A lot of families with 8th grade students come to us looking for advice in choosing high schools (public vs. private and which private to attend). Here are a few things we talk about with those families.
1. Where does your student want to go?
That's not a trivial question. Just because an eighth grader doesn't want to compare the features and benefits of particular high schools doesn't mean you shouldn't ask him where he wants to go. The first step in being successful in high school is getting happy and comfortable in your surroundings as quickly as possible. Where he wants to go, even if his only reason is that his friends will be there, should be the first thing you consider.
2. Remember that high schools don't get kids into college; kids have to do that themselves.
Some families want us to tell them which high school will do the best job of getting their students into selective colleges. It's important to remember that no high school gets a student into college. A high school can provide rigorous course offerings, a dedicated college counseling staff and a student body full of high-achieving students, but it's still up to the student to work hard and take advantage of those opportunities. Smart, hard-working students get into college no matter where they go to high school.
3. Private schools aren't inherently better than public schools.
Sure, not all high schools are created equal. But we've worked with hundreds of successful students from both public and private high schools, and we've seen no inherent advantage in enrolling a student at a private high school. That doesn't mean that some kids won't flourish at a private school much better than they would at a public one. But that's dependent on the student more than it is the school. Not everyone needs an expensive gym with a personal trainer to get in shape, but some people swear by them. The same can be said about private schools and educating a student. Make the decision based on what is best for your student, not by which school claims to be the best.
4. Don't avoid competitive environments for the wrong reasons.
The smartest kids never have to say to us, "If I'd gone to a less competitive high school, I would have been at the top of my class." The best students rise to the top of whatever environment they're in. The fact that your student doesn't respond well to competitive
environments, or that he lacks academic confidence, or that he needs a
more nurturing environment might be good reasons to pick a school that's
known to be a little less competitive. But don't pick a less demanding school if the only reason is that you hope it will be easier for him to stand out.
5. Focus on the next four years, not the four after that (yet).
Most high schools have little control over where your student will be accepted to college four years from now; they can only control how your student is educated until then. And you have no idea what your student will be interested in four years from now, either. So don't try to predict the future. Instead, make decisions based on what you know about your student today. A student who loves music today should be at a high school where he can have fun in a strong music program. A student who works best when he has frequent interactions with teachers needs to be at a school that will give him that. The student who thrives on competition and has soaring academic confidence needs to surround herself with the best and brightest over-achievers.
And most importantly, remember that you're not going to ruin your kid's future by choosing the wrong high school. I'm not saying it's not an important decision, but lots and lots of happy and successful students come out of whatever public school they were directed towards. It's hard to make a life-defining mistake with this choice.