Parent questions at school visits?

D_yer_Maker
Tue, 11 Nov 2008 10:22:31 +0000

The students a school weeds out from its community should be as important to you as those it admits. The question is fair and need not be phrased as being asked out of concern for the applicant’s imminent brushes with the school’s disciplinary authorities.

If they’re expelling many students, then they’re serious about the rules. Then again it says something about the track record for who they’re prone to admit. And maybe the numbers of expelled students is high because the school fails to establish checks and safeguards that would modify student behavior. If they’re not expelling students, maybe the school runs a tight ship and admissions does a better-than-average job of vetting applicants. Then again, maybe they’re turning a blind eye to serious problems or the school doesn’t take certain matters as serious as you’d like them to.

There’s no “right” answer to the question. It’s a gateway question to a very interesting discussion on the school administration’s attitudes on student life.