Very well said. I think what comes through in the responses of the Andover students is that the school’s non sibi culture has clearly made its mark on those who attended or are attending the school. Andover has wonderful caring teachers who care a lot for their students and this is clearly reciprocated by their students. This year is not an ideal situation for anyone, but I appreciate the school balancing the needs of the teachers and the students. Andover is not broken. The way the school handle this pandemic is consistent with it non sibi values.
This is a classic case of customer vs. consumer in the business world. The customer is the individual or entity purchasing the product or service, while the consumer is the end user of the product or service. In many cases, they are one and the same; but, when they are not, the difference in perceived value of the product or service can be very, very different.
Take diapers as an example. The consumer is the baby, while the customer is the parent or caregiver. To the baby, the value is in the pictures of animals on the outside and how soft the diaper is. To the parent, the value is in whether the diaper leaks or stinks when soiled.
The customer is most often the decision maker and one that often seeks practical value, while the consumer tends to be more often driven by emotional response.
It is not surprising that the perception of Andover this year is very different in the eyes of the parents vs the students. Many parents see Andover as a leaky diaper, but the students still like the pictures on the outside.
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I would also note the difference between the POVs of new students vs those who had a normal year or two or three under their belts during which to build a bank of goodwill.
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And students are not footing the bills. My kids like very many things but are still learning about the costs to obtain them. In this situation, one is paying for a service not delivered. Good will can only run so far in one direction. At some point, I’d vote with my feet.
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It’ll be interesting this year to see if any meaningful numbers transfer out.
Do schools release that kind of information? It is not something that I have been able to find.
I’m wondering if this year will have more than usual transfers, particularly at schools that have significant international student populations, where travel has been challenging and learning online in distant time zones must have been dire.
That’s really, really hard to do. How many BS’s are going to accept a 10th, 11th grader? And what’s worse is your kid has to make friends and connections all over. You’re stuck and they know it, IMO. Not specifically as an Andover comment but BS in general. That’s why fit is so important and getting it right the first time around.
I really feel for any kids/parent when BS doesn’t work out.
None of them share this publicly afaik. You’d have to pal up to an AO and get them to share off the record.
@Happytimes2001 totally agree that there are all sorts of reasons why BS are sticky once you’re there. Maybe what I should have said is “I wonder how many more than usual will try to transfer out?” I’m pretty sure the number is somewhere between 0-1% (max) in a given year. Will that hold after the covid response? Or will there be a spike, even if small.
A challenge for the kids and families regardless. I do think that pretty much any school would be interested in a transfer from PA, at least in the abstract. And I also think that “you’re stuck and they know it” may apply to the PAs of the world to a greater degree than for some schools…
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I tried asking, using that angle at one school, but also didn’t get an answer. They must know how many students aren’t reenrolling since those numbers must be in before M10 so schools know how many spots they should be trying to fill.
AO sounded surprised that I had heard about any kids leaving. Mentioned that kids leaving was the extreme minority and there must have been extenuating circumstances.
Really? I think if you are going to transfer from ANY BS, it is very tough as the number of applications are up. And after all, isn’t the school going to be thinking that you are leaving school A for School B, what makes you think it will work at B? I’d hate to be in that position as a parent. Transition is hard. And if kids have to transition and start anew, that’s tough.
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well, I think that given the name of this thread, school (P)A had a rough governance/administration/leadership year, so the fact that parents are looking at school B means they think highly of the leadership there- unrelated to kid’s adjustment to either place.
I think the #of kids who don’t reenroll at any school may be a little higher than you think. There’s a handful who are not invited back, those who move to another school, those who withdraw for health reasons, and sometimes, the families who just can no longer afford it.
I know kids in all groups at a variety of schools (PA among them).
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Reality check- there is an entire class of private day schools which have BS “non-enrollees” in their population. Whether drugs, alcohol, honor code violations, or just non-performance, these schools know that not every kid who starts at a top tier prep school is going to make it through.
You BS parents honestly don’t know about these places?
@Happytimes2001 Again I should’ve been more specific here. In that particular case I just meant “in general” schools would be interested in kids switching from PA. Agreed that any BS entry is much tougher this year.
@MidAtlanticDad1 Yes I agree that parents may be more the source of a move from PA this year than usual.
@gardenstategal @blossom I was referring only to those leaving by choice, and in particular those moving owed to the school response to covid. Of course there are always financial, behavioral, academic, etc. reasons why kids aren’t invited back, or cannot come back.
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This thread was created in January due to concerns around how Andover was handling COVID this year - communications, students on campus and in classrooms, remote teaching, etc.
Can we agree now that Andover is not “broken”? That things are going in a better direction, and that this fall, it will be a new ballgame?
It’s March, and the title of this thread is past its prime.
The thread title is certainly binary, referring to a specific series of events surrounding a period of time, and what happened has obviously happened.
Yes, the Spring plan as announced seems very positive and if they deliver I think the experience will be good or better than good. Maybe even excellent. I’m certainly hopeful. Personally though I won’t be able to judge whether it’s “still broken” until June 2.
Let me give a specific rationale for this thinking. It’s now been repeatedly conveyed to families that “some” accommodations have been granted to faculty to continue to be remote through the spring. How many is “some?” No one will say. Will my kids have 25% of their classes in person this spring? 50? 75? 90? To me the difference matters, particularly when pretty much all the peer schools were 100% in person over the winter without any real Covid issues. So the bar for PA for the spring is and should be high in this regard. IMO at least.
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This is a priority of a leading , diverse high school ? How about paying attention to your students , many of whom are first or second generation Americans ? Seems like a CV building exercise for the academic class.
@UES14 Not sure I understand your objection to this. It is one priority among several.
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YES. Next question…
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I would hope so!
And fwiw, it’s really common for kids to be really close - teammates, roommates, classmates - and yet never talk about their (often very different) lived experiences. Having diversity is only the first step. Think of it as a party. You got your guest list right. But what are you going to do to ensure everyone feels welcome and has a great time?
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