Over the past several years, Pollyanna has spread quietly through the toniest schools in New York City and across the country. Buoyed by last summer’s protests, it tripled its clientele to over 60 schools in 2020, stretching from Harvard-Westlake in Los Angeles to remote Vermont Academy. That includes some 25 schools in New York—hyper-exclusive institutions like Dalton, Horace Mann, Spence, and the Hunter College Elementary School.
Thanks for that Bostonian, as I had no idea that a single company was driving all this.
What is interesting to me is the groupthink among all these administrators. Did nobody see the criticism coming? Likewise, did nobody see that if everyone else was doing this, that not doing it would be an effective marketing differentiator?
I also read the Atlantic article posted. I knew this already, but the article reinforced that while the administrators make near-term decisions, the long-term health of the school is determined by wealthy donors. If they walk away, the school withers.
