When the U.S. government shut down on September 30, 87% of the Department of Education’s employees were furloughed. Across the country, public schools have lost funding, breakfast programs are being cut, and civil rights investigations are being stalled. For 190,000 special needs students in Massachusetts alone, the shutdown has threatened vital support. Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey warned, “our kids will lose the mental health care, tutoring, and special education they need.” But how does this ongoing shutdown impact a private and independently-funded school like Milton Academy?
At first glance, not much. The Harkness tables are still full of discussion. Forbes is still serving three meals a day. And teachers still come to work without any fear of being laid off. Compared to nearby public schools—like the ones where Milton students volunteer during Community Engagement—where federal funding supports 10% or more of the school’s budget, affecting everything from special education services to school lunches, Milton exists in a kind of bubble. But even here, at a private school often shielded from national disruption, the shutdown hasn’t gone entirely unnoticed.
Sent out three weeks into the shutdown, a survey of 127 Milton students revealed that nearly one in five had not even heard about the shutdown, revealing something deeper than just a gap in news consumption—the unawareness points to a disconnect between life at Milton and the outside world.
Kiony Rivas ‘27, a student who previously did not know about the shutdown until the form was sent out, felt that “it’s on Milton to inform you about these things.” Maybe that’s the clearest sign of privilege: not noticing when something big has changed unless someone tells you.
However, for the 10.4% of respondents who reported being personally impacted by the shutdown, the shutdown is more than just a news headline. Sayles Thielscher ‘28 described how her mother, a government employee working to protect the New England coastline, was furloughed. Without a paycheck and with no clear end in sight, her family is left stressed and uncertain. “The worst part,” she explained, “is how worried my mom is about when the government will reopen and whether environmental protection will still be a priority.”
And Sayles’ story wasn’t isolated. Students like Lyra Dvorin ‘28 have seen the shutdown threaten their parents’ federally funded research. Others were denied their rights to address grievances to government agencies, like how Isaac Wu ‘28’s father was turned away when attempting to submit a complaint to the Federal Communications Commission.
Still, these personal experiences stand in contrast to the majority—89.6% of Milton students said their families had not been affected yet. But the impact may reach even the economically privileged if lawmakers fail to compromise on the budget soon enough. As Thanksgiving approaches on November 21, the shutdown will become an issue for boarding students preparing to fly home. Earlier this month, more than 23,000 flights were delayed over a week, and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said 53% of flight delays were due to staffing issues, compared with 5% normally. 40.3% of the Measure’s survey responders were boarders; of those, around 20% reported the shutdown’s effects on air travel made them feel anxious about their upcoming trips home.
For international students and those relying on federal agencies like the TSA or Customs and Border Protection, each day of the shutdown accumulates layers of stress. And while many families can afford flexible flights or alternate plans, that’s not true for everyone, even at Milton.
Now that the shutdown has lasted this long, many are looking for someone to blame. 45.1% of Milton student respondents believe Republicans are at fault, while 7.1% point to Democrats. 8.8% feel neither party is responsible, and 38.9% believe both parties share blame. Regardless, no matter how many fingers are pointed, the government remains shut down.
Although most Milton students feel largely unaffected, even within the comfort of this campus, the long-term impact may be yet to come. Chris Kane, Director of Financial Aid, notes that as furloughed workers miss more paychecks, the financial strain on those families could increase significantly. What Milton will do to assist those families is unclear.
Additionally, while not directly tied to the shutdown, policies that President Trump has enacted have diminished and altered the resources that Milton students rely on for academic work. Cuts to federal funding for universities, many of which Milton students are in the process of applying to, have had lasting impacts. And the effects of federal cuts go past furloughs and delayed flights. Earlier reductions, like the March cuts to the Institute of Museum and Library Services, are now impacting campus access to research databases. Though Milton is better off than most public libraries and public schools, these changes are still affecting students. Librarian Molly Wong, who has been in contact with the Milton Public Library, noted that local librarians are scrambling to help each other adapt. Some resources are being quietly revised—Encyclopedia Britannica, for example—and she now encourages students to fact-check even trusted sources.
Community Engagement Director Andrea Geyling-Moore pointed to another federal policy change: the removal of the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice offices in many public schools that took place earlier this year. While Milton’s DEIJ office remains intact, that’s no longer the case for many public schools nationwide. This is yet another example of the widening resource gap between public and private education. Geyling-Moore said that even when—or especially when—we aren’t directly affected, “we still have the privilege and the responsibility” to not just to pay attention but to “help our neighboring schools” that feel the weight of the shutdown directly.
When asked if Milton would be open to financially assisting schools that recently lost federal IMPACT aid—a program that provides funds to public schools serving military families and Native American communities—Chief Financial Officer Heidi Vanderbilt-Brown said that Milton is “focused on using the funds we receive from tuition, donors, and other activities in delivering our mission.” However, she went on to state that there are two exceptions: through donations to the Town of Milton and student-club related fundraising, noting that Milton also occasionally donates to infrastructure projects that would provide a “meaningful impact on campus-adjacent town roadways and walkways.”
Still, some students are finding their own ways to engage. Anna Subratie ‘26, who hadn’t known about the shutdown before, said she’s begun reading the news more and connecting with other students through Community Engagement. For her, and for many others, that’s the most meaningful step toward bursting the “Milton bubble.”