Students from the financially troubled Croft School in Providence and Boston are returning to class today as their beloved school faces an uncertain future. 

The private school’s founder and executive director, Scott Given, has been suspended and school leaders are trying to raise $5 million to keep its doors open for the rest of the school year. Meanwhile, families have been left with more questions than answers about what went wrong and what comes next.

My colleague John Hilliard has been all over this story, and you can read all of his reporting here.

I asked a group of parents to answer a few questions about what they’re experiencing as their children return from March break.

Those parents include: Katherine Linwood, Farley Chery, Joanna MacLean, Nicole Pollock, Vanessa Lillie, Martha Elena Rojas, Alison Weber, Jora Ehrlich, Mandy Román, and Ana Sofia Barber De Brito. They answered my questions as a group.

The answers have edited for length and clarity.

Q: Your children are heading back to school today just as all of this has come to light. What do you want people outside the Croft community to understand about what families are going through right now?

A: Croft is a truly remarkable school community built on a foundation of trust and a shared vision that every child deserves access to an individualized and caring educational environment. We are here to fight for our children, their teachers, and the community we have built.

Our children are now facing the potential loss of their school, with this completely unexpected disruption. Parents are navigating both the possibility of needing last-minute school placements for children to complete this academic year, as well as uncertainty about next year.

It has been incredibly stressful. In addition to focusing our efforts on trying to maintain our children's emotional and educational well-being, as a school community, we are navigating our own feelings of deep hurt and betrayal.

Q: What have you been hearing from school leadership over the past week, and what questions do you still have that the school hasn’t answered?

A: Croft operates three campuses, and everyone at the school level were as blindsided as families were by this news.

Many in the Croft community first learned about a Board of Managers on March 13. Most of us did not know about them prior. In what was the first of three direct communications, the Board of Managers (Michael Goldstein, Robert Lytle, Jack Remondi, and Rishi Shukla) communicated to us that the Croft Schools are facing a severe and urgent financial crisis.

The board stated that payroll for teachers and staff is secured through the end of March but does not have adequate funds for the remainder of the school year. Further, the school cannot issue tuition refunds for the current school year or for pre-payments for the 2026-2027 school year. In subsequent communications, the board has described their plans to restructure and secure a financial partner to sustain Croft; however, they have indicated that this process will not be completed by April 1st.

As of now, Croft will remain open through March 31st, with school leadership working alongside a newly formed parent committee and a restructuring team to stabilize operations and finances. 

Q: Looking back, were there any warning signs that something might be wrong, or did this come as a complete surprise?

A: For families that received significant financial aid, Croft has felt like a game-changer for educational equity, actively expanding access to an experience that would otherwise be out of reach for many families. When families faced sudden economic challenges, Given made it possible for them to pay whatever they could afford. In retrospect, perhaps this too should have raised more questions, but there was a belief in an endowment dedicated to ensuring Croft remains accessible, equitable, and affordable.

So to answer your question: It was both—it truly felt like a complete shock, but hindsight is 20/20. In retrospect, there were moments that, in isolation, might have raised questions—particularly the announced expansion into Cambridge that was retracted just a few months later, and shifting construction timelines. At the time, those developments were understood as part of a measured growth strategy, grounded in trust in Given and the broader Croft vision.

Q: How are you talking to your children about what’s happening, especially given the uncertainty around the school’s future?

A: Our wonderful school counselor, Miranda Featherstone, has worked closely with the Providence school leadership team to provide guidance for speaking with our children about the current situation. There is no single or right way to discuss this with our kids, and our children span from ages 5 to 13. Keeping the conversations age and developmentally appropriate is imperative.

As a collective, we are trying to maintain calm and reassure our children as best we can, while maintaining honesty. We are letting our children know that thoughtful, kind adults are trying our hardest to find solutions, and that their safety and well-being are our top priorities.

Q: What are your biggest immediate concerns right now – academically, financially, or otherwise?

A: Our biggest immediate concern is supporting our students in maintaining stability and continuity in their learning environment. This is the place where they have built relationships, developed a sense of belonging, and grown socially and academically alongside their peers. An abrupt transition with only two months remaining in the school year would be seriously disruptive and terrible.

We are also deeply mindful of our teachers, who are navigating their own professional uncertainty, and we are incredibly grateful for the care, stability, and commitment they continue to show our children every day. Many have opted for their salaries to be paid over 12 months, so they’re facing job loss and loss of expected wages.

Financially, many families have already prepaid tuition or submitted deposits for the upcoming school year. More than 50 percent of families receive some form of financial aid. The potential loss of tuition funds for both this year and the upcoming year represents a serious and immediate concern.

Concurrently, families are being asked to shoulder the consequences of what appears to be both a leadership and governance failure.
There is growing frustration about being asked to fundraise to address a gap created by those decisions. Many Croft families believe it is reasonable to expect the Board to step up in a more visible and substantial way, leveraging its resources, connections, and financial capacity. To date, families have not seen that level of response, but we remain hopeful.