<p>I'd be interested in both positive and negative advisor experiences to help my D navigate advisor selection for next year. Frankly, I have no idea what a good vs. not good advisor can and should do. Aas far as I can tell, my D's has done nothing more than bring my D food/treats from time to time. The advisor does not share any classes, sports or ECs with my D, so there's no organic interaction and she's super busy with her own teaching, coaching and other activities. My D has no idea what the advisor is supposed to be doing either. Any thoughts on what a great advisor might add or what experiences your kids have had where you really valued their involvement?</p>
<p>Good topic. I want to know too.</p>
<p>I am new to this “rodeo” but I wonder does your d connect with and adult or coach in particular. I was told that sometimes children can change advisors. I met at least 3 people who i have been in contact with at my d new school that I am very comfortable with. I decided to wait and see who my child was placed with before I asked for a change, if at all. But I would contact these other people if my d wasnt get the connections I thought she needed. </p>
<p>Will you d get to choose her advisor for next yr?</p>
<p>My older son’s advisor was amazing. He had his advisees over for dinner every week, he contacted the parents frequently with updates and just to see if we had any questions/concerns. He was a great advocate for our son when issues/problems arose. He helped him select his classes and map his future.</p>
<p>Current son’s advisor…eh, not so hot. Nice guy and all, but not nearly as involved. Wish we had switched.</p>
<p>My son’s advisor as been good when most needed. My son had a very slow start the first days of his new school. He was sad, homesick, confused. Well, his advisor was great. He pretty much held my son’s hand, comforted him, and saw him everyday. Well, once my son shook the homesick blues, there have been few reasons to call his advisor. But when we have called, the advisor has not been as attentive as he was when school commenced…and rightly so, I believe.</p>
<p>So, I think an advisor is doing his job if and when he answers the calls of parents with the proper tone and timing the call merits. Advisors are very busy people, we have found. We have also found that we should only call on them when really and absolutely necessary. The fewer the calls, the better the response, I think.</p>
<p>My d’s observation has been that if an advisor doesn’t have many upperclassmen advisees, then they may not be very good. In other words, the kids will switch to someone else as soon as they get a chance if the advisor is bad. Good ones will keep their advisees from year to year.</p>
<p>My daughter’s advisor has been a super positive aspect of her boarding school experience. She regularly has her six female advisees over for dinner (the advisor is so great that my daughter’s roommates switched to her). When I sensed my daughter was experiencing a rough patch she made time for my daughter and took her for ice cream so they could talk. She regularly updates us on my daughter’s progress and she helps her select her courses. She always answers the my most mundane questions within one day. She is the best!</p>
<p>Like Tzeme, I’ve also had a positive advisor experience. My son’s school has a policy that all advisors/advisees get together twice per week for ½ hour and this time is built into the academic schedule. The groups, commonly referred to as “collections” get together informally, usually at the advisor’s home. All collectons are required to sit together during weekly assemblies. This policy seems fosters a continuous relationship between advisors/advisees, especially for kids who’d tend to venture off on their own, with little or no advisor contact.</p>
<p>I’m not sure what I would have done without K during the early weeks of this first year. Her responses to my email inquiries, panicky phone calls (I haven’t talked to him in FOUR DAYS!!!) were all handled timely, sensitively and managed to somehow match my sense of urgency. Let’s face it; our children are not the only ones who must mature during this process! K and I met last term to discuss his course selections for the fall and that was very helpful.
Now that the school year is ending, students have the option of selecting a new advisor. I asked my son if he wanted to change (thinking perhaps he’d be more comfortable with a male advisor) and he commented “Oh no, I’m staying with K for the next three years!” </p>
<p>I couldn’t be happier with his decision.</p>
<p>The role of an advisor varies by school.</p>
<p>I can describe my experience after 4 years at Blair. At this school, students can select their own advisor. Of course, they may ask a faculty member who already has too many advisees, so a request does not guarantee the advisor. I think some students even have the Headmaster as an advisor. The student can select a new advisor or stay with the same advisor.</p>
<p>The advisor gets to know the student on both an academic and personal level. At Blair, the faculty sits down to discuss each student 2 or 4 times a year, and an advisor can be an advocate for the student at these meetings. An advisor writes a formal letter on progress twice a year to parents, but there can be many communications between these letters. Advisors can help with course placement, advocating for the advisee to get awarded positions such as prefect, can help parents interpret any warnings or awards, etc. Within the school, the advisor is the first stop for parents, so I don’t think I have ever spoken directly with teachers except during parents weekend and informally at events. I probably could have, but never felt the need.</p>
<p>If your child finds a good advisor that she can keep, and she has that advisor for a class, then that advisor also is a wonderful resource for an insightful college recommendation. </p>
<p>At Blair, each student is also assigned an academic monitor who watches over the student’s academic life and helps with course selection. A monitor has many students assigned to him/her, while an advisor restricts how many advisees he/she has.</p>
<p>I feel very fortunate that my son selected a good advisor and stayed with him all 4 years. They know each other, and the advisor also knows me. He has helped many times over the last 4 years, and has always been available. I hope your daughter can do the same.</p>