ABOUT A 4 MINUTE READ – Does Your Child Love School?  For Far Too Many Children In Our Nation, The Answer Is “No”. In many school settings, students are asked to comply rather than engage. The measures of success are almost always standardized or formulaic. Options for demonstrating learning are narrow and non-inclusive. Students feel “sorted and selected” based on finite and external definitions of success. It is unreasonable to expect gains in learning, or joy in attendance, when students feel like they exist for the school, instead of the school existing for them. Such practices naturally lead to student apathy, anxiety, boredom, and resentment. Such feelings can lead to negative behaviors and family stress. Students Expect More From School Regardless of labels and learning styles, all students expect more from their schooling. They expect to have a voice in the classroom. They expect to advocate for themselves. They expect to have multiple pathways for engagement, and a variety of ways to demonstrate understanding. They expect learning to be active and...

ABOUT A 3 MINUTE READ –  This post was written by a guest blogger who is the parent of a recent Leelanau School graduate. Their hope is that writing about their own family’s experiences will help others find a best fit school for their children too. Boarding schools evoke strong images in the mind of many, in part based on the strong images about them from popular culture and hold-overs from the role they played in an earlier era.  Today, boarding schools can be a compelling option that can immensely improve a student’s prospects, and they shouldn’t be dismissed by those families who could benefit from them. Boarding Schools In Our Culture Despite the fact that only a sliver of a fraction of high school students attend boarding schools, they remain iconic in our culture.  Perhaps the most famous boarding school of our day is Hogwarts, where Harry Potter and gang attended. Hogwarts stands on the illustrious shoulders of other boarding schools from fiction including Percy Prep from Catcher in the Rye, and movies such as Dead Poet’s Society, School Ties, and...

ABOUT A 3 MINUTE READ –  Finding Student Success In High School The close of another school year naturally lends itself to reflection about all that has happened over the last nine months. As students, especially seniors, and teachers transition into summer after all of the end of year celebrations, the real weight of what it took to get to the place of final achievements is felt. Success at the end of a school year or a high school career is recognized from the outside through awards – diplomas, tassels, plaques, trophies – and by witnessing students crossing the proverbial finish line,  but what it really took to achieve that success is often unseen.  A parent shared The Iceberg Illusion with us as a way to express what they see happening with their child at Leelanau. “This made me think of the amazing things you do. I have never seen my son happier at school. Thanks to all.” Parent – current Leelanau Student So what does it take to “find” success in high school? Teachers have an acute awareness of what it truly takes for...

Experiential learning is a concept worth getting to know. It promises more than those others in terms of scope and outcome. It describes the way students actually retain and recall information. It is the way learning is brought to life and it brings deeper and more lasting meaning.

We found our way to a good educational and emotional setting for our teen by answering five key questions. The following is based on my personal experience as a parent of a child with ADHD and school anxiety. I’m not a doctor, or making any professional recommendations.