In Praise of Small Senior Elementary Schools

As a consultant and a Director of Enrollment I have encountered the problem of parents second guessing the value of a small school for their children as they approach the senior elementary years. It is usually a question of balancing a tween's social needs with their educational needs. Socially, senior elementary students are looking for more activities like dances and more athletic opportunities, things smaller schools can struggle with or are unable to provide. Yet Grade 7 and 8 students are not quite ready to be mainstreamed with Grade 11 and 12 students. Academically, smaller schools generally produce students well prepared for secondary school because they have had all important teacher time in an environment appropriate to their age level. They also have moreĀ opportunities to begin experiencing leadership roles as the 'senior' students in a small school. Parent anxiety about their child gaining entry to selective secondary schools can be…

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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…

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Canadian Boarding School is worth the extra travel time

I get it. Canada is a long way from some parts of the world. This latest recruitment trip I have been on 13 flights spending over sixty-one hours in the air and covering over 25,000 miles visiting countries we have students from or would like to. I really get it. People often ask how I can travel so much and over such great distances? The answer is that the reward is always worth the effort. This holds true for families considering boarding school. Canada is worth the effort. For a prospective student, studying in Canada is rarely an extra flight compared to what they would have to take to get to a boarding school in the US, UK or Switzerland. Once on the flight it might be two or three movies more, or if they are anything like my kids, they might sleep the whole way. But once they arrive,…

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