Happy New Year! I hope the first week of the New Year finds all of you still committed to your resolutions and happy to be back at work and school for the most part after having enjoyed time with friends and family during the holiday. In my class of eighth grade students yesterday morning the majority said they were fairly happy to be back at school, though they would not have been disappointed if they had a few more days off. Given that we were meeting first period on the first day back from vacation, I thought that to be a strong endorsement of the class and our school.
During the break I had the occasion to spend a little extra time in the car as I caught up on errands and visits to friends and family and hence had the opportunity to spend a little more time than normal listening to the radio. While out and about one day a commercial came on whose tagline was, “Is your child overwhelmed by the expectations and workload at college?” The tagline made me think immediately of Wakefield and our students, not because this is a phenomenon they would experience, but rather because our graduates report to us so consistently and overwhelmingly that they are more prepared for college than their peers. The thoughts that began running through my mind after hearing this advertisement ranged from how lucky Wakefield students are to leave high school so well prepared for their next endeavor to thinking about what Wakefield does that so uniquely prepares students for the rigors of college life. Advanced Placement courses now must be approved by the College Board so our students are not getting “special” information that students at other schools do not get. The fundamentals of math, science, history, foreign language, and literature are largely universal, so again I could not conclude that it was the facts or figures conveyed that set us apart from our educational peers. Therefore, I concluded what I already thought to be true, that it is the intangible and somewhat difficult to articulate lessons that Wakefield students learn that prepare our students to be college standouts. More specifically, Wakefield’s approach to education encourages, and in fact requires, students to ask and wonder “why” – very rarely is a memorized answer all that is called for in class. Further, strong communication and critical thinking skills are the cornerstone of Wakefield’s approach to education beginning in the Lower School. It is our belief that students who do not possess these skills will not reap the full benefit of a premier education because these skills enable students to clearly communicate questions, as well as findings, and to extrapolate on lessons in order to make new and unique intellectual discoveries. The preponderance of college and university presidents and professors say that these are exactly the skills that, once mastered, make students successful at the post secondary level. So, in short, it is Wakefield’s approach to education rather than the facts and figures conveyed that allow our students to be highly successful early in their collegiate careers, though their mastery of a range of academic topics doesn’t hurt them either!
I hope that a Wakefield education is the sort of gift that you would like to give to your child. If so, please see below for important dates. As always, please do not hesitate to email or call (540.253.7501) me with specific questions or to schedule a personal visit.
Again, Happy New Year!
Sarah
Upcoming Admission Events:
Open House: Sunday, January 10 at 2pm. RSVP here or call 540.253.7600
Deadline for Admission and Financial Aid Applications: Friday, January 29. All applications materials must be submitted by this date in order to be considered for the initial review of applications. Applications completed after this date will be considered on a rolling basis as space and/or funds allow. Click here to be directed to the admission section of the Wakefield website for information on the application process.
Open House: Friday, February 12 at 9 am. RSVP here or call 540.253.7600
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