GSA starts year with under 200 students

School sees five-year plan as key to increasing enrollment

GSA has a five-year plan to increase student enrollment to at least 225 students. File photo.

Sept. 2, 2026

By Jessi Hardy

BLUE HILL—George Stevens Academy is starting the new school year with 194 students, a number that could go slightly higher in the weeks ahead, a school official said.

Chrissy Allen, the school’s dean of community engagement and advancement, said the number could fluctuate in the days and weeks ahead to as many as 198 students.

In the 2025-26 school year, GSA had as many as 208 students at one time. Recent enrollment has been in steep decline compared to decades ago, when GSA educated between 300-400 students each year at the private town academy, which serves as seven towns’ de facto high school.

The school is currently navigating a shifting landscape of fewer students due to demographic changes of smaller families, as well as school choice, which has led many families to send their children to other high schools using their taxpayer-funded tuition dollars. The school launched a revitalized strategy designed to reconnect with its community roots and secure a sustainable future for the next generation of students, with an ultimate goal of at least 225 students by 2031.

Allen said the first several weeks of school always have fluctuating enrollment numbers due to transfers from other schools and foreign exchange students. 

“We have been working on enrollment strategies. We are in a whiplash state,” Allen said. “Numbers are changing day to day.”

The school is looking forward to more community involvement and new academic programs that it hopes will bring students back to GSA.

Shelly Schildroth, the new head of school, is a Blue Hill native and third generation Eagle. She hopes to bring a sense of community and support back to the school.

“I am so excited to begin my first school year at GSA. Having been selected to be the next head of school is truly an honor,” Schildroth said.

The school unveiled this summer a revitalization strategy that deeply intertwines academic innovation with community roots. By implementing a five-year planaimed at increasing admission and advancement, the school says it is laying the groundwork for sustainable future growth

Schildroth’s vision for the academy centers on earning back the trust of the peninsula, utilizing new programs—like a welding collaboration with Maine Maritime Academy and “our CNA nursing certification program in collaboration with Parker Ridge and Northern Light Hospital,” she said in an email to The Rising Tide. The new offerings are seen as an essential bridge to local career readiness. 

“Shelly is going to be an amazing support,” Allen said.

Allen emphasized that it is an "all hands on deck" effort, with the five-year plan serving as a key stepping stone for future growth. Staff members and administrators are open for students and parents to come talk and ask questions about the school, Allen said.