Services

Independent School Placement

(Greater Boston area and Northeast Boarding Schools)

It’s important to hire an educational consultant who is highly familiar with the independent schools in their area and has well-established relations with admission teams.

This is particularly true when admission offices are either very busy in the fall or on summer break. With over 13 years experience of working with hundreds of families, Carol uniquely knows many of the Northeast private school market and has strong ties with their admission offices.  She is quickly able to quickly make contact with the leading--or less well-known--day and boarding schools.

 

Traditional Day or Boarding School Placement

Here’s an outline of our process: The typical engagement is four to eight months or longer. Though, in some cases, placement can happen within a much shorter time period. It depends on the timing and the student.

For example, if you are seeking a secondary school for your 8th grader and you start in October, you will hear from the schools you’re applying to by March 10th about their acceptance. We work with you until the placement is made and help with any transition concerns.

If your student requires a quicker school placement, say in mid-August (yes, this happens) and is open to a variety of school options (day and boarding), given the timing, decisions are made quickly, and the placement may be immediate. In all cases, Carol provides steady, experienced guidance and extremely reliable, ongoing communication.

Here are the specific consulting services we provide:

  • In-depth initial interview with student and family to explore: Who the student is as a learner? What are their real interests, strengths and areas of challenges? In what school environment would they be best served? 

  • Detailed review of teachers’ reports, test scores, assessments and other supporting documentation.

  • Discussion of a list of targeted schools for the family to explore.

  • Timeline developed for open house visits, interviews and interview prep, essays development application deadlines.

  • Detailed discussion of testing options, with referrals to well-regarded test prep specialists.

  • Guidance to ensure student with exceptional academic skills will be allowed to take specific courses, advanced classes, if appropriate.

  • Guidance in completing application forms.

  • Service as a liaison and advocate between the family and school admissions staff.

  • Regular consultation after placement with both families and school officials to ensure a successful ongoing experience.

  • Ongoing one-on-one with family and student on final placement decisions.

 

Specialized Independent School Placement for Students with Learning, Attentional or Executive Function Challenges

(Ages 3-17 years)

What if your student is struggling to read and/or understand the books in class, or finds themselves too quickly forgetting math facts or important school discussions?

Some parents have a student that doesn’t want to go to school or psychological or educational testing has identified a learning or attentional/organizational challenge. A new school can be a life-changing experience.

Sometimes, a new school can simply provide a much-needed peer group change.

Finally, In other cases, staying at the same school and adding the right support makes the most sense. We work with you to make the best choice.

Students we work with may struggle in the following areas:

  • Dyslexia (weak decoding of text due to phonological, fluency, attentional or oculomotor difficulties, etc.)

  • Reading comprehension

  • Receptive or expressive communication

  • Dyscalculia (math)

  • Dysgraphia (writing)

  • ADHD, Executive function

  • Social pragmatics

  • Anxiety

Here are the specific consulting services we provide:

  • Initial interview with student and family:

    • Who is the student as a learner? What are their real interests, strengths and areas of challenges? In what school environment would they be best served? 

    • What are your main concerns and goals regarding your student's learning, social or attentional placement? What diagnosis, if any, has been made? If multiple issues exist: how can we triage the issues and find a school that can appropriately support the primary concerns?

  • Review of teachers’ reports, test scores, psychological and educational assessments and other supporting documentation. 

  • A detailed discussion of the student’s learning style and the optimal environment for them; also, what academic, organizational, or therapeutic support is needed now or summer, and for next school placement?

  • Referrals to neuro-psychologists, therapists, tutors, and other specialists.

  • Discussion of targeted schools and support services, by school .

  • Contact with schools in advance of applications and interview to investigate fit.

  • Serve as a liaison and advocate between the family and school admissions staff.

  • Timeline developed for open house visits, interviews, and interview prep, essays development.

  • Guidance in completing application forms.

  • Discussion with academic support teams at potential schools to ensure student support.

    • Important: After acceptance, but prior to contract commitment, we work with the school teams to develop an Individual Learning Plan (ILP) to ensure agreed upon support will be provided and goal, benchmarks and measurements are established .

    • After placement, check-in services are offered for an additional fee.