Ray Mills is acutely aware of the effect an economic downturn can have on parents with children in private schools.
His daughter Josie, who was attending Strathcona-Tweedsmuir School (STS) in Okotoks, Alta., told him during the recent slump in Calgary’s economy that a couple of students in her classes wouldn’t be returning for the following school year because of parental job losses.
“I went to Strath during high school in the years when we had a similar downturn in the Alberta economy and my parents were strapped,” Mr. Mills says. “My dad was an entrepreneur and his business dropped 90 per cent. It was all hands on deck to scrape by.”
With no financial assistance back in that early 1980s period, Mr. Mills volunteered to pay for his own final year at Strathcona-Tweedsmuir with part-time jobs.
He decided he didn’t want students today to be in a similar bind.
Class at Strathcona-Tweedsmuir School in Okotoks, Alta. The school revealed its $24-million, donor-funded learning facility expansion on Feb. 23.CHIPPERFIELD PHOTOGRAPHY 2017
He has donated a total of $150,000 since 2016 to financial assistance bursaries for STS students, so they don’t have to leave the school if there is a family crisis.
Strathcona-Tweedsmuir was the right school for him after a stint in the public system where he “just got by,” Mr. Mills says. At the private school he couldn’t hide at the back of the class, and teachers, parents and peers were all pressing for his success. He learned to speak in public and participated in sports he would otherwise not have had a chance to play.
“It demonstrated to me, regardless of background, everyone has potential given instruction and coaching.”
Mr. Mills and his father built a successful oil-field services business. He sold it four years ago and now invests in small businesses in oil and gas, business-to-business equipment sharing and the biomedical fields.
Recently-opened elementary facilities feature natural light, stunning views and modern furnishings.CHIPPERFIELD PHOTOGRAPHY 2017
He, a brother and a sister established the Mills Alumni Challenge for STS, a program that matches donations from other alumni.
The cyclical nature of the Alberta economy can create the kind of family financial gaps that may require some short-term assistance, private-school administrators say.
Amy Pollard, director of finance and operations, at Lycée Louis Pasteur in Calgary, agrees. Her school also has an internal financial assistance program for enrolled students needing some year-to-year aid.
“The Calgary economy has really suffered in the last couple of years. I’ve had so many parents in my office really worrying about this one component: Are they going to have to have an interruption and change in the schooling environment?”