Sewickley Academy issues letter to parents addressing reasons for changes, including 'toxic culture'

The Interim Head of School at Sewickley Academy, Ashley Birtwell, sent out a letter Aug. 4 to parents addressing the recent turmoil of events that have occurred at Sewickley Academy over the past six weeks.

The letter, which the school also sent to the Sewickley Herald, comes after Academy representatives met with a concerned group of parents July 30 to discuss the school’s plans for its Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Social Justice plan dubbed EnVision 2024.

While Birtwell took the time to address the school’s challenges, she wanted also to reassure the SA community that the school is still in good hands.

“This mission of restoring Sewickley Academy and making it better than ever is critical to our children and community, and we will not fail,” she said.

Birtwell concluded the letter by mentioning this will not be the last time she will be open to the public about Sewickley Academy’s internal workings, and that she is proud to be a member of the community.

“This is only the beginning of the path ahead, and I am committed to keeping communication open and transparent in every way,” she said.

Birtwell highlights these main points in her letter:

School culture

In the letter, Birtwell mentions the struggle of keeping the school’s longest-tenured teachers and how an internal survey conducted in 2016 by the Board of Trustees revealed teachers reported feeling a lack of trust and respect, fears of retaliation if they spoke up, little involvement in decision-making and intimidation.

Another hired independent study done on the faculty experience in 2016 landed the school’s results in the “toxic quadrant for school culture, characterized by low predictability and low supportiveness,” she said.

“In short, the scope and scale of the problems faced by our school required the fresh perspective of new leadership,” Birtwell said.

Low enrollment

Low enrollment was one of the reasons Birtwell cited as an influence for the leadership changes that occurred July 21.

The school has been experiencing a steady decline in enrollment since 2002, when it had 804 students. Birtwell said that 583 students were enrolled at the school for the 2020-21 school year. As of June, the school’s internal forecasts for enrollment in fall 2021 would be 530 students, a 34% decline from 2002 when the school was last at full capacity, she wrote in the letter.

“Enrollment is like a report card of satisfaction, and Sewickley Academy has been missing the mark,” Birtwell said.

Leadership changes

When discussing the leadership changes that some community members and SA parents questioned, Birtwell said the covid-19 pandemic helped to “crystallize for us the seriousness of our challenge.”

Birtwell said the dwindling student enrollment has prompted existing students to leave for other schools, which affects the student experience. The school has had to reduce the number of athletic teams and eliminate some sports over the years. Birtwell also said that having more students enrolled allows for the vocal, music and dramatic arts offered to improve.

Read the letter in its entirety below.