Recently in Question & Answer Category

We recently spoke with Mark Godomsky, Gould Academy's On-Snow program director. On-Snow results from Gould's commitment to using and connecting the school to its surroundings. In Bethel, Maine, this means students on and in the snow- in programs ranging from recreational skiing, to ski patrol, to a competition program the trains year round.

Question (Q): Can you tell us about the genesis of the On-Snow program? What are its roots? Did it grow out of an earlier program?

Mark Godomsky (MG): It's not a stretch to say that skiing has been at Gould for nearly as long as it has been in America. I've got a pair of jumping skis that belonged to an alum from the class of 1933. They were presented to me by the former Gould Nordic coach, a man by the name of Dick Taylor who was also captain of the 1964 U.S. Olympic X-C Team. There is a lot of tradition here of outstanding snow sports and outstanding coaches. People like Dick and going back to the 1950's people like Paul Kailey, a Middlebury alum who helped develop the competitive skiing program here and who was also a pioneer in developing Sunday River. Gould's On-Snow Program today is a continuation of a historically strong offering that is steeped in tradition. Along the way we've added "newer" elements like the competitive freestyle and snowboarding programs and Ski Patrol. Like those before use, we continue to look for ways to make the programs better and continue the tradition.


Q: Why On-Snow right now? Anything special about the opportunities or timing?

MG: These high quality programs offer a variety of opportunities for student-athletes in the winter that are tough to find within the traditional boarding school realm.  

A student at Gould can spend six days a week on the mountain snowboarding or freeriding, developing his/her skills and staying fit. Another student might spend six days a week learning life saving skills, working toward certification as a member of the National Ski Patrol. And finally, a student can train hard six days a week with a qualified, full time coaching staff made up of former NCAA Division I racers and coaches. There is something for everyone who enjoys being on the hill or on our 40km on-campus trail system.


Q: Do you envision On-Snow growing into a pillar or major component of the school?

MG: I'd say it is a large component and one of many unique programs that sets Gould apart from other traditional New England private boarding schools. We're only six miles away from Sunday River Ski Resort. The backside of the mountain is the backdrop for our campus. Our relationship with and proximity to arguably the best ski resort in the northeast with some of the most varied terrain is very attractive and difficult to find anywhere else in the East. But, it's not about being a pillar or a major component. As I heard recent alum and current U.S. Ski Team member Bump Heldman '07 say this past fall, "At Gould, I got a great education and could ski with the U.S. Ski Team." He was a standout catcher on the baseball team, a positive member of the community, a great student who was accepted at strong schools, and was the recipient of this year's Eastern Ski Writers Association Award. One of our core values at Gould is to develop the whole person. The On-Snow Program is part of the package.

Q: Can you lay out the pieces of On-Snow and what each might mean to a participating student? Competitive versus non competitive?

MG: Gould's Competition Program provides student-athletes the opportunity to train and compete at the highest level in a number of disciplines: Freestyle, Snowboard, Alpine and Nordic. Skiers and snowboarders compete between 30-50 times a year, travel all over the country and the world, and are on-snow four hours a day six days a week including school vacations. During the off-season, they train in trampoline and water camps and in a variety of summer conditioning programs both on-snow and off. Due to the number of hours required, the Competition Program requires a student-athlete who is truly committed to athletic and academic success.

For students who enjoy competition but are looking for a less rigorous program, Gould offers its Prep Program. This is designed as a traditional prep school team sport, where student-athletes participate in a school race league and compete once a week. The program requires a commitment of three hours a day five days a week when school is in session.

On the non-competitive side, Gould offers some very unique programs. A large number of students take advantage of the Rug Rats Program, teaching local elementary school kids how to ski and snowboard three days a week. Those who participate find the experience to be very rewarding.

Gould's Ski Patrol Program is the only one in the country that helps students become certified members of the National Ski Patrol. The program requires training six days a week including one day of classroom work. Students work with full-time Sunday River patrollers. It typically takes three years of training before a student becomes a certified member and requires a strong commitment.

We also offer a Ski & Ride Program which gives students the opportunity to spend four days a week on the mountain with one day of conditioning. This is a popular program that gives students a way to stay fit and enjoy Sunday River. There are no weekend commitments and the groups are small averaging eight students to one teacher.

Q: How large is the program? What percentage of the student body participates in On-Snow?

MG: It is a large program. This past year approximately 80 percent of our student body (roughly 250 students) were involved.

Q: Is On-Snow designed to work and serve as the focal point of winter sports? Either way does this mean anything for other winter sports such as basketball and hockey?

MG: It is certainly a very popular and robust program, and we have a different class day schedule in the winter to maximize day light hours on the mountain and Nordic trails. The program has little to no impact on our basketball program. Our varsity boys' team won the western Maine Championship two years ago and were in the post season again this year as was the girls' team. Overall, our competitive athletic programs are strong.

Q: On-Snow seems outdoor oriented, does Gould have any notions of expanding On-Snow into the fall or spring programs- giving them any more of an outdoor flavor?

MG: We offer a lot of opportunity for dry land training and conditioning in the fall and spring. This summer we are offering an on-snow training camp at Mt. Hood in Oregon. Going back to our whole person core value, along with academics, athletics, arts and community life, we believe that intensive experiences in the natural world is an important part of developing the whole person. Our location in western Maine on the edge of the White Mountains is a terrific asset and plays a role in our identity. Gould also offers rock climbing, fall student orientation trips, an eight day winter camping trip for the junior class, and each fall the entire school takes a day off to climb a mountain together.

We recently had the opportunity to talk with Javier Colayco, founder of Boarding School Review (BSR), about how his boarding school experience shaped his efforts to help promote & feature boarding schools via the web.

BSR presents school profiles and alumni reviews to families exploring boarding school options. Javier is a 1996 graduate of Northfield Mount Hermon School.

Many thanks to Javier for taking part in the Q&A.

Question (Q): You graduated from Northfield Mount Hermon School. Tell us a little bit about your NMH experience and why you returned to working with boarding schools.
 
Javier Colayco (JC): Northfield Mount Hermon School (NMH) was a terrific experience - I felt I grew so much both intellectually and as a person. I had previously been more of a shy kid, but boarding school drew me out of my shell. It challenged me to become more independent, and as a result I grew more confident of myself. I feel that the more difficult things I've done later in life, such as starting a business, were possible partly because of the growth I experienced while at NMH.

Q: What appeal did working with schools hold for you? How did BSR evolve from an idea to a feature-rich site?
 
JC: Having had such a great experience in NMH, I wanted to help others also discover boarding school. And I recognized that at that time (early 2003), there weren't many websites where families could find college-prep boarding school information. Finding and comparing statistics on schools was difficult. Finding reviews of schools from former alumni was also hard. I thought that starting a website that addressed these difficulties could make the idea of attending boarding school more accessible, broaden the school choices that families would consider, and ultimately attract more students to the school search process.
 
Q: What presented the greatest challenge as you got started in the process?
 
JC: Getting started was probably the hardest part - there's a lot of inertia you need to overcome when starting a new business. It's a bit overwhelming since you're not quite sure where to start. There's naturally also some fear of failure that you need to overcome. This is where it helped to be focused, organized, and very self-motivated - which, coincidentally, are all traits you build in boarding school. Once we committed ourselves to the site and built some momentum, it became much easier to approach and deal with any problems that arose.
 
Q: Did schools welcome your perspective or did they require some convincing?
 
JC: It required some convincing at first, as I think a number of schools were still getting used to the idea of using the Internet as a main channel for reaching out to students. Soon, though, I think they saw that families were increasingly using Boarding School Review, finding it very helpful, and actually drawing in more students to the school search process. What also helped was that we tried to be very receptive to feedback from schools - some of the best features of the site have come from admissions and communications officers making great suggestions.
 
Q: What's the biggest change or adjustment that you had to make in your approach or plan?
 
JC: Initially, we thought that we could basically build a successful site with just our own vision and ideas. But we found out pretty quickly that that there were a lot more people out there - admissions officers, educational consultants, families in the search process - whose input and ideas were often better than ours. So we became much receptive to feedback, and pro-active in looking for any suggestions or areas where we could improve. That change in mindset helped a lot in both improving the site and involving schools in its evolution.
 
Q: What's your relationship with NMH like? Have you been featured in any of their materials or programs?
 
JC: I was actually featured in an NMH brochure - in 1995! I was a student at the time, and I had a small blurb about me since I was singing a brief solo for Christmas Vespers. I don't think the solo went very well, which is why they haven't asked me to appear in any materials since! Nonetheless, I think we're very friendly with the great admissions office and communications people there.

Brewster Academy offers a unique take on the boarding school experience. We recently had the opportunity & pleasure to ask BA's Dean of Studies, Peter Hess, what Brewster's approach to boarding school means to students.

A graduate of Hobart and William Smith Colleges (B.S) and the University of Minnesota (M.Ed. Special Education), Peter joined BA in 1988 and held a number of positions (instructional support and math center teacher, team leader, and director of lower school) prior to becoming Dean in 2005.

Many thanks to Peter for taking the time to participate in our Q&A series.

Question (Q): What's different - for the student - about going to school and learning within the Brewster program?

Peter Hess (PH): This is a comprehensive question. There are lots of ways that a student's learning experience is different at Brewster. The first thing that springs to mind is the individual attention that students get. The whole program is designed to be more responsive to individual needs - from leveled outcomes, to instructional adaptations, to the Instructional Support program - we are very intentional about serving all of our students well.

This individual attention is also characterized in the relationships that students build with their teachers. Comments like the following are common reflections at Brewster:

"Brewster is a lot different then past schools because the teachers really know you more as a person, and are more involved with you in and out of the classroom. They learn about your personality and how to teach you best, and there is always time to go talk to them because even when you aren't in class you see them all over campus," Mike '09.

Another key difference is our recognition system, which rewards students for meeting responsibilities independently.  As a whole, students want to 'earn status' and are motivated to meet expectations in the classroom, in the dorm, and on the athletic field. In any given marking period more than 80 percent of our students earn the privileges associated with the recognition status that they have earned. Some of these privileges include studying in the dorm at night (instead of a classroom), taking "nights out," exclusive use of the library mezzanine lounge area, and use of the Student Center during study hall.

Q: How does the Brewster program shape the student's classroom experience differently?

PH: The key component of our program that makes the classroom experience different is our commitment to the concept of 'best practice'.  Brewster supports practices in the classroom that have a proven record of positively influencing student learning, and we put lots of structures in place to help ensure that these practices are implemented with integrity.

What does this mean for the student? It means that when information is presented in class, students can count on having lots of opportunity to do activities in class that call on them to practice and get feedback on their learning. It means that when they are working within cooperative groups, the activity will be structured so students have to help each other, teach each other, and check on each other's learning.

 
Q: Does Brewster place any special, different, or unique requirements/performance-demands/responsibilities on students?

PH: Brewster is committed to the concept of mastery learning. Students must demonstrate that they have learned the requisite content and reached a requisite skill level on assessments to progress in the curriculum. If a student fails to demonstrate mastery, the teacher assesses the reasons for lack of mastery and then works with the student toward mastery and further assessment. This helps ensure that no student is allowed to progress through the curriculum without staying up to speed.

The other demand that we place on students is to demonstrate their learning in authentic ways. More and more we realize how important it is for students to develop the 'habits of mind' that call on students to inquire, apply, synthesize, research, create, and problem-solve. This has always been part of our design, but we are now looking at even better ways for students to demonstrate their learning in a variety of formats. Technology is an invaluable resource in accomplishing this goal.


Q: What are the different feelings, perspectives, and experiences felt by students as they pursue academics and classroom experiences at Brewster?

PH: It is hard for me to speak for students but some tangible evidence comes from surveys done by students on each of their teachers twice a year. These surveys are overwhelmingly positive (average item ratings over 3.4 on 4.0 scale) and reflect the high level of respect and appreciation that Brewster students have for their teachers.

Comments made by students include:

"Ms. Chaffee is a great teacher! She uses many great techniques to help EVERYONE to learn, and she moves at the perfect pace, and gives us SO many opportunities to ask questions and study in class, so if we have questions we can ask our team, or her. She is also big on STAD groups which is also [great], cuz it really helps us learn and help each other a lot! Ms. Chaffee is an awesome teacher! Keep up the good work!"

 "I thought history was a boring subject but with Mr. Weeks it is fun. The learning environment is very comfortable. Everyone is involved. Mr. Weeks also tries to tie in real life scenarios with the topic we are doing."

 "Ms. Cornwell is a very good IS [instructional support] teacher. She has helped me with setting goals for this year and also has helped me organize and manage my time. Her IS block isn't like a study hall, which is good, but from time to time she will help me organize my thoughts to write a history paper or an English paper."

Q: Given that the student's academic work occurs within a defined teaching team, how does this shape/effect the student's interaction and relationships?

PH:When we first implemented this structure 13 years ago, there were some concerns expressed by students. Now that it is very much a part of the way we do things, students are used to it.  Students interact quite a bit with students on other teams whether it be at meals, in athletics, on clubs, or on weekends.
 
Q: What's the greatest affect of the Brewster program on students/what does every student know or experienced upon graduation?

PH: The biggest affect the program has had on how students are different by the time they graduate is that Brewster students have shown that they can handle challenging academic tasks in a responsible manner.  They have developed skills that will allow them to be successful in college.  As evidence, 96 percent of our students return for their sophomore year in college (the national average is about 70 percent). On a 5-point scale, students rated how well they felt Brewster prepared them for college at 3.8.  Nearly 70 percent of graduates say that Brewster gave them an academic advantage in college. More than 92 percent of the graduates of the past six years (1999-2004) have said that if they were to do it over again that they would attend Brewster.
 

Q: What's the best praise about Brewster's program that you've heard from an alumnus?

PH: We get a lot of positive feedback from alumns on how the Brewster program has helped prepare them for the challenges of all areas of college. Here's just one recent comment from a 2006 graduate:  "Over the past few months I've really had time to reflect on my years at Brewster and have come to realize that they have not only changed my life in a positive way, but have truly allowed me to achieve and put me where I am today. ... I've been able to maintain a 3.94 GPA throughout my first year and a half, am playing varsity lacrosse, and having a great time in college. ... You folks at Brewster support the students and do so much to ensure that we are set up for college and the rest of our lives."

Visit www.brewsteracademy.org to learn more about the school and it's programs.
 

In Part II of our conversation with Mark Sklarow (Executive Director, Independent Educational Consultants Association), he talks about the history and current state of consulting- how it's evolved and what consultants do today.

Question (Q): Tell us a bit about the history of educational consulting- it's beginnings, where it stands, and the future.

Mark Sklarow (MS): Consulting first appeared 30 years ago and for quite some time was a field practiced by only a few dozen specialists with extensive knowledge of the boarding school world. This began to change about 15 years ago when many consultants began adding college consulting to their work. Five years later LD counseling and assistance with students exhibiting emotional and behavioral difficulties also grew. During this time IECA recognized that it was critical that we as an association establish stricter standards, promote training and education and raise the level of knowledge and competence of members. As the field grew both in demand and the number of consultants, increased emphasis on ethics became central to the IECA mission.

Q: How has the industry changed with the rise of the Internet? How have consultants adapted?

MS: The rise of the internet has led across the board to a decline in intermediaries: web users are less likely to need the help of librarians; they go to the source- less likely to need the help of a salesman as they make purchases online; they are even less likely to seek medical advice for small matters, consulting the web.  

This same trend is clear in all areas of school admission: why seek advice when I can open web sites for schools? The answer should be clear: the thousands of matches for boarding experiences, tens of thousands of matches for school admission and the general glut of information has left families more confused, not less. However the role of consultants is evolving. They are no longer intermediaries. Rather, they act as guides, advisors and coaches to help steer families through the hundreds of thousands of information bits to the real, critical information that will serve their needs and the needs of their child.

Q: National internet based consultancies-- how do they work? Any changes in the way consultants works with a family? Are they using tools like web sharing, Skype, etc to bridge the distance gap?  

MS: The basic should remain unchanged: all consultants whether web-based or seen across the kitchen table should be experts who can gather as much information as possible about a student and family and use their years of knowledge and experience to distill information down to what is most useable and the best-possible matches to serve a student's academic, emotional, social and community needs.

Q: Are there any obvious trends into which the industry is moving or trends that are shaping the industry?

MS: Yes, as the field grows, we see a growing specialization of members, especially as it relates to students with special needs: gifted, LD, emotional, behavioral and more. Increased specialization to include practices with increased knowledge of art, music, and athletics is now becoming apparent. Consultants also must know more about public schools, charter school and for-profit institutions in their own community.  

Another differentiation we see is in how services are delivered: in person, internet, evenings...and how fees are assessed: hourly, as a package of services, even as a part of an employee compensation plan. Through it all a major requirement is for consultants to become more knowledgeable, continuing their education and training both in formal settings and through campus visitations.

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We want to thank Mark again for participating in our Q&A series. Drop us a note if you have ideas for future Q&A posts.