15Jul 2023 by JarvisandAssociates
From the other side of the desk …

From the other side of the desk …

Updates
[siteorigin_widget class="SiteOrigin_Widget_Image_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget][siteorigin_widget class="SiteOrigin_Widget_Image_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget][siteorigin_widget class="SiteOrigin_Widget_Image_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget] This past admission season has seen acceptances for my students at Berkshire, Choate Rosemary Hall (Summer Session) Loomis Chaffee, and Eaglebrook (Summer Session).     After twenty years in the US and Canada as an admissions director and advancement professional, without forgetting my prior years as a teacher, I now work on behalf of families on the other side of the desk. The dynamics are different now as I counsel and represent families wishing to gain entry into a strong boarding school with the right fit.    Admission staff are there to embody the mission of their school, to listen and get to know the child and family in front of them.    On the other side of the desk are somewhat anxious families heading toward…
Read More
05May 2022 by JarvisandAssociates
Things change. Life happens.

Things change. Life happens.

Updates
[siteorigin_widget class="SiteOrigin_Widget_Image_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget] As an educational consultant, here is my take on the current boarding school enrolment landscape for Asian students. These observations are aimed to international families. In 2022 leading US boarding schools were inundated with applications once again, and recorded daunting accept percentages of anywhere from 12 percent to 18 percent on their March 10th decision day. International applicants from China and Hong Kong to leading schools in the US often numbered around 150 - with an accept number usually of just two to four. As a result, most schools will not go to their wait-lists. By their market decisions these schools are saying we want students from Asia who are already high functioning. I thought schools were about teaching! Therein lies the challenge. Families in Asia know of…
Read More
14May 2021 by JarvisandAssociates
Boarding Schools: Resilience and Retooling

Boarding Schools: Resilience and Retooling

Updates
[siteorigin_widget class="SiteOrigin_Widget_Image_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget][siteorigin_widget class="SiteOrigin_Widget_Image_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget]BOARDING SCHOOLS: RESILIENCE AND RETOOLING My last blog was just over a year ago. It was gloomy. What a difference a year makes! Despite my concerns for independent school enrolments in this Covid era, those fears have proven to be unwarranted for the most part - certainly for schools in British Columbia and New England. These are the two areas of concentration for my consultancy work. Parents saw that safety protocols in fact are easier to implement and enforce at a boarding school. Zoom classes were a necessity last spring, but have been unnecessary in the boarding school bubble. Once the students were able to get to their schools in September - not an easy feat - and then allocated to their learning pods, things seemed to move…
Read More
15Mar 2020 by JarvisandAssociates
March 15th – Beware the Ides of March

March 15th – Beware the Ides of March

Updates
[siteorigin_widget class="SiteOrigin_Widget_Image_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget][siteorigin_widget class="SiteOrigin_Widget_Image_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget][siteorigin_widget class="SiteOrigin_Widget_Image_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget]Boarding schools are under threat ... Boarding schools are under threat from extreme market forces, and today even more so with the reality of a global pandemic caused by COVID-19. We hear of individuals one or two pay checks away from personal hardship. Yet some independent schools are not too far away from such a scenario.This is a perfect storm caused by a diminishing middle class, an over- reliance on international enrolment in this era of globalization, and now a global pandemic. Independent schools are not immune to COVID-19. Government fiscal packages will not be available to private schools, and they must find ways to inoculate themselves from the possible serious side effects: e.g. falling enrolment as travel diminishes, requests for fee refunds in the event of…
Read More