The very words “high school” can elicit a certain level of anxiety from parents about their child’s future, regardless of how far off high school may be. Parents have already invested in their son’s future by sending him to Cathedral. They want assurances that their child’s future will not just be “okay,” but spectacular. As High School Counselor, my job is to guide and counsel each family through the high school admission process. Together, we draw up a list of high schools and begin the journey to find the high schools that will offer their boy the best “fit.” WHEN APPROACHED WELL, this journey can be exciting. Families have the of schools. At worst, investigating a school not on a family’s radar confirms their assumptions; at best, a family GRADUATING TO THE RIGHT HIGH SCHOOL BY TARA BOLAND, High School Counselor
To continue the counseling support, I meet with boys once every six-day rotation for a High School Counseling class. The class format is part Q&A (questions about the process are addressed), and part designed curriculum (interviewing skills, personal essay writing, and basic decision-making skills). Each week, I send parents a counseling update, which highlights important dates and tasks that need to be completed by the boys and parents, and addresses more philosophical aspects of navigating the application process. Throughout, parents and I communicate via phone and e-mails, and meet in person, depending on each family’s needs. In January, high school applications are due. I encourage boys to apply to four to six schools. I also advise that boys’ lists reflect a broad range of schools. Our goal is not for families to have a wide range of options to decide upon in March, but rather to find a match with the school that offers the best fit for their son. The most enigmatic parts of the high school process center around the idea of “best fit.” However, the best fit is not always tantamount to the most
opportunity to tour many different kinds of high schools and consider a variety of possibilities for their son. Throughout the process, families are pushed to communicate honestly about who their son is and how he best learns. So what does this “process” look like? The high school application process begins in the spring of a student’s seventh-grade year. At that time, I welcome seventh-grade families to an introductory meeting. In June, after school concludes, I meet with each family individually. Before the meeting, I ask the boys and their parents to complete separate questionnaires regarding basic high school preferences. Questions range from preferences about big or small, religious or secular, urban or suburban, day or boarding, public or private, and progressive or more traditional schools. The questionnaire offers direction for our continued dialogue. We discuss each boy’s academic needs, extracurricular interests, and the environment in which he best learns. This allows me to introduce families to a broad range
discovers a new school that could inspire their son in unexpected ways. All this is done so that by early summer, each family has a list of schools to research over summer break. When school reconvenes in the fall, high school admission events are offered at local high schools ranging from school fairs, shadow visits, interviews, coffees for parents, open houses, and lunch presentations. These events allow boys and families to meet admission teams and collect information on schools, but most importantly, these events provide families with a “feel” for each school. In addition to these “marketed” events, I also encourage families to attend non-admission office activities like school plays, sporting events, and musical performances. After all, these are the events that make up a real high school experience. Throughout the fall, in addition to attending a myriad of high schools events, the boys take the SSAT, narrow down school choices, and write essays for high school applications.
Class of 2016; Our boys, their schools
prestigious or the highest-ranked schools. The best fit will be with the school that helps the student find the best version of himself. There, he will be supported and known, engaged, challenged to think deeply, and pushed to produce his best work. The school will allow him to stumble, reflect, redirect his energy, and learn. After all, high school is not a destination, but simply one stop on a student’s academic and developmental journey. In the moment, it is possible to lose sight of the fact that each boy has a lot of living, learning, and growing
to do after high school. If those four years simply deplete him of his zest for learning, high school won’t provide him the springboard needed for the next step of his journey. To quote Milton Academy Head of School Todd Bland ’82, “There is no one right school for all boys, but there is a right school for each boy.” Meanwhile, high schools are seeking to compose classes comprising students of diverse interests, backgrounds, talents, geographic locations, and experiences as possible. Fortunately, Cathedral School has earned an excellent reputation locally
and nationally. CSB boys are known for their solid character, academic prowess, and community-building skills. These traits are very attractive to schools. Cathedral boys’ acceptances at local and boarding schools over the years have been very strong. In the last two years, 95% of CSB boys have been accepted at their first or second choice high school. Each year, the list of schools (see page 27) shifts, reflecting the interests, talents, and learning styles of the boys. In my view, the strength of the program is not the “wow” factor of those particular Continued on page 22 FALL 2016 • RED & GOLD | 21
20 | CATHEDRAL SCHOOL FOR BOYS
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