Charlotte Feller

Good Shepherd, BSM’s K-6 partner school in Golden Valley, has benefited from the intent to enroll forms.

To keep relationships with partner K-6 elementary schools strong, BSM’s junior high has sent intent to enroll forms to fifth graders and their families at these schools. Good Shepherd in Golden Valley and Holy Name of Jesus in Wayzata are BSM’s two partner K-6 elementary schools.

The forms result from BSM’s sixth-grade addition and allow families to save spots for their children in seventh grade, so they can finish sixth grade at their current school without worrying about BSM not having room. BSM has intentionally kept its sixth grade small to hold places for these students. “We want to make sure that we have enough room for every sixth grader at Good Shepherd and every sixth grader at Holy Name, so that if they want to choose BSM, we [will] have a spot for them,” middle school principal Rikki Mortl said.

Mortl said that 76% of BSM’s current sixth graders come from public or non-faith-based elementary schools, while 24% come from Catholic elementary schools. Seventeen percent of these students come from K-8 Catholic schools, and Mortl said BSM wants this number to be lower. “We want [their] students to finish their educational journey where they started it, and we’re excited to welcome them in seventh grade,” BSM president Danielle Hermanny said.

BSM also didn’t change its junior high tuition for sixth graders because it didn’t want to compete with these elementary schools, which have lower tuition than BSM. BSM’s goal of adding a sixth grade was to keep kids in Catholic education, not increase enrollment and profit. “We tried to be very intentional not to pull kids,” Mortl said. “It was not a strategic investment.”

Good Shepherd principal Stevi Evans said her school has always had strong ties with BSM, and their enrollment has not currently been affected by the sixth-grade addition. “I’m very confident that Benilde is super happy to take our students in seventh grade and isn’t trying to take them early,” Evans said. “We’ve been in a lot of conversations together to try to make sure that Good Shepherd and the other feeder schools to BSM have a seamless transition.”

Evans hopes that Good Shepherd’s enrollment will not be affected in the future, and the sixth grade will continue to thrive. “Good Shepherd will maintain a preschool through sixth grade, and then we’ll just work year by year in partnership,” Evans said. “So far, it’s been a very positive conversation and partnership, and we hope to maintain that.”