Every winter, families from Back Bay to Beacon Hill, from the North End to the South End, go through one of the most confusing rites of passage for Boston residents: Boston Public Schools’ school choice program. While Boston’s school assignments are not entirely random, there is an element of chance that frustrates many families. Here...
Read More
Ninth grade is not always the most fun year of high school. It can be a jarring transition from the top of the middle school pecking order to a new school dominated by students three or four years older than you. Ninth graders almost everywhere experience this humbling rite of passage, at public schools and...
Read More
Literacy is the foundation upon which your son’s academic future will be built. When children learn to read, they gain the key that will open up the doors of learning in every other subject area: language, math, science, social studies, the arts. This is one of the reasons why a high-quality academic program in kindergarten...
Read More
We say often at The Fessenden School that play is a child’s work. Children at play aren’t just having fun (although they are!), they’re learning. Play is how young children process new information and start to make sense of the world around them. Play is the pre-kindergarten teacher’s most powerful tool. In fact, in a...
Read More
A few weeks ago on this blog, we interviewed a Pre-K teacher here at The Fessenden School about how high-quality pre-kindergarten programs help prepare boys to succeed in kindergarten. She told us that Fessenden’s Kindergarten teachers report back to her that students who come out of our Pre-K program shine in their classes. Does a...
Read More
Is there any good reason to wait until your son is in tenth grade to enroll him in one of the nation’s top secondary boarding schools? After all, most schools accept students starting in ninth grade, so why wait? If your son is in junior boarding school or you plan to send him to junior...
Read More
Interest in single-sex education is on the rise in the United States. For the past decade or so, more and more schools—public and private—have experimented with what was once considered an outmoded idea: that boys and girls are hardwired to learn differently, and therefore, ought to be taught differently, with curriculum and classrooms designed for...
Read More
There are plenty of good reasons to start your son in an all-boys school as early as pre-kindergarten. But some parents still worry that, if their sons don’t have experience with girls at a young age, they’ll be awkward or disrespectful around them when they’re older. Is there any truth to this? No, says Margaret...
Read More
On this blog, we often write about how an all-boys private pre-kindergarten program will help position your son for success in kindergarten, the rest of his academic career, and life. A great pre-K program is a significant financial investment for most young families. It’s fair to ask, “Is it really worth it?” The decision to...
Read More
Like most boarding schools across the country, at The Fessenden School, we require our Middle and Upper School boys to participate in sports throughout the academic year. For some families, this is not a problem. High-quality playing facilities and top-notch competition are exactly what they want for their athletically gifted sons. For a number of...
Read More