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Wenham all-girls prep school closes its doors amid low enrollment
The Academy at Penguin Hall announced its immediate closure on June 13, citing declining enrollment and low funding.
An all-girls preparatory high school in Wenham announced it will close after seeing declining enrollments and limited donations.
The Academy at Penguin Hall sent a letter to families on June 13 announcing the closure, effective immediately. A statement from the school said it made many attempts to seek new donors, initiate more fundraisers, and work with current and potential investors while trying to boost enrollment.
“This decision was made now because the Academy ran out of options to secure the financial resources to start and finish the next school year,” board of trustees chairman George Balich wrote in the statement.
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Penguin Hall, founded in 2016, saw peak enrollment in the 2020-2021 academic year, with 150 students joining prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the statement said. Enrollment has declined since then, leading to a large loss in the school’s operating budget.
President Molly Martins told Boston.com in 2023 that the school saw an uptick in enrollment and engagement from families after the height of the pandemic. At that time, about 120 students were enrolled in Penguin Hall.
According to public IRS filings, the non-profit school consistently posted a negative net income since its incorporation. In its latest filing, it had a negative balance of over $6.5 million.
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The boarding and day school joins other all-girls schools that have closed in recent years, including Wakefield’s Our Lady of Nazareth Academy in 2009, Dorchester’s Elizabeth Seton Academy in 2016, and Newton’s Mount Alvernia High School in 2023.
The Boston Globe reported in 2024 that private schools across Massachusetts saw a decline in enrollment over the last 40 years, and charter and vocational school enrollment rose.
There are 15 all-girls high schools in Massachusetts, most of which have seen consistent enrollment numbers since the pandemic, such as Stoneleigh-Burnham School in Greenfield and the Dana Hall School in Wellesley, according to state data. The Winsor School in Boston’s Longwood Medical Area has generally increased enrollment year after year since 2015.
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