As they set out to research educational options for their youngest son, Dave Visco and his wife Jen were met with the same confusion that many families encounter when looking at a long list of schools. Take a glance at this list of preschools in Newton, Mass., and you’ll find—among other things— preschools, pre-kindergartens, playschools,...
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If you’re up to your eyeballs in research, comparing private schools with public schools, trying to choose between single-sex and coed schools, and deciding whether to start your son in kindergarten or pre-kindergarten, you could use a guide like Dave Visco. He’s been in your shoes—three times. Dave’s three sons are students here at The...
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We think there’s a good boarding school fit for every boy who wants to attend, but the fact remains, at the top junior boarding schools in the country, some applicants will not be accepted on their first try. Here at The Fessenden School, we receive a few hundred applications every year, and unfortunately, there is...
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In Massachusetts, children must begin school in September of the calendar year in which they turn 6. But most elementary schools — public and private — allow students to start earlier than that. For example, Newton Public Schools allow children to begin kindergarten if they have turned 5 by Aug. 31. At The Fessenden School,...
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It’s well-established that boys and girls learn differently. Cognitive differences between the sexes start showing up in our brains when we are quite young. “Brain-imaging technology shows the differences in living color,” Psychologist and brain development expert David Walsh told PBS in 2014. “A growing body of research on these differences points us to a...
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We’ve seen it happen already in our lifetimes. The world is becoming smaller and more connected. National borders and language barriers are being transcended with technology and an increased consciousness of the value of different cultures and ways of life. Imagine how much the world will change during your children’s lifetimes. Stacie Nevadomski Berdan, an...
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What’s the “right way” to find a private school for your soon-to-be kindergartner? Educational consultant Carol Kinlan thinks about this question a lot. As a consultant with the Boston-based McMillan, Howland & Spence, she’s helped hundreds of families find the local kindergarten or early elementary school program best suited to their children’s learning needs.
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Is your son ready for kindergarten? This might seem like a silly question. Kindergarten, after all, is the traditional first step in a formal education. If you grew up in the ’70s or ’80s, it probably was for you. What do you have to do to get your son ready? Quite a bit, actually. Greta...
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Secondary boarding schools traditionally start with boys entering in ninth grade (their “freshman” year). But many junior boarding schools offer the ability to continue studying in their program through ninth grade (and then start secondary school in tenth). So if you’re planning on sending your son to boarding school for high school, you face a...
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“Raise your hand if you would like to go to the iLab.” Throughout the Schoolroom, hands dart into the air, each boy hoping to secure one of the ten available slots that will allow him to spend the next forty-five minutes in our popular iLab Makerspace. The opportunity to collaborate on a new project or...
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