<p>Proctor Academy has caught my eye. I'm attracted to its experiential learning approach, off-campus programs, environmental focus and seemingly small and tight-knit community. Does anyone have any first-hand knowledge/experience with Proctor? Many thanks in advance!</p>
<p>I don’t particularly have any knowledge about Proctor. It’s not typically discussed here on the forum, but you might run a quick search and find some parents/students willing to chat! It sounds like a wonderful school. My only advice, if you are considering boarding school and/or Proctor, is to first begin with yourselves. Analyze your child and yourselves to see whether you are ready for the experience; after that, research all schools, from HADES to hidden gems to nearby day schools, and go from there.</p>
<p>Proctor is an excellent school. My child was admitted but decided to go elsewhere. Their community is very open and supportive and their curriculum is strong. They are fairly rural (half an hour from Concord, the state capital) and very experiential focused. Their campus is huge and they take full advantage of this for their programming (unlike some other schools with nominally large campuses but which really do not use all the acreage for programming). When we visited, for example (in September) the faculty was encouraging kids to sign out tents and head into the woods for a night over the weekend. </p>
<p>Academically they are strong. Some will peg them as a second tier school, but my child is a straight A/A+, mid 90’s SSAT student, and would have been very well served there. It is one of those schools where the academics may not have the intergalactic cachet of a Deerfield, but where even the strongest student can build a challenging curriculum while having a stellar high school experience. </p>
<p>They have very good learning support services, which are nicely integrated into the school as a whole. This is one of the nicest things about the school, and it was great to see a learning support center which was viewed as a normalized part of the program (indeed, it is nice to have a top notch school with dedicated services of this type at all). They call it the Learning Skills Program.</p>
<p>Their fine arts, wood shop and metal shop area also strong. As you say, their off campus travel opportunities are excellent, and are integrated into the program (i.e. there is no additional fee). I am not sure how easy it is to take advantage of these, as you need to apply each term and the competition might preclude everyone getting to go.</p>
<p>They are big into alpine skiing, although other sports are strong. Their dorms are also very nice (on the top of the list in my child’s opinion). Very focused on renewable energy, too (I recall about geothermal heating for some buildings). </p>
<p>One drawback is that their FA budget is not as strong as some other schools, but if you are full pay and your student is strong academically and a nice and engaging person you have a strong chance of admittance. I know based on conversations with other parents that their admission and FA processes are entirely separate, so they will decide whom to admit, and then offer admission regardless of whether they can offer aid. In this sense they are truly need blind in their admission process, but it ends up with a large pool of admitted students who cannot attend due to finances.</p>
<p>I would have been thrilled if my child ended up there, but she had a slightly different agenda than I and although high on the list it was not the top choice. </p>
<p>@nadk01: Thank you for this very thorough review. There is definitely a theme emerging from all the comments I’ve read. I can’t wait to visit the campus myself in the fall.</p>
<p>MadagascarMom, my son is just finishing up his freshman year at Proctor. I can’t say enough about the place. They offer excellent academics (with strong learning skills for kids who need it), along with both traditional and non-traditional sports and activities, including exceptional experiential learning opportunities, to fit just about any kid. My son is a competitive cyclist who has found his band of brothers. You could replace “cyclist” with just about any sport and the sentence would still be true. We have found the level of communication between teachers/coaches/mentors and parents to be terrific. It is a warm, engaging atmosphere where the teachers are supportive while they also push students to strive, engage, and ultimately find out who they are. The facilities are terrific and the ski hill just won a sustainability award from SKI Magazine. It is top notch. Maybe not big name, but top notch. We feel it’s worth every penny. My husband and I both wish we could be students there! Feel free to PM me if you’d like to learn more about it.</p>
<p>@AlicePalace: Thank you for sharing your son’s experience with me. Proctor comes across to me as a very grounded community, where students can push themselves, explore new interests and truly thrive.</p>
@MadagascarMom I know this thread is over a year old but did you visit Proctor? If so, what did you and your child think?
MODERATOR’S NOTE:
@MadagascarMom has not posted in over a year, so she is unlikely to answer the question. Old posts should be used for research only but not revived, and a new discussion should be started for new questions. Closing.