Governors and Brooks

GovsParent
Fri, 06 Apr 2012 14:20:19 +0000

My daughter, now a sophomore at Govs, faced the same choice (Govs v. Brooks). All of us (I, my husband and my daughter) independently favored Govs after revisit days at both schools. We all have been thrilled with Govs experience, and would highly recommend it. These were our subjective feelings about the differences: 1) Govs seemed more kid-focused than Brooks. At parent/teacher sessions, the teachers at Govs enthused about their relationships with kids, including “fun” things like baking and building surfboards, while Brooks teachers talked about themselves and what a good experience it was for them to teach at school. 2) students at Govs seemed warmer and more welcoming - even when my husband and daughter drove her deposit up there on April 10, several approached them on a cold rainy day and welcomed them 3) theater at Govs is beautiful, my daughter has been in several plays and very much enjoyed her experience 4) she was disappointed in lack of arts facilities at Brooks - again felt that Govs had much nicer art and photo studies, and faculty took time to come up and talk with her individually. I’m sure opinions vary, and don’t mean to offend any Brooks parents, but these were our impressions. She struggled academically her first year (because of laziness/disorganization, not lack of ability, as she had SSAT scores in high 80s and low 90s). The school was very good at helping her to focus and organize, and even better at reassuring us that we shouldn’t despair. She has completely turned it around, and is now a high honors student. Another interesting fact - two of her very good friends live in North Andover, and chose to commute to Govs, despite distance, because they felt arts/music was stronger. So, in summary, I can’t really tell you about Brooks, but I’d recommend Govs highly.