The following comminication was sent by SPS to parents in December of 2017:
EXTRA HELP & PEER TUTORING
• The best resource for extra help is our faculty. Encourage your child to consistently attend (not just the session right before the test, lab, or paper, for example).
• Peer tutors are another great resource. For science, writing, and math, trained peer tutors are available to students in Ohrstrom Library, Monday through Friday, from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.
• Parents should not arrange for outside tutors. St. Paul’s School teachers are best equipped to help St. Paul’s School students. Our teachers know the specific skills and competencies (and how to build them) that we are developing through our Integrated Curriculum. In addition, using external academic tutors may place your child at risk for violating our academic integrity policy by receiving help when they should not. There may be special circumstances when the School decides it is appropriate to recommend an outside tutor; this will be communicated to the student and adviser. Parents should reach out to either Dean of Studies [ ] or Director of Academic Support [ ] if they think tutoring is necessary.
• Teachers aim to be clear about the parameters under which students may engage help on assignments or assessments. As wonderful as it is when your child reaches out for assistance, please refrain from editing/rewriting papers, lab reports, projects, or problem sets. Instead, encourage your child to reach out to the adviser who can help facilitate a connection with an SPS peer tutor or another faculty member.
When my students were at Choate Class of 2014 and 2016, it was kind of the wild west when it came to tutoring. There were peer tutors, but not enough, and the school also had adult tutors, but not enough and again it seemed there was some bias towards students who got the tutors that the school paid for.
We had researched on line and got tutors that we first met and interviewed at coffee shops in Wallingford for a couple honors classes, but very quickly figured out that our kids did best when they went and talked with the teacher and asked the teacher to hold review sessions before tests. The teachers often would but then sometimes it was inconvenient like the only time they offered it was on a Sunday night, the only time that Catholic Mass was also offered.
I’d be surprised if students and parents are gaming the system by getting accommodations that aren’t needed. There is more sensitivity to the fact that kids have very different learning styles. More public schools for instance are letting students decide whether they elect to do a project, take a written test or a set of quizzes or an oral presentation for a final, and more and more kids are diagnosed with ADHD because families are more educated to look for it now.
oh and to complicate matters even more, my student said that a lot of kids from Asia in the top Math classes would Skype or “white board” after hours with their tutors back home in their home countries.
I’m personally acquainted with some diagnosis-shoppers, some of whom cheerfully admit what they’re doing. Occasionally they “fail” (i.e., are diagnosed as neurotypical) by one doctor, and then go to the one everyone uses to get to the “right” answer. Often the parents are the instigators.
This is a very real problem, and, make no mistake, the people who run prep and boarding schools know exactly what’s going on. Crying foul, though, means contradicting diagnoses from licensed medical professionals, and potentially running into a buzz saw of litigation from powerful, wealthy parents.
All of which isn’t to deny or minimize the existence of learning disabilities/ADHD. Many people struggle with them. It’s the frauds who are harming those who are truly affected, by causing the world at large to question whether their issues are real.
I think it takes a lot more than faking ADHD to get into Harvard (as one of the linked articles suggests). I’d argue that admission to elite colleges is more about having a hook than having perfect standardized test scores.
The article title is clickbait. The article itself does address a very real trend. The point is some will try to get any perceived advantage they can, whether ethical or not. Whether that gets one into Harvard or not is beside the point of the article.
It is so common in my circle I don’t even think about it anymore. $1500 and one afternoon gets one a ticket to accomodations and frequently front of the line at registration in college. Many parents see it as one more step in connection with the college app process, like a tutor or registration with the college board.
When I start to get annoyed by stories of people trying to game the system, I remind myself (smugly) that I ought to feel sorry for people who feel they need to buy extra help and/or be dishonest to do well in school and get ahead, because they aren’t good enough to do it on their own. And proper planning is the way to avoid long waits at Disney World…
I agree @twinsmama. I have a kid who actually has ADHD who refuses any help. Will not take medication and refuses any accommodations. He wants to be able to succeed in spite of. He does not want to be seen as different and he struggles to keep it together. It’s sad that people who don’t have the struggle are willing to try and game the system just for some imaginary gain.
Many BS kids use the Wolfeboro summer program https://www.wolfeboro.org/page to make up for a rough class/year ( with school approval, of course and kids from all the BSs go there ) and some kids also get approval to take an accelerated course ( or two ) over the summer at home so they can knock off a course and free up time ( the summer before senior year is a popular time to do this . ) . For example- K2 had a love-hate relationship with French and ( after he begged us ) received permission so he could get it over with prior to senior year. His BS academic head had to agree and sign off on the program we found near our home, but it wasn’t an ordeal and it was approved pretty fast .
He enjoyed it. The One on One summer program really helped and it was worth it… Plus, it was worth it to take it off his plate senior year so he could do some other things he wanted to do- namely not to think about French for the year! Ironically- he took French in college and got an A. His professor kept encouraging him to go to a harder class… K2 : " No really, I like this class… ".
Probably a better discussion for another thread , but he also told me that BS French was much more demanding and harsh ( and he’s at a Top LAC ) which is a recurring theme that I’ve heard often over the years for a wide variety of courses. I know that’s how I felt when I transitioned from BS to College, too. There were times when I felt like I was repeating a course from IV Form when I was a FY in college.
Just throwing the two summer options above out there just in case people didn’t know that they’re available in addition to tutoring options etc during the school year . FWIW- Wolfeboro is usually full with a WL before the end of February… it’s a great program and very popular. And, I believe they do offer generous FA, too. I think they still interview for admission but their AO will travel and interview your child at their BS.
I’ve never heard of the Wolfboro program before. Interesting. I did notice that many of the boarding schools talked about on this forum are not a part of it. At my kids’ school, I never heard of kids taking classes during the summer to replace ones required or needed during the school year. Many kids did do academic work during the summer but it was often refresher stuff, prepping ahead, or college type programs that didn’t count towards graduation requirements, more just extra stuff in an area of interest. Do check a boarding school’s protocol for this kind of stuff because I think it can really vary from school to school.
I’m sorry if I didn’t stress the need to get approval from the academic Head enough in my post… I thought that went without saying but a lot of schools allow it… Obviously all you gotta do is ask.
All the schools use Wolfeboro- whether they gave them permission to use their name or not.
Curious as to how you know that all schools use the program? I did see your mention of school approval, @PhotographerMom. It’s more the statement that “all” schools use it that I wonder about.
" Interesting. I did notice that many of the boarding schools talked about on this forum are not a part of it. "
^^Seriously- What is that?^^
@doschicos- I felt very comfortable saying that because I know a couple of faculty members very well ( who have taught there during the summers for a longtime ) plus my nephew ( who went to Andover '10 ) went there for one summer. I also know kids from SPS ( horrors, right? You may not want that to get out ), Hotchkiss, Choate and Deerfield who also enrolled for a summer. Everyone I know loved it and got a lot out of it. It’s a great program.
Where did I criticize the program? All I mentioned is I hadn’t heard about it nor are some schools listed as part of it. Stop reading into my comments things that aren’t there, @PhotographerMom. I’m a pretty straight shooter in my posts. If I had something more to say about your post, I certainly would have said it outright. If you have read my posts in the past, you’d know that.
I’m sure it is a great program. In fact, had I known about it back in the day, one of my own probably would have benefitted from it for a certain subject. The fact that I didn’t know about it is further evidence to me that it is not something that that particular school is suggesting to students as an option. Doesn’t mean it isn’t a fine program.
