Admit it, we all know a little something about education. The past year has brought K -12 education to the forefront of the conversations of many Americans. Two films, Race to Nowhere and Waiting for Superman, followed the plight of students and families striving to navigate the pitfalls of the public school. The news media has chronicled the misfortunes of accreditation loss, budget cuts and booming class size from Atlanta to Kansas City to Los Angeles to Raleigh. Washington DC has provided ample news topics from the Department of Education’s Race to the Top grants to the politics of its school system with reforms and the resignation of Michelle Rhee. The news coupled with growing concerns that American students are falling behind in the global market have many families considering private school, or independent day school, as an educational option. With many of the independent schools’ applications deadlines coming to completion, many families are already turning their attention to the 2011-2012 admissions cycle. Crisp Consulting + Coaching offers parents considering an independent day school the following information critical to the school fit and admission process.
Know your child. The most critical step of school fit is understanding your child. What are you child’s strengths and passions? Is he creative with a proclivity for writing stories or expressing ideas with drawing and painting? Is she analytical with a passion for understanding how leaves change colors or how a caterpillar becomes a butterfly? Understanding your child will help your family identify a school that will foster learning potential and opportunities.
Know the landscape. It is critical to know the educational opportunities in your area. How many independent schools are in your area? What are the co-educational or single-gendered school options? Which schools hold a religious affiliation? Are there any school options within a close vicinity of our neighborhood? What are the public and charter school options? These questions will assist your family in gathering information to the fit and admission process.
Know your resources. It is critical to understand reliable resources while navigating the school fit and admission process. The National Association of Independent Schools offers a directory of member schools complete with internet links and enrollment and admission information. The Independent Educational Consultants Association offers a directory of professionals who are knowledgeable in school fit and admissions.
This information will initiate your school search and have an impact on the admission process. How well you understand their impacts will affect your application. Being informed about all the aspects of school fit and admission will help reduce the anxiety of education and allow parents to intentionally invest in vibrant and enriching education for their children.
Brian D. Crisp is an independent educational consultant with Crisp Consulting + Coaching who works with families in Asheville, Charleston, and Savannah to optimize and realize their unique educational fit and admission success. As a former professor, administrator, and teacher, Brian has the knowledge and skills to counsel families in all aspects of educational planning.
Showing posts with label Independent Day School. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Independent Day School. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Admit it. Mother knows best
Admit it. Moms know a lot. This week we have a guest blogger. Jill Campbell is an educator and mother who recently completed the independent day school admission process and has some insights for parents engaged in the same process.
As a parent who has recently navigated the independent school admission process for our children. I would love to share my experiences of searching for schools and finding the right fit for my children. I hope, as a mother, this will help many parents who might be considering options for your children's education.
My husband and I decided to investigate independent schools because we were not sure that the district public school was the best fit for our sons. We are both educators and were concerned about growing class sizes and continued budget cuts. Don’t get me wrong, many public schools and their teachers do wonderful jobs at educating children, but I have been home with my sons for years now and I feel that I truly understand what makes their hearts beat and brains tick. We wanted them to be individuals in their school, not just a number and we wanted a school community where all people were valued and could be involved. Another factor for us to consider was that, being a musician, I wanted a school with a commitment to the arts.
While investigating our local public schools, we learned that our district has 30 kids in each kindergarten class and for a large portion of the day they are expected to sit at a desk. After teaching in a public school for seven years, I recognized that many boys struggled with their behavior in school. In my experience, this was not because that boys were deliberately “bad”, but because they were naturally more active, more physical, and more assertive than some girls. Instead of meeting the needs of young boys, many are heavily disciplined and made to feel their innate manners are wrong. I didn’t want my young boys in detention or saddled with a dread of school because they were active little boys.
As we became concerned and confused about our educational options, we contacted Crisp Consulting + Coaching. As a parent and educator, I knew that there must be a school out there that wanted to educate boys as vital children and not as tiny adults. Brian was so helpful and encouraged me to explore our options in our city. He encourage and supported our search and assured me that many schools would fit what we were looking for. With that confidence, we ordered many information packets and took school tours all over the city with the thorough guidance of an educational professional.
We were delighted when we found a school that we fell in love with and more importantly, that our sons fell in love with. When we walked into our final choice, I actually cried in the art classroom when I saw that there was actually a place that valued children for being who they are.
I was so thankful for the educational planning that Crisp Consulting + Coaching was able to provide for my family’s schooling needs. Through out the process, Brian provided us with critical information and professional opinions while allowing my husband and I to make and understand our ultimate decision. He constantly checked on our progress and answered many mundane questions with passion and reminded us of the reasons we started the admission process. From financial aid to application questions to tours and screening, the admission experience can be overwhelming.
If you are considering going through a school search, and admission process, I would highly advise that you take the first step and contact a professional educational consultant. You will feel so much better going through uncharted territory with a master guide. Don’t wait!!! You are making a decision for your family that is more important than where you go on vacation, what you eat for dinner, or what kind of car you drive. Invest in your children. You won’t be sorry!
We are so thankful to know that our children’s education will be beyond what we ever dreamed it would be. Crisp Consulting + Coaching’s confidence in our family will change our son’s lives forever.
Jill Campbell holds a BM/ME in vocal music education from The University of Kentucky as well as a minor in violin performance. She earned both a MM in choral conducting and a Rank 1in Music Education from University of Kentucky and completed the Graduate Certificate in Orff Schulwek. Mrs. Campbell has experience teaching both elementary and middle school music in KY. For the past eight seasons, she has conducted the advanced choir and served as the administrative assistant for the Lexington Singers Children’s Choir . Mrs. Campbell is often a guest adjudicator and clinician for district and all-state honor choirs, including directing the 2008 KY ACDA All-State Children's Chorus and the 2010 CKMEA Elementary Honors Chorus. She is married to Mickey, a high school economics and goverment teacher, and they have 2 boys, Andrew and Nathan.
As a parent who has recently navigated the independent school admission process for our children. I would love to share my experiences of searching for schools and finding the right fit for my children. I hope, as a mother, this will help many parents who might be considering options for your children's education.
My husband and I decided to investigate independent schools because we were not sure that the district public school was the best fit for our sons. We are both educators and were concerned about growing class sizes and continued budget cuts. Don’t get me wrong, many public schools and their teachers do wonderful jobs at educating children, but I have been home with my sons for years now and I feel that I truly understand what makes their hearts beat and brains tick. We wanted them to be individuals in their school, not just a number and we wanted a school community where all people were valued and could be involved. Another factor for us to consider was that, being a musician, I wanted a school with a commitment to the arts.
While investigating our local public schools, we learned that our district has 30 kids in each kindergarten class and for a large portion of the day they are expected to sit at a desk. After teaching in a public school for seven years, I recognized that many boys struggled with their behavior in school. In my experience, this was not because that boys were deliberately “bad”, but because they were naturally more active, more physical, and more assertive than some girls. Instead of meeting the needs of young boys, many are heavily disciplined and made to feel their innate manners are wrong. I didn’t want my young boys in detention or saddled with a dread of school because they were active little boys.
As we became concerned and confused about our educational options, we contacted Crisp Consulting + Coaching. As a parent and educator, I knew that there must be a school out there that wanted to educate boys as vital children and not as tiny adults. Brian was so helpful and encouraged me to explore our options in our city. He encourage and supported our search and assured me that many schools would fit what we were looking for. With that confidence, we ordered many information packets and took school tours all over the city with the thorough guidance of an educational professional.
We were delighted when we found a school that we fell in love with and more importantly, that our sons fell in love with. When we walked into our final choice, I actually cried in the art classroom when I saw that there was actually a place that valued children for being who they are.
I was so thankful for the educational planning that Crisp Consulting + Coaching was able to provide for my family’s schooling needs. Through out the process, Brian provided us with critical information and professional opinions while allowing my husband and I to make and understand our ultimate decision. He constantly checked on our progress and answered many mundane questions with passion and reminded us of the reasons we started the admission process. From financial aid to application questions to tours and screening, the admission experience can be overwhelming.
If you are considering going through a school search, and admission process, I would highly advise that you take the first step and contact a professional educational consultant. You will feel so much better going through uncharted territory with a master guide. Don’t wait!!! You are making a decision for your family that is more important than where you go on vacation, what you eat for dinner, or what kind of car you drive. Invest in your children. You won’t be sorry!
We are so thankful to know that our children’s education will be beyond what we ever dreamed it would be. Crisp Consulting + Coaching’s confidence in our family will change our son’s lives forever.
Jill Campbell holds a BM/ME in vocal music education from The University of Kentucky as well as a minor in violin performance. She earned both a MM in choral conducting and a Rank 1in Music Education from University of Kentucky and completed the Graduate Certificate in Orff Schulwek. Mrs. Campbell has experience teaching both elementary and middle school music in KY. For the past eight seasons, she has conducted the advanced choir and served as the administrative assistant for the Lexington Singers Children’s Choir . Mrs. Campbell is often a guest adjudicator and clinician for district and all-state honor choirs, including directing the 2008 KY ACDA All-State Children's Chorus and the 2010 CKMEA Elementary Honors Chorus. She is married to Mickey, a high school economics and goverment teacher, and they have 2 boys, Andrew and Nathan.
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