April 2013
| Business World Magazine | 289
in the conducting of research and analyzing
of trends. Bassett says in recent years, a theme
has emerged from NAIS conferences which
affirms - “there is public purpose to private
education.”
“Our intent is to model the most pro-
gressive and effective means of educating
young people,” says Bassett, adding that is
a very transparent process which has led to
dynamic partnerships with professional en-
terprises, civic organizations and even pub-
lic school systems. For example, a number of
private schools have partnered with public
schools populated by Hispanic students to
help provide tutoring in English, and in the
process, the Hispanic students help provide
tutoring in Spanish. In terms of community
engagement, studies conducted by the Na-
tional Center for Education Statistics indi-
cate that students from private schools more
widely participate in community service
projects as opposed to their counterparts in
public schools. And whether they’re partici-
pating in environmental clean-ups, serving
food at soup kitchens, or providing some
other social sector benefit, Bassett says pri-
The Philadelphia High School for Creative and performing Arts (CAPA) Dance Company;
