Thoughts on school rankings

TheBig5
Fri, 18 Feb 2011 09:01:02 +0000

I wish you the very best in your quest.

I had the unusual opportunity 20+ years ago to participate in a joint PA/PEA program in Washington, D.C. where I lived and worked with 15 students from each school for 3 months, and that (admittedly anecdotal) experience made very clear to me what some of the significant differences were–at that time.

Neither school is right for my child, so for me it’s a moot point.

Consultants who have lived in the boarding school world for many years–most often far longer than any student or family will be directly associated–also offer a wide variety of anecdotal insights, not only into specific schools, their programs, environments, community history and so forth, but also into the dynamics that occur between the administrators of these schools in their joint alliances and programs (such as the one mentioned above). Data’s great, but only if you connect the dots in meaningful ways.

In the end, it’s quite a small world.