Boarding School "Fit" Assessment

soxmom
Mon, 20 Oct 2014 21:18:58 +0000

I think how the schools choose to present themselves to you when you do have contact with them also tells you a fair bit. For instance, in the last couple of weeks, my daughter and I have attended open houses at two boarding schools. At School A, there was a welcome from the head of school, a performance by the choir, and then you were given a map of the school that showed several locations where heads of programs and activities were set up in an open fair style, and you could go ask questions. So you had ample chance to ask what you wanted, but if you didn’t know what questions to ask or weren’t comfortable in that kind of setting, it was hard to gather information. At School B, there was a welcome from the head of school, followed by a panel of teachers talking, then a panel presentation by some students, then the kids got to sit in on the regular student morning auditorium while the parents listened to a panel presentation by current parents, followed by an activities fair. So a lot of information directed at you from the school, but relatively little opportunity to ask individual questions.
Neither approach is right or wrong, and there are pros and cons to both. But I think the chosen approach tells you something about each school. For my daughter, School B’s approach was much more to her liking – she walked away feeling like they really cared about conveying information to prospective students, and much of what was said happened to resonate with her. I’m sure there were other kids, though, who walked away feeling that School B wasn’t for them.
Long story short, I think that a lot of judging “fit” has to come from reading between the lines, and listening as much to what you don’t hear as what you do.