I attend a number of school fairs every year in Canada and around the world. They serve a very important purpose but you must take in what you learn and afterward evaluate all that you have been told. Yesterday, in Mexico, a woman arrived at my table and said "every school I have visited so far has told me they are the best, are you the best too?" My reply was, "that depends on what you are looking for." Was it an ESL program? No, we offer ESL support instead of full classes. Was it the best boarding program? Maybe, tell me more about your child... Remember, it is all about finding the right fit and the 'best' program for your child. At this fair, there were public school home stay programs for $20,000, private for profit boarding schools with almost entirely international student populations for $36,000, then there were…
LCS Blog
the Voice of LCS
A matter of size – “the right size” school for every student
School size can be a key factor in school selection. It can also be a defining characteristic of a school, so much so that in LCS's case, the Trustees have decreed that the school shall not have a student body of more than 365. Sometimes we end up at 366 when the dust settles at the end of our offer period, but to end up with 367 we have to get Board Chair approval. We don't bother asking about 368 as we know that is out of the question. Why is size so closely guarded? It can matter in so many ways when choosing the right school. Overall School Size Overall school size limits what classes can be offered. It is great to have a high school of over 400 or 500 when offering the IB as you need more students to ideally and affordably offer everything at the higher…
Read moreA matter of size – “the right size” school for every student
Lakefield College School and this Blog
I have to admit, LCS is one of the finest boarding schools in the world. It is largely to do with what is known as "The Lakefield Difference" defined or mentioned by hundreds of grads in their chapel speeches over the years. But this blog is not just about LCS, it is about fit and every family finding the 'right' school for them. Over the next year, my hope is to delve into most of the components of fit in choosing a school. In discussing fit, surely LCS will form the basis for describing different aspects of fit but for every ying there is a yang, and what is important to one student or family may not be to another. Readers should use each post or example as food for thought and reflection about what is most important to them when choosing a school.