<p>I would NEVER ask a school's admission's officer whether they suspend or expel students and to cite the reasons. It would be weird and worrying. It would make the admission's officer think there was a potential problem with the child.</p>
<p>Parlabane, that's a risk, of course. However, I am not only concerned about admission. I am concerned about how the school is run. There are schools which have wonderful codes of conduct in their handbooks, but do they enforce them? An admissions officer should be able to answer this question. If they can't, or won't, that tells me a great deal about the school, particularly if the school caters to the wealthy and connected.</p>
<p>It's like focussing on the marriage, instead of the wedding. I want to find a school which believes in its code of conduct, and takes the trouble to discipline the children under its care. If it doesn't, then I won't place my child in the care of people whom I can't trust. I want to know what to expect, if the school has to deal with incidents of hazing, of theft, or use of drugs and alcohol. All schools have to deal with such things from time to time. If they've never had any such incidents, they're either lying, or turning a blind eye to misbehavior. It could also be that they have inadequate dorm coverage. No matter how careful an admissions department is, they are still dealing with young human beings.</p>
<p>The students a school weeds out from its community should be as important to you as those it admits. The question is fair and need not be phrased as being asked out of concern for the applicant's imminent brushes with the school's disciplinary authorities.</p>
<p>If they're expelling many students, then they're serious about the rules. Then again it says something about the track record for who they're prone to admit. And maybe the numbers of expelled students is high because the school fails to establish checks and safeguards that would modify student behavior. If they're not expelling students, maybe the school runs a tight ship and admissions does a better-than-average job of vetting applicants. Then again, maybe they're turning a blind eye to serious problems or the school doesn't take certain matters as serious as you'd like them to.</p>
<p>There's no "right" answer to the question. It's a gateway question to a very interesting discussion on the school administration's attitudes on student life.</p>
<p>It's a really valid question, but it might be better to wait until revisit day. You can often find out more by networking and asking current students what the real scoop is.</p>
<p>I appreciate your points Periwinkle and D'yer Maker, but I still think questions like "Do you ever suspend or expel students? If so, for what reasons?" and, "Have any students left this year?" in the middle of an Admission's interview is bad messaging. But maybe I'm reacting negatively to the word choice. For instance, a question like "does the School have a code of conduct? How well is it supported by the kids and faculty?" opens the same discussion without worrisome subtexts.</p>
<p>Biohelpmom's point that the "revisit" day is a better time to ask the suspend/expel question makes a lot of sense.</p>
<p>Inquiring about the student attrition rate may soften the blow somewhat. This can be followed up with a question regarding the reasons students typically leave before graduation. Of course if you're not particularly interested in softening blows, substitute "attrition rate" with "churn factor".</p>
<p>Parlabane, I agree that it can be badly phrased, and that I'd want to be very careful about raising the point. It's an important question, however, and I'd want to know the answer before sending in a deposit, or saying "no" to other schools.</p>
<p>I'd prefer to send our child to a school whose values we share. That's the point of the exercise. One way to raise it would be to ask about the school's health program, as such programs should discuss sex, drugs, alcohol, and other risky behavior.</p>