School Can Be Something to Look Forward To School should not bring anxiety. It should bring excitement ABOUT A  3  MINUTE READ –  As another school year approaches, not every family is feeling excited. For some, August brings the anticipation of new teachers, fresh opportunities, and the promise of another year of growth. For others, it brings something very different. A child who has already begun worrying about the first day. Sunday evenings filled with anxiety. Morning routines that feel more like negotiations than preparation. Parents quietly wondering, “Will this year really be any different?” If that sounds familiar, you are not alone. Many families have come to believe that school is simply something students have to endure—that a certain amount of dread is normal, that learning is supposed to feel disconnected from a young person’s interests, and that the best parts of the day happen everywhere except the classroom. I don’t believe that has to be true. In fact, I believe school can be something students genuinely...

The Greatest Casualty Isn’t a Transcript. It’s Hope. Discover how a humane school environment can rebuild confidence and success. ABOUT A  4  MINUTE READ –  Parents rarely call me because their child isn’t intelligent. In fact, they almost always begin by telling me how remarkable their son or daughter is. They describe a teenager who is funny, insightful, compassionate, endlessly curious, artistic, entrepreneurial, mechanically gifted, or able to discuss topics far beyond their years. Then their voice changes. “But school just isn’t working.” What follows is a story I have heard hundreds of times. Missing assignments become failing assignments. Homework that once took thirty minutes stretches into three hours—or never gets started at all. Teachers begin to comment that the student “isn’t working up to their potential.” Parents respond with more reminders, more structure, more consequences, more tutoring, and more worry. Everyone is working harder. Yet everyone seems to be losing. Most people...

School Anxiety: Why Resilience Is Built by Doing Hard Things How supportive learning environments help students build resilience by making it safe to struggle, recover, and grow. ABOUT A  4  MINUTE READ –  It has become increasingly common to hear that today’s students are more anxious than ever. Schools have responded in many thoughtful ways: wellness initiatives, counseling services, mindfulness activities, social-emotional learning, and greater awareness of mental health. These are important developments. But I sometimes wonder if we’ve overlooked something equally important. Resilience. Not resilience as a slogan. Not telling students to “toughen up.” Rather, resilience as a skill that must be intentionally developed through experience. The challenge is that resilience cannot grow in environments where every mistake feels permanent, every assignment is judged, and every learning experience is measured against everyone else. Resilience Begins with Psychological Safety Students only take healthy risks when they...

Transactional vs. Transformative Education Why Learning Matters More Than Grades ABOUT A  3  MINUTE READ –  Ask students why they are completing an assignment, and many will answer: “Because it’s due tomorrow.” “Because it’s worth 20 points.” “Because it’s on the test.” Far fewer will say: “Because I want to understand it.” That reality reveals an uncomfortable truth: education has become increasingly transactional. In a transactional system, students complete tasks, teachers award points, grades are calculated, and credits accumulate. The process functions efficiently, but often at the expense of genuine learning. Students quickly learn to ask: Will this be graded? How many points is it worth? What’s the minimum I need to do? These questions are not signs of laziness. They are the natural result of a system that rewards compliance more consistently than curiosity, and completion more consistently than understanding. When Learning Becomes a Reward-Seeking Behavior Like...

The Summer Window Matters More Than Families Realize When “Let’s See How Next Year Goes” Isn’t a Plan ABOUT A  3  MINUTE READ –  For many families, the end of a difficult school year brings an important question: “How much longer can we afford to wait?” Another year of disconnection, avoidance, anxiety, academic inconsistency, or social struggle during high school is not insignificant. High school is not simply time that passes. It is a period of growth, readiness, confidence-building, and earned progress. When students spend too long in an environment where they are not thriving, the consequences compound quietly over time. And yet many families understandably hold onto the hope that next year will somehow feel different. Sometimes it does. A student matures. A friendship changes. Confidence returns. A new teacher makes a difference. But sometimes “waiting” is really postponing an important decision because change feels overwhelming. At The Leelanau School, we often meet families who say some version of the same...