We encourage our kids to lead, not follow. They want to stay with the teammates and friends they’ve grown up with, to help strengthen the programs and traditions that have shaped them. They want to be leaders within their community—among their classmates, their siblings, and their peers—and to help GSA thrive for the students who come after them.

Choosing GSA is a choice to lead, to invest, and to stay connected. It’s a statement that our community matters—that our kids, teachers, and families deserve our support. When students stay, our community’s resources stay too. And when outside schools recruit our kids, what they really want is our money.

There was a time when GSA was financially strong and full, and families could choose other schools without affecting the health of our community. But today, the situation is different. Our peninsula now has fewer high school-aged students, so GSA is struggling with enrollment and therefore finances. Every student that chooses a school in another community represents both a personal connection and a portion of our community’s shared resources. While GSA is already an outstanding school, the more local families invest in it by enrolling their children, the stronger it becomes for everyone.

My family lives across from the library in Blue Hill. We run a popsicle stand in the summer, and with four kids in grades 9th, 8th, 6th, and 3rd, I feel like I know nearly every child on the peninsula. I love watching them grow up—seeing them in middle school plays and then performing Shakespeare at GSA, cheering for them in middle school sports and later on GSA varsity teams. I see parents walking them to the library one year, and the next, those same kids are walking there on their own to meet friends. It’s an incredible thing—this sense of connection, independence, and belonging that makes our community so special. As someone who moved “from away,” I can tell you: No one else has this.

George Stevens Academy is our community school. It’s where generations of peninsula families have gone to learn, grow, and build lifelong connections. And families newer to the community, like mine, are incredibly grateful to have found the Blue Hill Peninsula and GSA. It’s where our kids become artists, scientists, athletes, musicians, and leaders. It’s where they learn to take care of one another, and where they start building the foundation of the adult community they’ll one day inherit.

And here’s the thing: GSA offers everything a child could need: small class sizes, passionate and highly qualified teachers, diverse opportunities in academics, arts, and athletics, and a caring environment that nurtures each student as a whole person. It’s a school that believes in the power of community and individuality alike.

If we want a strong, vibrant Blue Hill Peninsula, we need to rally around our community school. When our kids grow up learning and playing together, they build deep roots in this place. They grow into the future leaders, business owners, teachers, and parents who keep our towns alive.

I’m making a pledge to send my kids to GSA, and I hope others will join me. Let’s keep our community together, our schools strong, and our tax dollars right here—where they belong.

—Gleason is a Blue Hill resident, parent and small business owner.