Midway Staff

A retention committee will be formed due in part to the “unusually” high number of Black students who left Lab after the 2021-22 school year and to better understand the student experience.

A retention committee will be formed due in part to the “unusually” high number of Black students who left Lab after the 2021-22 school year and to better understand the student experience, according to Irene Reed, director of admissions and financial aid.

In the 2022-23 school year, about 11% of students at Lab were Black, and throughout the school year, about 6% of students who withdrew were Black, compared to the previous year when the number of Black students who withdrew outpaced overall enrollment by 8%.

Composed of staff, faculty and administration, the retention committee will try to understand the student experience, particularly of minority student groups, and watch attrition patterns throughout the years. 

The admissions office has held “exit interviews,” meetings with students who have left Lab to talk about their experience and why they are leaving, but the retention committee is now in the process of establishing “stay interviews.” 

“The interviews started as just me and a couple of people, but we are now putting a structure in place,” Ms. Reed said. “Stay interviews will talk to current students. So, you have not left, and we want to ensure you stay.”

The retention committee has opened exit interviews to all students who left Lab last year.

Ms. Reed said it is difficult to attribute the decrease in withdrawing Black students to a single cause and she is not sure that she can label any form of attrition as normal, but that the 2022-23 breakdown is a more accurate reflection of typical withdrawal patterns.

“One year is not a trend,” she said. “The 2021-22 school year seemed actually to be an aberration when compared with other years. However, last year’s numbers seemed closer to the norm.”

An event open to prospective Lab students and families, “Black at Lab,” was held last fall to demystify the Black student experience. Ms. Reed said similar events have expanded to include the discussion of both the Black and Latinx student experience including one that was held Oct. 12 and another which will be held at Lab on Oct. 24. She said while both events focus on the experiences of Black and Latinx families, they are open to all, and are designed to continue to attract a diverse applicant pool. 

“We are concerned about everyone and the student experience. Of course, we do not want people to leave, but if they do, we want to understand what Lab could have done better,” Ms. Reed said. “Every time someone is unhappy, it is an opportunity to learn.”