Perhaps it’s 8:30 p.m., and your preferred method of emergency notification buzzes to inform you that your child’s school will be closed tomorrow due to inclement weather. Alternatively, the notification alerts you to a late start or early departure the following day. 

Snow day decisions bring glee and unexpected freedom to even the most dedicated students. Still, on the part of many parents, they bring anxiety over last-minute schedule changes, not to mention second-guessing whether the school has made the right call and whether other schools in the area are making the same decision.

While the decision to interrupt in-person school due to inclement weather is challenging for all school administrators, it is especially complicated at an independent school due to various unique considerations. Four distinct characteristics of independent schools make them particularly cautious regarding impending weather.

One of the things that I have loved most about my twenty-five years in independent school admissions is watching new students and their families fall in love with their new school. Of course, families and applicants do their research beforehand, talk to current families, and ask many questions to get to know and trust a school throughout the admission process before ever deciding to enroll. More often, though, their experience as a member of their new school inevitably turns out to be even better than they ever could have imagined!

Oak Knoll is an environment that nurtures each child's growth, not just academically but in all facets of life. We firmly believe in the idea of "actions, not words," a philosophy that encourages students to embrace new experiences, venture out of their comfort zones, and not fear failure.

Labor Day has come and gone and school children across the country are back in class. Joining a private school at any grade level can be a social adjustment, as it can also be for new parents and guardians as they get to know a brand new community and school culture. Will I fit in? How can I get to know others in the community? How involved should I be with the school and other parents?

Fortunately, private schools like Oak Knoll offer a variety of mechanisms and activities to help new parents feel at home and a vital part of the school community. If you are joining a private school community for the first time, or switching to a new school, note the following ideas to more rapidly get involved, stay in touch, and leave a lasting impact on your new school community.

It is not surprising that the tuition page on many private school websites has a large “bounce” or exit rate. Private schools provide a high value education, customized curriculum, signature experiences, and individualized attention—which has led to annual tuition fees that can seem daunting to many.

Many families believe in the value proposition of private school, and may even have the means to afford 40-60% of tuition but never apply thinking their household income, while too little to pay full tuition, is too high to qualify for aid. These families are unaware how valuable they might be to the private school community and the incentive a school might have to meet them part-way.

We recently caught up with Megan Murphy, the Executive Director of the National Coalition of Girls’ Schools after she visited the Oak Knoll School campus earlier this fall. Here, she talks about issues facing girls’ schools, her hope for empowering girls’ voices and girls' school misconceptions.

The financial aid application process can be stressful for many families. While we are unable to provide an all-encompassing guide — as the process to apply for financial aid can be different at each school — it is our hope that by following these simple steps before applying for financial aid, you will be prepared to complete your application with ease.

One of the hardest things in parenting is helping kids stay focused while doing homework because of all the internal distractions, like dread of working on certain tasks, or the desire to check in with friends, and the many external technological distractions that live right on the same device they are using for homework. In a study by research psychologist, Larry Rosen, he found that “students studied less than 6 minutes before switching to technological distractors.” In this same research, he found that students who had study strategies were able to stay on task longer.

The decision whether to go to a private or public school is a personal matter. Families choose to send their children to different types of schools for so many reasons — reputation, location, academic and extracurricular offerings, and cost, are just a few of the biggest. And, the decision is not only between public and private schools — charter schools and homeschooling are also popular options.