A Conversation With ... Katie Heet

The Summit Preparatory School is celebrating 20 years in operation this year. As you’re thinking about your strategic plan and maybe the next five years, what are the goals for the school?
On the enrollment front, we have added an early childhood program, a third class section for the 2024-25 school year. And then we’re adding a second section of kindergarten for 2025-26. With some of that comes opportunities to expand within our campus. So, looking at what spaces we can potentially renovate to add classrooms. That’s also planning for a longer-range campus master plan. What does that next phase look like? What other spaces do we need? Those are things we’re working with our strategic plan committee and our board to identify. We are also starting another round of accreditation. We’re fully accredited through the Independent School Association of the Central States. That’s another great opportunity for us to define what we want our growth to be, what our strengths are, what our challenges are, what our plans and priorities are.

This space you’re in used to be a fitness center. Has that been fully adapted to your needs as a school?
Not fully. We know we’re going to have some immediate needs for additional classroom spaces. We’ve been very creative and flexible in the use of space, but what does that look like as we continue to grow as a school, specifically in our lower school classrooms as we think about adding a second kindergarten? And what does that translate into for a first grade, second grade, third grade down the road, and then similarly on our middle school and high school? Our goal has been to distinguish those programs from one another. The women’s locker room is probably the next space that we need, 2025-26. We will most likely be converting that into classroom spaces.

Five years ago, Summit acquired property adjacent to this campus. What are the plans for that space?
That will be part of the next round of strategic planning and campus master planning. Part of that long-range vision, we’ll have a gym facility. I would anticipate that on the east end of the building where the parking lot and church space are.

There was some growth in enrollment nationwide at private schools during the COVID-19 pandemic. A recent study from the Cato Institute surveyed private schools nationwide and found about half of them have seen enrollment increases in the last few years. What have you experienced at the Summit and what’s your current enrollment?
We did a look back over four years and it was about 40% increase in enrollment, so that’s significant for us. We have 184 students. Next year, we’re projecting about 190. We think we can fit about 210 in this building.

Public schools are dealing with teacher shortages and challenges of retaining teachers. What is that experience like within the private school sector?
It’s a national challenge, but we have been really fortunate. We’ve remained fully staffed with qualified and credentialed personnel. There are a lot of benefits to teaching in an independent school, so I think that really helps us. There is a lot of autonomy for teachers. They are the ones that are creating the curriculum. They work with administration as we align to standards and best practices. We can look at state standards, we can look at national standards, we can look at new research coming out of universities and really adapt our program to what we think fits best for our students’ needs.

What about teacher salaries? Are those at or higher than the state minimums in public education – or what does that look like in private education?
It’s not always comparable. We can have various benefits packages that offset salary and compensation. We do our best to stay as competitive as possible. We can look at data points for what other independent schools’ salary, benefits, compensation packages look like, but there’s not one set standard within the National Association of Independent Schools.

About a year ago you added staff to increase your early childhood education program. Availability of child care is a big community issue. Tell me about how many students you’re serving now, the demand that you’re seeing and your plans for growth.
Our program serves 3-, 4- and 5-year-olds. We have three sections of that and we cap it at 16 [children per section]. Right now, we have about 14-15 per class, so projecting next year that we could be close to full. We’ve seen parents just looking for really quality educational offerings, and I do think that’s a differentiator of our program. You will get the social, emotional play-based components with the really strong academic foundation. We don’t have a wait list at the moment, but we did have a wait list, which is why we added the additional section. So definitely an increase in demand. We offer financial aid. Our pricing is actually really competitive with what day care settings can be. It’s $11,950 a year. We’ve done inclusive pricing, so we offer child care that starts at 7:30 a.m. and goes to 5:30 p.m. That’s been a big part of parents’ needs in the community, a program that can offer that full-length day at one price point.

On your website under education philosophies, you have language on diversity and inclusion. Public schools are having to shift their messaging around that with federal and state pressures and funding requirements. Are you impacted by those types of pressures?
Our philosophy has not changed, and diversity, equity and inclusion is actually something that has not only remained important to us, but a part of our accrediting bodies as well. It’s definitely something that’s represented in our curriculum. As a school, we look at ways to incorporate diversity, creating a space that is safe for kids so not only are they welcome here, but feeling that they can have diverse opinions and talk about that in a very appropriate and kind manner.

How long have you been head of school at the Summit, and what do you see as the role of private education in our education landscape after years in this sector?
This is my seventh year as head of school, but I’ve been at the Summit since 2008. I’ve seen a lot of growth in all kinds of areas of the school. Education is a foundation for any community, whether that’s a public education or private education. For us at the Summit, we love that we have the ability to live out our mission, create our own curriculum, really know our students. That sense of community here is really strong and something that we value and enjoy.