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Private School H A N D B O O K
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Illustrations by Ellen Surrey
Navigating the private school sector can be intimidating: There are people to meet, numbers to crunch, timelines to follow and teaching philosophies to understand. Whether you’re looking for the perfect private elementary school or your teenager is making the switch from public to private, you’re sure to find all the answers you need in this handbook.
Where to Go How to choose the right private school for your child. Teacher Q&A Why teachers decide to teach at private schools over public. Student-Teacher Ratio All about class sizes, student-teacher ratios and why they’re important. Education Philosophies Learning and teaching philosophies offered at different private schools.
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Private School H A N D B O O K
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5 Tips for Picking the Right School 62
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The First Test Here’s how to choose the right private school for your child. by Grace Gorenflo
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hoosing a private school can be a daunting task. Tuition rates, studentto-teacher ratios, teaching styles, religious beliefs and location are just a few factors to consider. No matter what you’re looking for in a school, there are ways you can make the decision easier. We spoke with three private school professionals in the Kansas City area to compile five tips for picking the right school.
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Give yourself plenty of time to apply. Applications typically open a year prior to the fall when your child will start. Laura Linn, the admissions director for Pembroke Hill, says applying this early ensures your child is involved in each part of the admissions process and gives you a better chance
of securing a spot. “By applying in the fall, it makes sure we know who the families are,” Linn says. “We can get them involved in our screenings, our testing and the shadow days that are required parts of the application process.”
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Find the school, then budget. Linn says parents should focus primarily on what outcome they want to see from their child’s education. Most schools provide several resources to aid with tuition costs. Lisa Tulp, director of communications for The Barstow School, says tuition should be seen as a financial investment in your child’s future. “There are families who work with their own outside investment specialists to make it work because the value that they’re getting on the front end of the child’s education is very worthwhile,” she says.
she says. You can also find information like the school’s tuition, reviews and student-to-teacher ratios on ranking websites like Niche or Private School Review.
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Dig deeper than what you find online. If you have questions, Linn suggests the old school route: picking up the phone. “[Online research] only gives a two-dimensional view of the school,” she says. “We want to be in conversation with people.” Visit, and visit again. Most schools provide open houses, tours and shadowing opportunities throughout the year.
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Talk to parents and students with first-hand experience. Robbie Haden, communications lead for Rockhurst High School, says students and parents are the best spokespeople. “Our parents are probably the best resource because they’re unbiased and they’re living it every day,” he says. A great way to dig deeper into activities and extracurriculars offered at the school is to connect with parents and students who are currently involved.
“We want to be in conversation with people.”
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Do your research. Tulp says following the school’s social media accounts is a good way to see a snapshot of what a day or a week at the school is like. “A lot of that content is generated by people who are in the hallways every day,”
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Private School H A N D B O O K
Privacy, Please Teachers explain why they chose to go private. by Madison Russell
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fter student teaching at Blue Valley High School, aspiring middle school English teacher Scott Guldin had a choice when it came to his post-grad job: public or private?
The two options pose a measurable difference in salary. Public school teachers in Missouri average a salary of $54,266 while private school educators dock in at $33,485 a year. While Guldin loved Blue Valley, in the end, he decided to look for a position at a private school. Class sizes at Blue Valley tend to range between 25 to 30 students, Scott says, and grading essays for that big of a class was overwhelming. In 2011, Guldin accepted a job as a middle school English teacher at The Barstow School, where the largest class size is 18. He says that Barstow’s small class sizes allow teachers the opportunity for more one-onone time with their students. “A smaller class size allows a lot of freedom and space to develop strong relationships,” Scott says. Even after his students finish a grade, he can continue to track their progress, since the school serves K-12. After nine years of teaching, Barstow has become a family affair for Guldin — his wife
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“We have flexibility, and we can take lessons where they lead us while still following standards.”
also teaches at the school, and his two kids are students. For Liz Sharp, teaching at a private school was a no-brainer. She attended St. Therese North School in Parkville as a child. “My grandma pretty much started the kindergarten program at that school, so that’s what I knew growing up.” After receiving her teaching degree, she applied for and got a job at St. Therese. The Catholic influence was one of the biggest deciding factors as to why Sharp wished to teach there. “We can bring God into everything we talk
about,” Sharp says. While the school is still at diocesan standards, the teachers at St. Therese can teach the standards however they see them. “In public schools, their curriculum is set and strict,” Sharp says. “They’re told what to teach and how to teach it. We have flexibility, and we can take lessons where they lead us while still following standards.” At the end of the day, the private school teachers we talked to say that a sense of community and belonging at private schools outweighs any number that could be on their paycheck.
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Private School H A N D B O O K
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Numbers Game by Nicole Bradley
We broke down class sizes and student-toteacher ratios and why they’re important.
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lass sizes and student-toteacher ratios have been hot-button topics for a few years, as both are increasing at unprecedented rates in public schools. The National Education Policy Center published a brief in March 2019 that states, based on research, smaller class sizes in early grades are associated with not only better test scores but also high rates of high school graduation, college completion and marriage. However, it’s not quite as simple as looking at the published number usually called “student-toteacher ratio.” While a low student-to-teacher ratio looks pretty on the outside, dean and professor of education at Rockhurst University Jennifer Friend recommends that parents inquire about class size. For example, a 16:1 student-to-teacher ratio doesn’t mean that the average class size is 16 students, as teachers with
small classrooms — like special education and ESL classrooms, which often have just 5-6 students — are tallied in this count. Studies show a correlation between education improvements and classrooms of 13 to 17 students. But know that the gains aren’t equal across all subject matter. “In subjects like reading and mathematics, there are greater gains for students in smaller classes than for students in larger classes,” Friend says. Friend also emphasizes that wording is important. “If it says
student-to-teacher ratio, those are classroom teachers,” she says. “If it’s pupil-to-staff, then that number might get smaller because that would include everyone from the administrative assistant in the front office to the head of food service in the school.” David D’Ercole is the lower school principal at Pembroke Hill School, where the student-to-teacher ratio docks at 11:1, with two teachers in every classroom. “We have what we refer to as the lead teacher and what we
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refer to as the assistant teacher,” he says. “All of our assistant teachers are qualified with teaching degrees.” On days where the lead teacher is absent, the assistant teacher steps in to substitute. D’Ercole makes a good argument for the twoteachers-to-a-classroom standard at his school. “I’d be lying if I said that every kid connected with every adult,” he says. “You have a much greater chance of them connecting to at least one of the two adults in the room. A year can be a long year if you’re not connecting with someone.” D’Ercole says that in order to make a positive shift in a classroom, simply reducing class size and calling it a day isn’t going to do it. “If you’re just gonna stand in front of the room and teach, then class size does not matter,” he says. “If you take advantage of your small class size and your methods change to methods that seem to be effective these days, then that’s where the bang for your buck is.” The burning question: Where does class size rank on level of importance when searching for a private school for your child? “It’s one factor,” Friend says. “However, I think the most important factor is the quality of teaching and the school’s climate and culture.”
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Preschool - 12th Grade • Biblically Integrated • College Preparatory • MSHSAA Member
Top Five Private School Call 816.525.1480 for a personal tour or for more information.
Summit Christian Academy
1450-1500 SW Jefferson, Lee’s Summit MO 64081 • 816.525.1480 summit-christian-academy.org
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Private School H A N D B O O K
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Intro to Philosophy Choosing the right teaching method for your kids shouldn’t be as hard as writing a dissertation. by Abby Monteil
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whitefieldacademykc.org
Top 3 Among private schools in KC metro
90
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Percentile in the ACT/SAT standardized tests
100% Qualified students in the essay portion of ACT/SAT
As the only Christian school in Kansas City regularly ranked in the top five for average ACT scores among private schools, it’s no surprise families travel from all across the region to Whitefield Academy.
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nless you have a degree in education, researching which teaching method is best for your child can become an overwhelming job. Thanks to internet resources and increased collaboration between private schools, a number of unique, outside-of-the-box education styles are growing in popularity across the country. Although nothing beats observing a class in person, here’s a basic sampling of three approaches found in Kansas City private schools.
MONTESSORI METHOD
Based on the Italian scientist and educator Maria Montessori’s teaching philosophy, the Montessori Method of Education builds a specific curriculum around childrens’ development at different stages: psychologically, socially and intellectually. At Clay-Platte Montessori School, teachers are required to complete an additional year of training in child psychology to meet their students’ needs.
“What an infant and toddler need in terms of the environment and the adult interacting with them is completely different from what an adolescent needs.”
“What an infant and toddler need in terms of the environment and the adult interacting with them is completely different from what an adolescent needs,” says Jen Stoll, the school’s founder. “The Montessori Method creates very specifically designed environments and adults that have extensive training at the age level they’re working with.” Montessori also emphasizes the idea that humans are a vital part of the natural process. Children at Clay-Platte learn about how we rely
on the Earth, flora and fauna to not only survive but also create “super nature,” or man-made creations. These learning experiences range from two-year-olds examining leaf shapes to middle and high schoolers conducting independent research on the school’s on-site farm. “Nature is a huge part of what we do,” Stoll says. “We want them to be observers. We want them to be aware of what’s going on around them and know how it should work in order to contribute to the broader society.”
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WALDORF METHOD
Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner co-opened the first Waldorf school in Germany in 1919. Since then, the Waldorf Method of Teaching — which entails a broad curriculum of academics, physical education, art and music education and emotional education — has become one of the fastest-growing teaching methods in the world. Dory Wheatley co-founded City of Fountains School, the first Kansas City school based on the method, after adopting the approach with her own children. “It’s not just an intellectual education,” she says. “It’s brought to life through the whole spheres of the human being. There’s a balance in the approach between the head, the heart and the hands.” The “head” approach is present in the school’s main lesson blocks, where students spend around four weeks delving deeply into one particular subject. The “heart” is largely drawn from arts appreciation — daily singing, musical instrument playing and oral storytelling are regular occurrences. The “hands” relates to going out and doing, whether that’s gradeschool children regularly going to nature sanctuaries or the early-childhood classroom cleaning freshly collected wool. “In the classroom, we work hard to make it a home-like and inviting environment and nourishing to the senses,” Wheatley says. “There’s lots of one-on-one and individual conversation, so the materials are taught in a very human way.”
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THE BARSTOW APPROACH
In some cases, faculty take inspiration from a variety of educational philosophies. At The Barstow School, the mission statement for the last 135 years has been “to promote sound scholarship and give symmetrical development to mind, body and character.” One of Barstow’s biggest changes recently has been incorporating STEAM — science, technology, arts, engineering and math — into the curriculum. Students might learn geometry in an art class by using shapes or split time between soccer and robotics teams. “Our STEAM program starts as early as preschool, and we use it as a conduit to teach what we call 21st-century skills: problem solving, creative thinking,
collaboration,” says Lisa Tulp, Barstow’s director of communications. This integrated approach carries over to recruiting teachers with a variety of approaches. For example, upper school faculty member Caroline Till is a national expert on competency-based learning. The teaching method focuses on practical application and quality over quantity of classroom time. Since the school is governed by a board of trustees, the way that they carry out this mission can change to fit students’ needs. “We can make changes from year to year that reflect who our students are, where we want them to go and where they want to go,” Tulp says. “It’s about a dedicated faculty that offers mentorship and individualized learning for every student. Nobody’s limited to anything here.”
“In the classroom, we work hard to make it a home-like and inviting environment and nourishing to the senses.”
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