Does anyone have any perspective on work life balance happiness, sleep,work load and community at SPS vs PA. I have some idea about PA and know many kids are miserable - is SPS just as stressful, sleepless and intense? The stress at PA seems the norm not exception and a neuropsychologist I know who cares for kids there (not an employee of school) describes it as unrelenting. Is SPS the same or are there ebbs and flows as well as sleep?
We know kids who found SPS unrelenting and miserable, and kids who found a great balance and really thrived there…
I would assume that at any school filled with high performers there will be some degree of competition, pressure (often self inflicted) and stress.
What do the schools do to be proactive in preventing or identifying issues? How do they make sure no one slips through the cracks? How do they scaffold and support? What is the ratio of adults and students affiliated with each dorm? What programs do they have to help to build a close community and to equip kids with healthy coping skills?
These are all concrete questions that might be more useful than asking for a “general” sense based on anecdotal data.
Will vary among individuals, but the SPS community tends to be very happy. Issues at PA are fairly well publicized.
What are the fairly well publicized issues at PA?
I Wonder if the new head of school at SPS will introduce mindfulness training, which has been so successful at Middlesex
While not required, SPS has weekly mindfulness sessions which are open to everyone on campus. Some teachers also incorporate mindfulness into their classes.
BTW, I posted a long response about workload at SPS on another thread. http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/22111968#Comment_22111968
IMO, and it of course varies student to student, in general SPS is a smaller and more traditional boarding school experience that is isolated from its city of Concord. Picture a version of Hogwarts including an emphasis on the houses. PA (and PEA) are larger with college campus settings with a similar “college” vibe and a little more independence. That says nothing about quality of programming, student engagement, etc, but truly totally different vibes. Full revisit days are key if you have a child accepted to both. My son and I had COMPLETELY different preferences when he applied to these schools. Fortunately my preference as a parent was a waitlist, and his first choice was the acceptance.
That does not answer your question about pressure and workload as it is entirely child by child. If your child is accepted, generally more likely than not he/she will thrive.