Skip To Main Content

Privacy Policy

GROTON PRIVACY NOTICE

At Groton School, we care about your privacy. This Privacy Notice provides information about our privacy practices when you use our online Services. When we say “Services,” we mean the websites (“Sites”), online directories (“Directories”), and applications (“Applications”) owned or controlled by us, including the main Groton website, www.groton.org (the Site), hosted by Finalsite, and any and all online directories and/or applications that we make available for use, referred to individually or collectively as the/our “Services.” This Notice does not apply to information we collect offline. It also does not apply to information collected from or about current or former employees, contractors, volunteers, or applicants for employment.

When we use the term “Personal Information,” we mean information that relates to an identified or identifiable natural person.

What Information Do We Collect About You?
We and our third-party vendors collect certain information regarding you while using our Services.

Information You Provide to Us
When you choose to share information with us while using our Services, we may collect Personal Information, such as but not limited to:
When you communicate with us through the Site or submit an Inquiry Form, we may collect your contact information, the content of the communication, and any other information associated with the communication such as information about your interests, education, family information, and other information you provide. We may use information you provide to respond to your inquiries or requests as appropriate.

When you submit identifiable comments, forms, or other content to us on the Site, or while using any of our Services, we collect whatever information you supply and use that information to communicate with you, if requested, or otherwise fulfill the purpose of the content submission.

When you give donations online, we collect billing information, gift designation, and other information related to your gift.
When you purchase an item from the Site’s Groton School Store, we collect information about your purchases as well as shipping and billing information.

Information We Collect Through Our Apps
We use Applications to facilitate our communications with students, parents, alumni, and others to enhance the experience at Groton. In most cases, the information we collect on these Applications is provided directly by you; however, we may also collect information used in our Applications from others, such as parents, teachers, medical professionals, and other third parties. The information we collect through our Applications may include but is not limited to:

  • When you log in, your username and password and other information to verify your identity.
  • When you communicate with us, your contact information and the content of your communication.
  • When you complete a form, the information you provide.
  • Other information you or third parties may provide, such as: contact information like your name, home address, email address, and phone number; demographic information, such as gender, age, and other information you share; payment information, if you make a purchase from us; education history, such as prior schools, transcripts, awards, and honors; health and dietary information; and your image.

Information We Collect During the Admission Process
We collect information through our Services during the admission process. For example, as part of the admission process, we may collect information directly from you if you submit an Inquiry Form to us on the Site. Additionally, we may receive admission-related information from third-party sources and from admission test providers such as the Enrollment Management Association, which administers the SSAT. If you are admitted to Groton, we will further process this information in connection with our Services.

Information We Collect Through Automatic Data Collection Technologies 
When you use our Services, we may use various technologies to collect other types of information automatically, which may include, but is not limited to, the technologies listed below.

  • Logging Functionality: As is true of most websites, we gather certain information automatically and store it in log files. This information may include IP addresses, browser type, Internet service provider, referring/exit pages, operating system, date/time stamp, and/or clickstream data. We generally only use this data for purposes such as security, fraud detection, and protecting our rights.
  • Cookies and Other Data Collection Technologies: We and our service providers use cookies, scripts, and similar technologies to manage our websites and to collect information about you and your use of our Sites. These technologies help us to recognize you, customize or personalize your experience, and analyze the use of our Sites to make them more useful to you. These technologies also allow us to aggregate demographic and statistical data and provide this information to our service providers to facilitate their provision of services. For more information about how we use Cookies and other data collection technologies and how to control such uses, see below.
  • Location Information: We may use your IP address to identify the general geographic area from which you are accessing our Sites.

How We Share and Disclose Your Information
We may disclose Personal Data that we collect with the following recipients:

  • Groton School units and controlled entities (collectively, “Groton Entities”). 
  • Third-party providers who provide us with services such as website hosting, professional services including information technology services and related infrastructure, email delivery, auditing, marketing and analytics, social media platforms, and other similar services. 
  • In addition, we may use or disclose your Personal Data as we deem necessary or appropriate: (1) if required under applicable law, including laws outside your country of residence; (2) to respond to requests from public and government authorities including public and government authorities outside your country of residence; (3) to comply with subpoenas and other legal processes; (4) to pursue available remedies or limit damages we may sustain; (5) to protect our operations or those of any of our affiliates; (6) to protect the rights, privacy, safety, or property of Groton Entities, you, and others; and (7) to enforce our Terms of Use.

Cookies and Related Technologies

How we use Cookies:
We use cookies and related technologies (“Cookies”) to provide services, gather information, enhance and personalize the user experience, and to understand usage patterns in order to improve our Sites. To find out more about cookies and learn how to exercise choices around their use, visit www.allaboutcookies.org. 

We may allow third parties to use Cookies on our Sites and Applications to collect information about your online activities over time and across different websites you visit. This information may be used to provide advertising tailored to your interests on websites you visit, also known as interest-based advertising, and to analyze the effectiveness of such advertising. 

We use Google Analytics, which uses cookies and similar technologies to collect and analyze information about use of our Services and report on activities and trends. Google Analytics may also collect information regarding the use of other websites, apps, and online resources. To learn more about the use of Cookies by Google for analytics and to exercise choice regarding those Cookies, you may visit www.google.com/policies/privacy/partners, and you may opt-out of them by downloading the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on, available at https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout. 

The opt-outs described above are device- and browser-specific and may not work on all devices. If you choose to opt out through any of these opt-out tools, this does not mean you will cease to see advertising. Rather, the ads you see will just not be based on your interests.

Other Websites
Some of our Services contain links to other sites, including Social Media sites, whose information practices may be different from ours. Information you submit to other sites will be governed by the other sites’ privacy policies and terms, and you should carefully review those terms before providing your information.

Social Media Sites 
You may post information about yourself and/or your experiences with us through various social media websites (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Instagram). Remember that any information you post will become publicly available, so please use discretion. We are not responsible for the collection, usage, and disclosure policies and practices (including data security) of these sites.

Managing Your Communication Preferences
We may contact you by email regarding emergencies, news, events, and ways you may support Groton School; however, we want to communicate with you only if you want to hear from us. If you wish to opt-out of receiving these communications from us through our mailing list, you may do so at any time by clicking “unsubscribe” in the email you receive from us and following the instructions on the screen. We strongly discourage community members from opting out as they may miss emergency or other important communications.

Information Protection
Our Services have security measures in place to help protect against the loss, misuse, and alteration of the information under our control. However, no method of transmission over the Internet or method of electronic storage is 100% secure. 

Cross Border Transfers
Our Services are controlled and operated by us from the United States and are not intended to subject us to the laws or jurisdiction of any state, country, or territory other than that of the United States. Any information you provide to us through use of our Services may be stored and processed, transferred between, and accessed from the United States and other countries, which may not guarantee the same level of protection of personal data as the one in which you reside. However, we will handle your personal data in accordance with this Privacy Notice regardless of where your personal data is stored/accessed.

Data Subject Rights
Depending on your residency, you may have certain data subject rights. These rights vary by state and country, but they may include the right to: (i) request access to and rectification or erasure of their personal information; (ii) restrict or object to the processing of their personal information; and (iii) obtain a copy of their personal information in a portable format. Individuals may also have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection authority about the processing of personal information. We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of these rights, for example, by charging a different price or denying goods or services.

How to Exercise Data Subject Rights:
If you wish to exercise any of these rights, please email communications@groton.org with the phrase “Data Subject Rights” in the subject line. We will review your requests and respond accordingly. The rights described herein are not absolute and we reserve all of our rights available to us at law in this regard. In many instances, these rights are not applicable to not-for-profit entities like Groton School. Additionally, if we retain your Personal Information only in de-identified form, we will not attempt to re-identify your data in response to a Data Subject Rights request.

If you make a request related to Personal Information about you, we will need to verify your identity. To do so, we will request that you match specific pieces of information you have provided to us previously, as well as, in some instances, that you provide a signed declaration under penalty of perjury that you are the consumer whose personal information is the subject of the request. If it is necessary to collect additional information from you, Groton will use the information only for verification purposes and will delete it as soon as practicable after complying with the request. For requests related to particularly sensitive information, we may require additional proof of identification.

If you make a Data Subject Rights request through an authorized agent, we will require written proof that the agent is authorized to act on your behalf.

We will process your request within the time provided by applicable law.

Changes to this Notice
This Privacy Notice may be amended from time to time. Any such changes will be posted on this page.

Effective Date
The effective date of this notice is 8/29/2025.