<p>I am wondering if anyone can share their experience regarding the reaction of PS administrators to the applicant. I can't exactly hide the fact that my son will be applying to BS because I'll need their recommendations. I'm hoping for two things to happen:</p>
<h1>1 - They'll agree that my son is not being challenged and that Prep School is the correct path.</h1>
<h1>2 - They'll do everything they can to help him get admitted just so they don't have to deal with me anymore asking why there is no play, debate team, quiz bowl, newspaper, etc.</h1>
<p>Of course, I suppose I should also prepare myself for indignation and the question, "What? Our school's not good enough for your children?!" And I keep in mind that it will be a rhetorical question.</p>
<p>Has anyone else, coming from public school, experience a negative reaction?</p>
<p>We got some initial negative feedback from administrators due to the fact that they were going to lose one of their better students but in the end both admin and teachers were very cooperative.</p>
<p>"We've never had anyone do that before," and they aren't familiar with the school names let alone anything else about them. That said, they're supportive.</p>
<p>From our public school, we typically see 1-3 kids per year out of 300+ look at boarding schools so it is not common but the teachers/admins are comfortable doing it. Usually, these kids are among the "cream of the crop", as one teacher wrote on my daughter's evaluation form, so the school is very supportive and excited for the opportunity for these students. Everyone was more than helpful. Old teachers enjoy getting an update when we see them and my daughter will pop in to visit them once or twice on breaks during the school year to say howdy.</p>
<p>I think the best teachers fully understand the limitations of public school and how it can't be all things to all students.</p>
<p>I have a similar concern. My daughter attends a school that she openly loathes, she has even told the principal that she does not like the school. I am very involved in the school and very cordial with the principal and teachers. However, the community we live in is very much family focused and the few people I mentioned her interest in boarding school to were shocked and appalled that I would even consider allowing my daughter to leave home and attend a boarding school. </p>
<p>Anticipating this reaction, I worked with the guidance counselor to get recommendations for summer programs that my d wanted to apply to so that they would not be shocked when we started asking for boarding school recommendations in the fall. This allowed her to talk with her teachers about her experiences at her current school and what she was looking for from a school. Her math teacher told me afterwards, that she now understands why my d wanted to attend school in the east and I don't think the request for boarding school recommendations will be such a surprise this fall.</p>
<p>We found when we went from public to private (now granted this was in elementary school) that the teachers were supportive and the administration was insulted. I felt bad because I knew the teachers for years. The teacher my son WOULD have had for 5th grade had he not left I had known since I was 12 (I used to babysit for her daughter). I wanted her to know it wasn't personal - she understood and said "he'd be #26 in the class, I'd do it too if I could, and he needs more of a challenge."<br>
We had actually applied one year and it didn't work out FA-wise and that year we returned the principal was like "oh, you're still here? I thought you left." With an attitude. Luckily at that age, she didn't have to write a recommendation.</p>
<p>At the very least, it seems like it was a conflict of interest with her school, kind of like asking an ex-husband for a rec for the new one.</p>
<p>They have every reason to try to keep talented kids in their school to bring up the averages in the relentless testing regimen. My Ds teachers who wrote the recs did tell her they were disappointed she wouldn't be returning and the guidance counselor tried to talk her out of it.</p>
<p>But there apparently wasn't anything unfriendly in the recommendations and things arrived on time, so they supported my D in the end.</p>
<p>My son was in a great position because the guidance counselors at the middle school both also worked at the high school. My son did do one year at the public hs and they normally require phys ed. and art of all freshman. The guidance counselor personally put my son's schedule together so that he had 8 college-prep courses, most of them honors level. She got him out of taking the art and phys-ed because they new the bs would want to see good grades in the most rigorous curriculum possible. We didn't even request this; she just went ahead and did it. Evidently, the computer plugged him in to the required PE this year, though. A friend of mine who works as an aide at the school, told me his name was on the phys-ed roster, and he was marked "absent". (They are as organized as ever!)</p>
<p>My son is the only student in his class of 54 kids to apply to boarding school. A couple of weeks after he was accepted to boarding school, I ran into the principal and told her that he had been accepted and which school he had chosen. She said, "Oh, he's going to boarding school?"</p>
<p>My husband and I had each had a conversation with her previously where we discussed his application/recommendations. She doesn't exactly have her finger on the pulse of the student body (forgive the pun!) It was all I could do to keep from saying, "THIS IS WHY HE'S LEAVING!"</p>
<p>We're counting down the days of mediocrity!</p>
<p>Neatoburrito -- I understand how you feel. While my S's small private school goes to 9th grade, the 9th grade class size dwindles from 28 to about 12 (and while the academics are great, there are no ECs or sports). He's been there since kindergarten, but the administrators really put on pressure to stay for 9th grade (in a nice way). But my S was ready to move on, with a few others from his class also applying to BS. At the outset, we truthfully told them that we were keeping our options open when asking for recommendations (in fact, we never really thought he would go to BS in 9th grade -- and wanted to explore the process to see if it was an option for 10th grade, as well as apply to some local private schools as well.) Though every single teacher from whom we asked a recommendation said they were against him going to BS for 9th, they must have written something ok because he got into his top choices. Still, we loved the school that he has been at, and it was very difficult to tell them that he wouldn't be back in 9th. They were all congratulatory and gracious. Good luck to you!!</p>
<p>My administration? I don't think they know. Heck, I STILL don't think they know. All the teachers I asked for recommendations (and subsequently help with other things) were really supportive. And my guidance counselor did what she could to help. my mother was only mad for a while because she was slightly pushing UHS, and didn't really know about private or boarding options.</p>
<p>Actually, besides problems with a past principal, my administration has been good. A little clueless on somethings, a bit too caring, and too many changes from stuff that works, but they've been better then my first two years.
Actually, it's my district board that bothers me. My science honors class was forced to take the state science test (although in previous years we got exempt) to bump up the school scores. After it, we still have astrnomy to get through, my half has 50 thousand labs to get through, ANd we have to study for the science regents.
...But I can go on. of course, I TRY hard not to bash. And I've gone on.
Good day!</p>
<p>For our family, the Catholic middle school was very supportive. The school goes from 5 to 8, so all of the 8th graders are leaving. Many go to the local public high school, many go to local Catholic high schools. True, we have a somewhat different situation where the applicant lives with a single senior citizen as guardian, so everyone could understand part of the family's decision to apply to boarding schools. </p>
<p>I think while administrators and teachers may give off some "why are you leaving" attitude, the majority of educators will be honest on recommendations. so that if the student is doing well, the teachers won't purposefully downplay his/her accomplishments just to prevent them from going away.</p>
<p>And, I have a feeling that when some parents in the area where my niece lives realize how much financial aid can be available at some boarding schools, she may start a trend of other students looking at boarding school as an option!</p>
<p>My son's teachers were supportive in that they wrote the recs and were nice about it, but he received an unbelievable amount of pressure to stay. The director of the school and of fa both had meetings with me and I received a lot of phone calls. Most of the "pressure" came from people involved in his lax world. One of the coaches that talked to him alot through out the process had kids that went to Exeter and Choate - good for his kids but not for mine.
Initially, he was incredibly flattered then it became annoying. </p>
<p>He is at a great private day school but it is small with mediocre athletics so he wanted more. I tried to thank everyone for supporting him. That way they would feel stupid if they didn't....</p>
<p>S goes to a K-9 school. The school is very proud of its US prep school placement capability and is extremely supportive of 9th graders applying to boarding schools. They offer SSAT review and even have 9th graders do mock interviews during class time. It is very different for 8th graders applying for BS 9th grade, though. While individual teachers are supportive, one always gets the feeling that top administration and trustees are unhappy about 8th graders leaving for boarding or other high schools. Of course, I can understand this... it means lost revenue b/c new students seldom join just for grade 9 and with a dwindling 9th grade, it is difficult to offer a high quality program. This year, the post-8th attrition is especially high. Since there will be no school-sponsored events, the 8th grade parents are organizing a private year-end party... sort of an underground graduation.</p>
<p>Ah, my school administration. I'm afraid you touched on a rather touchy issue for me. Out of 600, I am number 11 in my grade. That may not be top 10, but it is the top 2%, and I go to one of the brightest schools in my area. So you would think my administration might care a little bit, or at least know my name. I assure you, my counselor knows my name because I didn't get into a class I signed up for next year (not a big deal, since I'd already told the teacher I wouldn't be returning. That's WHY he dropped me, so he could accept someone else), and my principal knows my name because he asked me who I was and who had given me the big candy bouquet on Valentine's Day. We've sent kids to boarding school before. This was our top year, with 5 kids going next year (I'm the only non-hockey player). They could care less that they're losing their best and their brightest because we're fed up with the admin. In fact, it and the college counseling offices is one of my main reasons for leaving (Once, my counselor got a state school and an Ivy mixed up when a student asked "What's the Ivy in Pennsylvania?")</p>
<p>So, my reaction was complete and utter indifference. Public school, by the way.</p>