December 2007 Archives

The global school? Interesting. For years boarding schools have attracted students from all over the world, shoot, my roommate senior year hailed from Hong Kong. What distinguishes Wilbraham & Monson Academy is the way they've incorporated entrepreneurial & global studies into their curriculum. How so? Well, I decided to find out first hand last week when I visited the school to learn more about their Center for Entrepreneurial & Global Studies (CEGS) and how it prepares students for the 21st Century.

The program is creative in it's approach offering formal classwork (the curricular threads include electives in Entrepreneurship, Financial Markets, Economics, Global Economic Issues and Global Citizenship) and opportunities to put these lessons into practice (check out their Block Rock project). The school also offers a number of domestic & international travel opportunities that provides students with a chance to experience global economics first hand.

If you're interested in learning more about the program, check out the school's site. I found a number of news items that talk about events associated with CEGS that provide an interesting back-story.

We're happy to welcome Wolfeboro, The Summer Boarding School as our newest AQ Member School. Unique in its operation and perspective, Wolfeboro is a boarding school- but open only for one 6 1/2 week session during the summer. Using the luxury of being able to focus on each student's specific goals during a defined session, Wolfeboro develops a clear plan for every student.  The school environment is old school.  Students live in platform tents. Small (4 students on average) classes meet 6 days a weekly. Students and faculty gather for 3 sit-down meals daily. All appointments, meetings, and activities are mandatory. This structured life frees students to focus on their academics.

Faculty- most of whom are long time Wolfeboro people- come from a myriad of boarding and day schools all over the country. Wolfeboro students can work for academic enrichment, to make up a course or earn credit, or to prepare themselves for a transition to a new school. Wolfeboro will celebrate it's 100th summer during their 2009 session.

I attended Wolfeboro, The Summer Boarding School and have been a part of 19 summer sessions in a variety of capacities. I am most excited to work with the school in this new capacity.

I'm happy to introduce you to Brian Fisher.

Brian is an AQ principal.  He attended both public and private schools as student and has served in a variety of capacities in boarding schools- teacher, dormitory parent, coach, dean, admission, and head chef.  He will blog about his observations as they relate to education, education trends, and how boarding schools fit into the grand scheme of things.

Feel free to drop Brian a note with any questions - aqinfo@admissionsquest.com

AQ is very pleased to welcome Marylou Marcus as a contributor to AQ's onBoarding Schools blog.

Marylou Marcus is an educational consultant affiliated with AQ Educational Consulting.  Her 35 years in independent schools as a teacher, advisor, admission director and financial aid officer provide incredible insight and perspective when looking at boarding schools.  Her contributions will center around her impressions and thoughts about schools.

Welcome Marylou!

We're excited to announce the launch of AQ's blog - onBoarding Schools. For a number of years we've provided students & families with a rich collection of boarding school profiles, admission articles, financial information, etc. The start of our blog provides us with another way to deliver information and perspectives on the boarding school community.

Please stay tuned for new entries (and a new design!) over the coming months. A number of boarding school experts have graciously volunteered to contribute to this space - introductions will be made soon. Topics covered will include all aspects of the admission process, school visits, school loans, financial aid and much more. Of course, we encourage you to let us know what you hope to read on these pages as well.

Drop us an email anytime with your ideas - aqinfo@admissionsquest.com.