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School open days – answering critical questions

11:12 PM 26 May 2010.

In the previous lead article certain key questions were posed that go to the heart of crucial issues that parents wish answers when considering a school for their son or daughter. 

We elaborate on some of these questions in the following supplementary comments.  

 

Will my child’s educational experience create a happy yet challenged student rather than a stressed pupil in a pressure cooker learning environment?

Pressure on young people in today’s complex society continues to grow.

Societal, family and peer pressures can place a young person into a position of loneliness, anxiety or withdrawal, all of which can seriously impair their learning.  

Independent schools offering quality education will provide a learning environment where each student feels secure and valued.

The school chosen for the new enrollee should clearly demonstrate it engages with each student and provides personal goals that are realistic and achievable.  

Schooling should not constitute a stressful time for any student but a period of maturity and personal growth where often lifelong friendships and associations are forged. 

How could your school address this question?

With honestly and integrity.

Offer genuine comments from students – past and present - to address this issue.

Highlight the positive culture and organisational climate of the institution over time.

Provide endorsements from stakeholders – current parents, staff and school leaders.

Give examples of student:staff interaction which address this issue.  

 

What makes education at an independent school different from other school offerings?

All independent schools differ marginally.

Certain schools have built up varying reputations for academic or ancillary achievements, for strong pastoral support programs or because of certain values or faith-based philosophies.  

In selecting an independent school parents make a commitment, both financially and philosophically, to a learning environment which they believe offers the best opportunities for their child.  

Enrolment choice may identify a sense of discipline or a school culture in which the child is increasingly valued.

Many schools broadly claim they strive to develop ‘the whole person’, a concept which needs to be clearly understood and enunciated by staff to ensure they can back such a statement with learning evidence otherwise the comment is trite and meaningless. 

Savvy parents – and the vast majority will attend open days having extensively investigated a range of school alternatives – will quickly see through glib, unsubstantiated statements  

How could your school address this question?

Present commentators who can identify factual school differences across education sectors.

Share and discuss specific learning opportunities within the school.

Highlight socio-economic interplays within the school community that engage all stakeholders - students (past and present, families, staff, benefactors and institutional leaders.

Provide honest and reliable evidence of student involvement in school life.

Stress the diversity of opportunity available to most schools in the non-government sector.  

 

Would my child do better by attending an independent school?

School education is a complex matrix of interacting factors which must be tailored to the individual learning needs of the pupil. 

Many principals argue that by attending an independent school a student would achieve a more comprehensive range of outcomes over and above a government school.

This sometimes subjective assumption may not mean the school was ‘better’ than either another independent institution or a government high school. 

The intermixing of schooling factors to determine outcomes is further conditioned by influences beyond the control of the family or the student.

These include matters such a staffing quality and performance, curriculum observance, a myriad of ancillary influences such as class sizes, a conducive learning environment, teacher dedication, operating stability, strong discipline to constrain anti-social behaviour, parent support programs, classroom teacher partnering, IT support, etc. 

The question of whether a young person will be a successful student often lies with the suitability and acceptance of the school culture and ethos and its appropriateness to the child’s specific learning and developmental needs plus the expectations and support from parents.

These needs can vary between siblings which means a school that is suited for one child may be less suitable for another. 

How could your school address this question?

Highlight learning improvements for particular student profiles.

Confirm quantitative data that identifies clear ‘value added’ performance across student cohorts.

Publicise student successes across the gamut of schooling – academic, sporting, cultural, communal, etc.

Highlight student support programs.

Secure alumni endorsement for particular post-school skills.

Praise and acknowledge the schools ‘outstanding achievers’.  

 

Aren’t all schools the same?

No. Schools can vary considerably across all sectors.

Parents have the right to choose a school which reflects their personal and family values and beliefs and which best fit the developmental and learning needs of their child. 

Cross related student respect and tolerance for difference should highlight that schools differ in their character and in their response to related issues.

Similarly the culture of staffing passion for teaching – as expressed in the achievement of all students – is an endemic quality that can and will separate institutional success.  

Open days should share with parents the particular qualities of learning as expressed in co-education or single sex institutions or the hybrid learning patterns and curriculum diversity which are particular relevant to individual student learning in your school. 

How could your school address this question?

Highlight programs and systems that outlaw or address anti-social behaviour and disruptive attitudes within the school.

Point to the tradition of learning embedded within the school culture.

Clearly state the positive student outcomes that are achievable from the school’s faith or mission standards.

Highlight qualities being gained by church-based school affiliations.

Illustrate examples of student behavioural change and its influence on other students and school life generally.

Discuss the governance qualities of your school and its supporting administrative and management controls.

Share the evaluation processes that take place with staff to ensure the continuing professionalism among all teachers.  

 

Isn’t a private school elitist?

The community’s perception that independent schools are elite is a misconception – generally happily perpetrated by the media – that is far from the actuality of school operations. 

It is true that some independent schools have chosen selective enrolment structures based on student’s academic ability. That is their choice.

Certain government selective schools, especially in NSW and Victoria, have adopted similar enrolment criteria.

Demand for student places in these selective schools far exceeds enrolment availability but no question is raised that such government institutions are selective and therefore academically elite. 

The majority of independent schools accept students from all socio-economic levels.

In this enrolment sense they differ little from normal government schools although they generally draw from a wider geographic area than many government secondary schools. 

Such comprehensive enrolments means students are generally mixing with a wide cross section of community backgrounds and student interests.

Most independent schools are justifiably proud that their students come from sometimes 40-plus ethnic or language sub-groups.  

How could your school address this question?

Demonstrate the broad cross-sectional character of your institution.

Highlight student works and achievements that are based on cross-cultural programs.

Indicate the extent and level of community involvement and participation by the school and its students.

Highlight programs that address international challenges or key domestic social issues, including disadvantaged or indigenous community schooling.

Provide personal comments from students across the broad enrolment spectrum.  

 

How much do high marks matter?

Every child’s schooling is a pre-conditioner for post-school study or vocational pursuits or to enable young people to enter the workforce with confidence and assurance.

Education also seeks to encourage lifelong learning so that the exploration of ideas and the striving for knowledge that schooling encourages continues into adult life. 

Satisfactory marks and appropriate learning standards matter.

This aspect of schooling will remain critically important as learning enters an increasingly competitive internationalism based on greater personal mobility and stronger interaction for jobs and positions, domestically and internationally.

While non-academic selective enrolment means most schools face a normal curve pattern of student academic ability this reality should never diminish a school’s objective to challenge students to attain their highest level of academic achievement, irrespective of their intellectual capacity. 

How could your school address this question?

Highlight public and private examination results.

Stress the foundational aspect of learning at your institution in relation to post-school success stories.

Concentrate on value-added learning outcomes between differing academically able students.

Highlight programs of student acceleration and learning individuality.

Stress individual student examples of achievement in vocational, ancillary, or associated learning pathways.

Stress the role of internationally-accredited learning programs.

Highlight staffing experiences and achievements that will directly affect and influence a child’s learning.

Stress staffing qualifications, awards and educational recognition that provide mentor/group learning growth.  

 

Is an independent school affordable and am I getting value for money?

Many families would like their child to attend an independent school but tuition fees present a real and unaffordable barrier to student enrolment. 

Despite this situation many families readily choose to make personal sacrifices to give their children an education opportunity at an independent school that perhaps they did not enjoy or because they determine this education choice is in the best long term interest of their child. 

Most independent schools offer a range of scholarship or bursary opportunities that provide schooling opportunities for less financially-able families. 

While the question of value for money can be highly subjective the bulk of independent school families do not have unlimited financial resources so the issue of education return is important.

Accountability for education outcomes – which can take many forms – will be an increasingly critical issue for many independent schools in a more sensitively priced education matrix facing increased competition within an essentially static enrolment demand market. 

How could your school address this question?

Provide evidence that shows fee affordability may be possible in certain family circumstances.

Ensure the school community is aware that stringent cost control measures apply to maintain enrolment affordability.

Provide comprehensive details on scholarship and bursary opportunities.

Stress the considerable effort being made to increase endowment support from the school community.

If appropriate direct parents to certain pre-payment programs that seek to limit the impact of tuition fee payments.

Stress that early intervention and saving plans to cover future tuition costs will temper forward fee payments.

Honestly address the cost of non-government education, including reliable cost projections in the medium term.

Highlight the successes of former student cohorts – and former families - whose parents also struggled to finance their child’s schooling but who are eternally grateful for the educational qualities the school provided.  

 

Is there a work-life balance for students?

It is important for parents and the school to recognise an appropriate balance within family and school life for all students.  

Students attending an independent school will be required to meet homework and study guidelines as many schools hold a strong values philosophy towards work ethics and learning performance.

Because dedicated staff should be aware of student circumstances parents should be confident that an independent school knows about and addresses student/family circumstances and possesses the systems and attitudes which enable lifestyle balances to be shared and discussed. 

How could your school address this question?

Stress your school’s approach to house support or pastoral care programs that deal with individual student difficulties.

Highlight staffing structures and curriculum programming that enables student focus time within the timetable.

Stress staff qualifications and experience that enable student’s personal issues to be addressed.S

hare the importance of parent discussions and parenting programs within the school’s philosophy.

Schools with faith-based philosophies should describe how these characteristics relate to student development.

Describe alumni mentor programs and/or work experience that can influence a balanced student outlook.  

 

 

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