Our friend, Leo Marshall, Director of Admission & Financial Aid, The Webb Schools, wrote an excellent article (Eight Questions Every Parent Should Ask an Admission Director) for our parent site, AdmissionsQuest, that we consider a must read for every family considering independent schools.

He encourages parents to answer these eight essential questions in effort to help them focus on what matters most when looking at schools- identifying the best fit between school and student. He gets to the core of how prep schools nurture & cultivate the very best from their students.

1. Will my child be known?

2. Will the school embrace the curious?

3. Will my child be encouraged to dream?

4. Will thinking out loud be expected?

5. Are right and wrong defined?

6. Are teachers coaches or simply givers of information?

7. Will mastery of subjects be expected?

8. Are teachers allowed to be teachers and parents allowed to be parents?

You can hear more from Mr. Marshall in our video conversation above.

Over the years he has contributed to articles and commentary to both AdmissionsQuest and onBoarding Schools talking to families about how to think about admission situations and topics.

Tom is specially attuned to students with learning differences and special needs.

Financial Aid

…I am writing to tell the readers not to despair… all boarding schools offer generous financial aid to families who can demonstrate financial need. Yes, the application process can be daunting, but the end result may be admission to a terrific boarding school program where your son or daughter can shine. And the great thing about financial aid is that your request for aid does not have any impact on admission to the school….

Special Needs

….Families oftentimes find it a daunting task to identify the right boarding school for the “special” child. Websites and brochures don’t give enough detailed information for a parent to make an informed decision. Current psychological and academic testing may be inconclusive so parents don’t understand the problems or how to best treat them. Some families seek the counsel of an educational consultant to help them sort through the various options. Whether a family uses a consultant or searches on their own, it is vital to find the school that is the “right fit”; one that can address the child’s unique learning style…

Junior Boarding Schools

…Most people are not aware of the fact that there are a number of boarding schools that serves the needs of boys and girls of middle school age (10-15). Some of these schools are for high achieving, highly motivated students; others are for children who struggle with some aspect of the learning process and for whom academics can be a challenge. This range is one of the great things about junior boarding schools; there is a place for anyone…

Also sat down with Head of School John Kerney for a podcast conversation to learn how the school connects a global perspective with a strong skills based curriculum. You can listen to the episode by visiting our parent site, AdmissionQuest: The Winchendon School: Rooted in Strong Skills with a Global Perspective

Also took a number of photos of campus. Enjoy!