Dean Vachon, Dean of Faculty and Curriculum, emphasizes a diversity of learners when talking about Dunn School’s academic program.

More than just a varied curriculum, Dunn (a coed boarding school in Los Olivos, CA) recognizes and serves a diversity of students with courses that fit different kinds of learners.

The fact that each Dunn student learns differently drives Dunn’s academics. Dunn teachers teach every lesson in different ways.

Dunn alumni graduate knowing how to learn;  how to ask for help and interact with faculty; and with an ability to seek and grow relationships with their teachers.

Of course Dings achievements are great but you- our readers- will appreciate the story of how Ding came to New Hampton (a coed boarding school in New Hampton, NH) and then found encouragement and success from a teacher/coach.

“A USA Football rep informed David Perfield, then the football coach at the New Hampton School, a boarding school in New Hampshire, that he had spotted a talented kicker from China. New Hampton offered him a spot, and on a whim, Ding flew 7,000 miles from his family’s modest two-bedroom apartment in Qingdao to the New England campus. ‘When I first talked to Long, it was a chore to understand what he was saying,’ says Perfield, who is now the director of development at the Cardigan Mountain School in New Hampshire. ‘His English was really, really poor.’ Did he at least know the rules of football? ‘Oh, no, Jesus no,’ says Perfield. ‘It took him awhile to understand that stuff. He knew you kicked off to start the game, but he didn’t know why you punted, or why you kicked a field goal.’”(KS)

Ding kicked for Norwich University during college and recently attended the Jacksonville Jaguars rookie minicamp as undrafted free agent.

Of Ding’s minicamp work, John Bonamego, Jaguars special teams coach tells Time:

“I was very pleased with where he’s at…He has a legit chance to kick in the NFL. When he came out here, he didn’t act like it was too big for him. It wasn’t ‘hey, I belong.’ He has a wonderful demeanor.”(KS)

Ding seems to like the pressure, telling Keeping Score, “I like the pressure, you know?…You make it, and you’re a hero.”

We wish him the best of luck in his attempt to stick with an NFL team.

A quieter event that occurs in parallel, and often quietly is an ending- the retirement of a faculty member. I’ll write my annual ‘thank the faculty’ post in a few days.

Yesterday- with a prompt from The Star Beacon (Ashtabula, OH), I’d like to call attention and begin the appreciation thoughts of long-time dedicated faculty.

In “Retiring Educator Has A Passion for the Written Word,” columnist Tony Householder chronicles retiring English department chair Bob Archer’s Grand River Academy contributions and his school life.

Archer is wrapping-up 22 years at Grand River having worn several hats- history and literature teacher, coach, and advisor. Archer loves his students; loves teaching. He challenges his students and pushes them to grow. His students respect him and his work.

“My favorite part of this job is knowing that by educating young men, I am turning their lives around,” Archer told Householder.(SB)

But, he’s more than a teacher and I’m convinced that this is what can make some boarding school teachers special. Archer is also a researcher and writer with wide interests.

“He [Archer] has a fascination with anything involving railroads, even publishing a book in 1977 called “Lehigh Valley Railroad: The Route of the Black Diamond.”

‘I’ve been exploring some old railroad stations. I believe I have another book in me.’ he said with a smile.’”(SB)

I find that these sorts of varied interests into places and areas far beyond the routines of daily boarding school life do several things for students who see teachers model this kind of work.

Students see the odd places and small niches into which ones education can lead. Students see that their niche interests may one day take them somewhere. And, students see a faculty member as a professional practitioner.

Practicing what one teaches certainly helps when “why are we learning this?” flies forth from a challenged sixteen year-old.

Make sure you thank your teachers as the end of the year approaches. Especially those who connected you to their subjects or those who showed you the potential of their subjects in the “real world.”

I guess I got to my ‘thank your teachers’ post sooner than I expected.

Katie Isaacson talks about the role that Midland School’s organic garden plays in the school community.

Midland (a coed boarding school in Los Olivos, CA) cultivates 10 acres for both production and education. The school eats seasonally from the farm bounty putting-up by freezing or canning the surplus. A chalk board in the dining hall charts produce seasonal availability. Livestock are also part of the Midland farm production. The farm raises eight pigs and 10 steers annually for school consumption.

Students are involved in the farm daily in activities ranging from food harvesting, to composting, to livestock husbandry. Students interested learning and exploring the farm in-depth can elect farming as their afternoon sport/activity which puts them working on the farm four afternoons weekly.

• “Leaving the Reservation…“
• “I Tell My Brothers They Have Choices to Make“
• “The Application Process Was Daunting…“
• “My Essay Was About My Struggles Growing Up.”

Aaron offers his stories, encouragement, and perspectives as part of the College Board’s “You Can Go” campaign.

The “You Can Go” campaign makes the case for college, and college options, to students who, for a variety of reasons, might remove themselves from the college admission process.

Addressing collegiate entrance hurdles such as cost, grades, and adult responsibilities, students are urged to take the collegiate leap even though it can feel risky.

“Don’t hold back” runs through each student’s story.

We first met Aaron in 2010 as a Proctor (Andover, NH) student and, then, learned Aaron’s broader story, writing in 2010:

“When we visited Proctor Academy’s campus in June, Aaron Thomas was kind enough to take time during our tour to talk about why he values Proctor. We had no idea that Aaron would open up a great back story that we had never heard. Aaron hails from the Navaho Nation and he attends Proctor as part of the school’s Native American Scholarship Fund.”

You can watch our video interview with Aaron below:

The AHSTF is part of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival- the world’s largest and most prestigious arts festival. It’s an all-encompassing event with shows produced throughout the city during August- in settings ranging from tradition to open air.

St. Andrew’s-Sewanee head Rev. John Thomas is understandably proud of the theater program:

“Our community is well aware of the outstanding productions that Robie Jackson and her colleagues [John Holleman, and Katherine Anderson] have created with and for our students…We are delighted that our students will have the opportunity to take their talents to the next level by performing for an international audience.”

Selection and participation in the AHSTF comes through nomination and application.

This year marks the second nomination for the SAS theater program and the program’s first application. High school programs are identified and chosen based on their most recent bodies of work, awards, community involvement, philosophies, and recommendations.

Congratulations to SAS!

Linden Hill occupied a unique niche in the boarding school world working with middle and high school boys with attention issues and learning differences in a small, personal, family style setting.

Linden Hill head, James McDaniel laid bare the reality in his letter to the community announcing and explaining the decision. In an amazing detailed and honest letter, McDaniel explains that Linden had come up against some economic gulfs that the Linden Hill family was unable to bridge.

I share these excerpts, but I recommend reading McDaniel’s letter in its entirety:

…It is well documented over the course of the past several years that Linden Hill School has experienced lower enrollment causing reduced tuition revenues against our total operating costs. Our school was already burdened with extraordinary debt and could ill afford the dramatic decline in revenues…

We came to the understanding that our need for fundraising each year was growing at a rate that would exceed our small community’s ability to respond. We were, in short, rapidly approaching an inevitable closing of the school for lack of funds. We responded to this stark reality directly during the summer of 2011 to critically examine (1) our place in the LD/ADHD middle school market, (2) our programs to meet our population’s needs, (3) our staff’s skill sets to provide services to this population at the highest level and, finally, (4) our overall business model for sustainability. We came to the ultimate conclusion that we must take bold steps if we were going to have any chance of saving the school. At the same time, we recognized that those steps might not save the school. Nonetheless, making some dramatic changes was our only hope, however slim, of survival.

…Despite this effort and given the extreme pressure on the fundraising efforts and donors themselves over the past several years, it became increasingly evident that that we have exhausted the ability of our constituents to rescue the school from the ravages of a depressed economy and our significant enrollment declines. Recognizing this, the Board of Trustees determined that the current and projected expense of keeping Linden Hill School open is more than our community could bear or risk. Thus, the Board has voted to close Linden Hill after the end of this school year, June 8, 2012.

…Each year, we forged ahead and made ends meet, rising and falling with each student lost or big gift received struggling to close huge gaps annually between tuition revenues and expenses. The cumulative effect of this existence was deleterious to our ability to provide the best of staffing and to maintain the highest consistency of expectation for each member of the community. Yet, despite it all, we opened and closed each school year having helped our boys along in their lives, thanks to the courage of our faculty, board, and parents.

We are deeply saddened that we must make this decision regarding a school that has helped so many fine young men and their families. Our tradition has been a proud one as the oldest junior boarding school in America for boys with learning differences. We hope that through each of us who has been affiliated with our school, its legacy will live on.

Peace be with all of you as you carry forth the legacy of Linden Hill School.

Sincerely,
James A. McDaniel

Stevenson School junior J.J. shares his insights into the strengths of a Stevenson education. The school’s a coed boarding school in Pebble Beach, California.

Academics at Stevenson (www.stevenson.org) are second-to-none with multiple advanced, and Advanced Placement, classes in all subjects. Tennis, golf, swimming, water polo, volleyball, soccer and track are the strong athletic programs. Music features band, jazz band, orchestra, and choir.

Opportunity, freedom, trust and responsibility are the themes that surface again and again throughout the tour. Whether it’s practicing one’s instrument, signing out to go on a trip, taking an off campus class, or, going into Monterey, Stevenson requires a great deal of responsibility and good judgement from its students.

As J.J. relates, Stevenson is a cornucopia of opportunities and it is the Stevenson students job to grab those opportunities and take them as far as they can. J.J. is an athlete, prefect, violinist, and outdoor education leader- in short, a Stevenson student.

In the New York Times, “For Some Parents, Leaving Private School Is Harder Than Getting In” Anderson covers the increasing seriousness with which enrollment agreements are taken.

The antes on both the school, and parent sides, is up.

The contracts are worth more and parents want to hold open options and make school changes until the last minute. Not healthy, something’s gotta give.

Anderson writes:

“For most parents, getting their child into a private school is a moment of joy, or at least relief. But uncomfortable conversations take place at this time of year, as some parents reconsider.

Sometimes these conversations lead to an amicable parting. Other times, they lead to a bare-knuckled fight in court.”(NYT)

The shift in definition from the more genteel (and less enforcement oriented) agreement to contract is an important one. Schools appear to be taking a more aggressive approach to defining the enrollment contract and to making it enforceable should a family choose not, or, be unable, to honor it.

Anderson documents the experiences of families who- by choice, or by changed economic circumstances- found themselves in contract enforcement proceedings. The student could not, or would not be attending the school, and, rather than letting the family withdraw forefitting- say, just their deposit- some schools seek full enforcement of the contract.

Enter debt collectors and lawsuits.

Anderson’s article focuses on the heavily/oversubscribed world or highly competitive schools where one student who withdraws is quickly replaced by another from a waiting list.

Pursuing enrollment contract enforcement when the school would incur no damages certainly doesn’t seem a healthy, or diplomatic position to pursue. If no shortfall in revenue occurs/if the space doesn’t go unsold why pursue the family? It would seem to me that pursuing enforcement when no damages occur is just bad karma and poor public relations.

What about lesser subscribed, or tuition driven schools, where the space isn’t as easily sold/where the revenue is counted upon to make ends meet?

This is a sticky wicket. Schools in these situations rely on tuition monies and unpaid enrollment contracts can create holes in their budgets.

Something’s a little odd when the contract law of enrollment contracts is making the news. Could it be that neither side- parents and schools- are behaving and acting as honorably as they might?

Parents withdrawing students after payment deadlines on discretionary rather than force majeure terms. Schools seeking unnecessary enforcement. An unnecessarily adversarial relationship seems antithetical to everyone’s best interests.

What happened to healthy collegial relationship built upon the student’s best interests?

In my experiences, we always conducted these withdrawal conversations discreetly and politely. If the student/family needed to leave for an appropriate, or healthy, reason, the schools with which I was associated, released the family without further obligation. When the situation required enforcement, we took that route only when necessary.

Communicating and working out the situation seemed to work best for everyone.

However, as I mentioned above, I can see the predicament of schools who count on and budget based the income from enrollment contracts. I don’t have a good policy for this situation.

I know I’m old fashioned. Intuitively though, it seems a return to respectful collegiality on both the parental and school sides might be the best solution. Work together. Begin with honesty. Respect that plans sometimes change. When no harm is done, there’s no need to fight. And most importantly, commit oneself to building good karma and always leaving the situation and relationship better than you found it.

There will be situations that require enforcement but even in these situations each party can come to a workable agreement.

Even when things don’t work out, try to keep the relationship sound.

Espousing the more defensive position:

“Shamir A. Khan, a clinical psychologist and founder of the N.Y.C. Private Schools Blog, said parents should read their contracts carefully and assume that schools will enforce the terms.

‘Families should create a detailed paper or electronic record documenting when and how their circumstances changed and the school’s response,’ Dr. Khan said. ‘But at the end of the day, a breach is a breach, and parents should be prepared to pay the full amount.’”

The realist in me, says Dr. Khan’s advice for parents is sound.

What sets a pre-professional arts boarding school and a pre-preprofessional arts student apart? Drive, desire, and dedication.

In this short video, Jewel talks about what she learned and expereienced at Interlochen Arts Academy.

“I’d never seen discipline like that…You’d have a cello major that was practicing 6-8 hours on top of all their studies. Every major was just so good and so passionate about what they did that it made me rise and try to be better myself.”

To learn more about pre-professional arts boarding schools, I encourage you to read an article that we published a few years ago (Dedicated Study of the Arts in a Boarding School). It goes into more depth and showcases the three arts boarding schools in the US.