2019 Annual Appeal

Meridian is a happy and thriving teenager! 

At 15 years old this year, we’re in the midst of adolescence, which is an exciting and pivotal time for growth and development. We are grateful for the nurturing support that has helped us reach this milestone. Thank you for being a part of our community and for the part you have played in our growth thus far. I hope that we can count on your continued partnership to help us celebrate our successes and to meet future challenges.  

Do you remember the excitement of discovering new insights into the complexity of the world when you were a teenager? A few years ago at Meridian, we realized that our student community had developed its own sense of history and culture, and that new students might benefit by a having a more experienced guide help them both integrate into and become contributing members to building that community: our Mentoring and Peer Support program (MAPS) was born! MAPS pairs new students with older returning students to eat lunch together weekly for a year and have structured conversations about their lives at Meridian. Donor support made it possible to train our faculty to design this program. It’s such a successful program that many of the program’s matched pairs can be seen having lunch together in subsequent years, even when their formal roles have ended. Will you make a gift today to help us support our dynamic teachers as they develop innovative programs like MAPS?

As you may also remember, the physical changes of adolescence come in fits and starts, bringing both exhilaration and frustration. Meridian still faces challenges spreading the word about the wonderful opportunities here, and we have yet to reach our optimal size – but at the same time, we are thrilled to be welcoming more students than ever from city-wide outreach programs like Steppingstone and Beacon Academy. Our families hail from all over the Greater Boston area, including places as far out as Lynn and Sharon. This reach makes us stronger than we’ve ever been – and creates the building blocks of diversity that will help us reach our goals for growth. Will you make a gift today to help us reach our ideal size while maintaining the diverse student body that gives our learning community one of its greatest strengths?

Finally, one of the most invigorating ways in which Meridian is embracing its adolescence is in risk-taking. A teen can think more abstractly, imagine things they’ve never experienced, and become more adept at assessing risk and reward: challenges that once seemed impossible suddenly come within reach. With a well-developed curriculum, a well-supported faculty, and a track record of graduating strong students ready for the challenges of the world, Meridian has taken the significant step of changing the way that we think about and talk about tuition. Already a uniquely strong provider of financial aid, we want to make it even more apparent that our school is not about exclusivity. Instead of “offering aid,” we now match a family’s means, and provide a custom tuition to every family. It’s a risk to make this offer, but the reward – being able to offer an innovative and college preparatory education to the most diverse group of kids possible – is substantial. Will you make a gift to support innovation, risk-taking, and a more inclusive approach to providing families with a Meridian education?

Please make a gift today and help move us into adulthood and a daring and successful future!

Thank you in advance for your support. Best,

Joshua Abrams

Head of School