I meant nationwide, not just bs. I don’t remember seeing any news articles about it. I doubt the college counselors know that kind of thing any more than anyone else who reads education articles on the internet instead of tea leaves.
I was sorta kidding in asking. I highly doubt it is enough to make a difference.
Eta: the Cate senior class is ending up smaller than usual (70 instead of 75), but I didn’t attribute that to kids going elsewhere to repeat a grade, though much of it is probably pandemic-related. There are no new seniors. For a tiny school, it only takes a couple of kids to not come back (which probably happened everywhere), for the difference to be felt. But 5 kids doesn’t really matter in the college apps game. There’s not a ton of overlap in demographics/where people are applying anyway. Kids aren’t really directly competing with each other for college spots because their profiles and college lists are so different.
I seriously doubt it. Public schools don’t let kids choose to repeat. They resist holding even failing kids back. And the majority of kids in this country are in public school.
Agree – the impact of Covid is not yet understood and it is likely far more profound than we realize.
I will say that 100% my two kids who are at BS are way better off there than had they stayed at home. Doesn’t mean there aren’t Covid challenges to BS life (and life in general), but they are thriving, and I do think a big part of that is due to the culture at their school. Nothing’s perfect, but I feel super good about their decisions on where they ended up this year.
Last year, I saw first hand how the perfect storm of Covid + wrong fit school could come together, and honestly, I’m now just cautiously optimistic that we are coming out of that at least a little.
Posting here for parents looking at Mercersburg - Fall Open House on November 8th. If you are even a tiny bit considering MB, then I would really urge you to visit campus. I can see why the vast majority of people who visit campus convert into applications because it is truly spectacular. (Every time I am there, I say to my husband: “how is this campus for 440 kids??!!”)
Wednesday is your last chance to register for our Fall Open House! Join Mercersburg students, parents, faculty, and staff next Monday, November 8, and get to know us in person with a campus walking tour, small group Q&A, and info sessions. Lunch will also be provided. Learn more and register at http://■■■■■■/2VeXSXv
I can tell you that I know 3 public school students who should be juniors being “home schooled” this year, with plans to enroll in a private school in September as a Junior for athletic reasons. All are football players that decided to forgo this abbreviated/covid season to lift and train, so they can get an extra year of eligibility in high school and an extra year to be recruited since recruiting is so backed up due to covid and college athletes getting an extra year of collegiate eligibility.
such a great point. I am a public school teacher in a poverty area. We have been instructed NOT to reteach prior grade level work. We MUST teach grade level content and standards. There is literally a mandate that does not allow us to effectively remediate reading and math for general education kids. For kids with IEP’s there is a tad more flexibility but teachers are instructed to still teach to grade level standards regardless.
It’s insane. Don’t understand multiplication? That’s ok, we are going to head straight into division. What could go wrong.
And of course, by the time they get that figured out and are ready to actually learn division, it’s time to move on. And the pattern will continue, until someone teaches them how to upsell the french fries with the hamburger.
If you are in the position to be sending your kid to BS, you can probably get a tutor if necessary. But these low income kids are just going to be left behind. The adults have failed them. Again.
the tragedy I witness daily is real…and the kids I work with do not have parents who are involved in their lives who are able to pick up the slack, as most of this is generational poverty and the goal of these parents is put food on the table and keep a roof. . So, again, the divide just grows in the name of standardized testing.
Are you sure you aren’t teaching in my school district?
Back in elementary school, half the girls in my kid’s Girl Scout troop had at least 1 parent who was a felon. Some had lived in emergency housing. We has a parent meeting for Cookie training where moms were comparing their psych meds - not just the bio-polar meds but the schizophrenia ones, that they were not taking as prescribed.
Less than 20% of the kids scored as “proficient” at grade level ELA skills on the state exams.
The skill gap gets wider every year, as the lost kids get loster. It is such a waste of potential.
I do not have an answer. I honestly struggle since I have an understanding that part of the many pieces of the puzzle of this problem are families like mine, who opt out of public schools. I just, though, am not willing to sacrifice my children’s opportunities to try and solve a systemic problem. Meanwhile the divide gets bigger as I lament about it as I sit is district meetings recognizing the huge trench that exists.
Coming into boarding school, I didn’t think the Covid restrictions would be that big of a deal but now that I’m here on campus it’s almost unbearable. I want us all to be safe and I’m in support of masking especially since I go to a school with a ton of day students. But I will say this the administration of my current school does not give two flying hoots about boarding students or our mental health when they place these terrible and unbelievable restrictions. I have so many thoughts on this, and if you want to hear them pm me:)
I’m so sorry you are feeling this way. We had the same opinion of Kiddo1’s school last year. Unfortunately, not every school is finding a good balance between covid precautions and student (and faculty) mental health. It is a really frustrating side of covid. I hope that your school is able to loosen some of the restrictions soon and that you get the chance to have the true boarding school experience.
My kid feels strongly that their BS is handling the covid risk well, and very well compared to two other BS that we know and the LDS attended by siblings. The fact that there are relatively few day students plus a remote location with a very low community case load certainly helps. Last weekend’s comment from kiddo was “it’s like covid doesn’t exist here”.
There are other issues with mental health and BS, but at the moment, covid doesn’t feel like a significant factor. Since kid is a freshman, we don’t know what a ‘normal’ BS year looks like.
So sorry to hear that. It is really a tough balancing act. My kid’s BS seems to be trying to be ‘back to normal’ as much as they can. But there were a bunch of Halloween events including a ‘dance’ and a lot of viral crud has been spread around, resulting in a bunch of sick kids. This was happening pre-covid too, but now with covid in the picture kids can’t just come to class with just cough or runny nose even if their covid test is negative. So they are missing classes and with no remote option anymore mightily stressing about missed instruction time while feeling sick. And any sickness is just putting everyone on edge. And flu season is only starting now.
That’s interesting. My daughter had a cold (along with seemingly half the school) this past week and went to the health center. They checked for fever, took a swab for a test and gave her meds for the congestion. No fever, no need to stay out of classes.
Same for Deerfield. Tons of kids sick with nasty colds the first month. No Covid. No missed classes. They have been back with full social events and no masks since day 1. Campus is pretty isolated, vaccines required. So far so good knock on wood!
Wow. It’s truly amazing how different schools are handling covid. At Groton the kids are still wearing masks inside. No one allowed in dorms that aren’t their own. Masks in dorms. No eating in common room.