High School Planning: Finding the Best Fit for the Future

By Rachael Lachhwani, Communications Manager

Our graduates will be ready to achieve their individual potential, savor life, and meet the challenges of the world.

–The Alexander Dawson School Vision

One of Dawson’s goals, in alignment with our Vision, is to ensure that once students exit Dawson, they continue to hone their intellectual and personal skills as they enter high school, college, the workforce, and beyond. We want to ensure growth within all facets of life continues to be the norm: that students take pride in their education, health, happiness, and adaptability; that their choices in life are confident, ethical, and moral; and that they find opportunities to make positive contributions to our global society. Additionally, Dawson seeks partnerships that elevate the experiences of our students, leverage our complementary skill sets, appreciate our differences, create a context for innovative thinking, provide mutual support, and engender trust within the community. One program that is the catalyst for such valuable partnerships is our High School Planning Team. This team consists of several school educators and employees dedicated to finding the right-fit high school for our graduates, one that both meets students’ expectations and maximizes their abilities.

There are a variety of options to explore as part of Dawson’s high school planning assistance, from local public and private schools to magnet and career/tech academies to nationally recognized boarding schools. This is why our versatile support services include individualized recommendations and access during the high school application process, on-campus information sessions with high school representatives, shadow day opportunities at area schools, on-campus SSAT testing and prep courses with Dawson faculty, and regular communication about high school planning featuring advice from industry experts.

In October of 2022, Dawson’s High School Planning Team hosted a special two-day high school event on campus that promised the best of a traditional school fair merged with the intimacy of an individual, personalized school visit. The event began with an evening boutique high school fair on campus featuring 18 schools in total: local private, public, and magnet high schools and premier boarding schools from across the country. It was open to Dawson’s fifth through eighthgrade families and students, as well as middle schoolers and their families from around the city as a free service to the larger Las Vegas community. The following day provided an exclusive opportunity for Dawson’s seventh and eighth-grade students to attend a panel presentation with the visiting boarding school representatives; this presentation allowed those schools to explain what their diverse institutions represent and what makes them so remarkable, with the goal of students considering different possibilities for the future and visualizing themselves finding happiness in a new environment.

“When we think about our throughline of Level Up this school year, we want our students to expand their horizons and think deeply, not just about the next four years, but also the four years after that,” says Dawson’s Assistant Head of School Andrew Bishop, lead organizer of the high school event. “We want our students to continue asking themselves, ‘What does life look like after Dawson?’”

Additionally, each of our eighth-grade students had the unique chance to work directly with a visiting boarding school representative during one-to-one conferences for interview preparation. Students received real-life feedback on their ability to listen, engage, present, and ask questions. This shared experience of growth empowered students to develop connections and tell the captivating story of who they are as individuals, and for the boarding school representatives to witness our students’ level of preparedness and confidence when they shine on their own. And to further ensure the School continues to be a national leader in education innovation, members of Dawson’s leadership team held a curricular roundtable with all boarding school representatives to discuss current boarding and high school application trends, the role of standardized testing, and the changing curricular landscape of education. Representatives were also given the option to sit in on some of our classes to observe students in action as a way to better understand our school culture and community.

We strive to provide advice, attention, and mentorship based on the individual needs of all students as they leave Dawson. Because of incredible opportunities such as this, Dawson is able to deliver on its pledge of preparing students for a successful transition to high school. We don’t clear the path for our students, yet we do walk the path alongside them in support as they discover what their distinct journey might look like. Our High School Planning Team is a center of excellence, and we are proud that our graduates continue to thrive at the secondary schools they attend. We want our students to explore who they are as young adults to make the most well-informed high school choice, with the outcome of bringing their best talents and gifts to their new school.

Participating High Schools In Attendance

Las Vegas Private High Schools

Adelson Educational Campus

Bishop Gorman High School

Faith Lutheran High School

The Meadows School

Las Vegas Public Magnet Schools

Clark High School

Las Vegas Academy of the Arts

West Career & Technical Academy

Boarding Schools

Berkshire School - Sheffield, MA

Blair Academy - Blairstown, NJ

Cate School - Carpinteria, CA

Choate Rosemary Hall - Wallingford, CT

Dunn School - Los Olivos, CA

Miss Porter’s School - Farmington, CT

Stevenson School - Pebble Beach, CA

St. Paul’s School - Concord, NH

The Thacher School - Ojai, CA

Tabor Academy - Marion, MA

The Webb Schools - Claremont, CA

Quotes from Visiting Schools

“My visit to Alexander Dawson and the opportunity to meet with Dawson students was incredible. The families I spoke with were well-informed and eager to learn about my school, and the students the next day were amazing. They were motivated, articulate, and well prepared to excel following their time at Dawson.”

~Eric C. Long, Tabor Academy

“Our recent visit to Dawson reflected the innovative and student-centered values that seem to so clearly sit at the foundation of the Dawson experience. In true Dawson fashion, every inch of our visit was intentionally designed to provide opportunities for meaningful and authentic engagement with the community. And while I had the pleasure of connecting with a diverse group of students, common themes emerged that are deeply reflective of the most compelling aspects of a Dawson education: Dawson students have a deep and abiding sense of pride for their school, an infectious love for learning, and an authentic commitment to character and citizenship. Clearly, students who are fortunate enough to be a part of the Dawson community are the benefactors of an educational experience that is engaging, inspiring, and joyful. As an educator and admissions director at a selective boarding school, Dawson is a school on my radar, a place I am watching closely as I think about exemplary and forward-thinking K-8 educational models.”

~Allison Letourneau, Berkshire School

“Dawson Bears are an amazing addition to The Meadows School! They are kind and supportive and understand what it means to be a part of an independent school community. We value the Dawson students we welcome each year into our Upper School and enjoy watching them thrive in all areas.”

~Naomi Palacios-Nelson, The Meadows School