Things That Keep Me Awake At Night

Updated June 09, 2021 | by Robert Kennedy

The pandemic has upended our lives in ways we never imagined. Heads of school also have been impacted as they try to plan for the future. Concerns about enrolment, community safety, and the school's finances are just a few of their worries.

2020 was a most unusual year. The coronavirus pandemic has turned everything upside down and inside out. Nothing is normal. All of this has impacted boarding schools in ways they never expected. While most private school boards of trustees are smart enough to have a resumption of business plans in place and adequate insurance coverage for the school plant and the usual liability issues, very few school trustees ever expected to be dealing with so many challenges converging at the same time. Against that backdrop, I thought it would be helpful to conduct a fictional interview with a head of school. After all, her concerns are probably yours as well.

Rob: What challenges at school in the fall of the next academic year keep you awake at night?

Head of school: Oh, Rob! Where do I begin? There are so many things demanding my attention. My workday starts at 6 a.m. and ends at 10 p.m. if I'm lucky. And I work every day to keep my head above water.

Updated April 07, 2021 | by Robert Kennedy

Fees And Other Matters for Overseas Parents

Families who live outside the United States and who are not American citizens or Permanent Residents have to deal with a couple of additional steps when thinking of sending their children to an American boarding school. In 2021 the pandemic has made boarding school admissions very difficult, largely because travel is so problematic. Once travel restrictions have been lifted or made less onerous, then we can review the steps involved in getting your child admitted to an American boarding school.

The cost

Tuition at boarding school ranges from $20,000 to over $75,000. And this does not include sundries such as music lessons, trips, sports equipment, use of the equestrian facilities, and so on. There are a host of ‘extras’ that also must be factored into the cost of a boarding school education. Textbook and academic material fees, sports fees, clothing, uniforms, transportation to and from school, application fees – the list seems endless. Most schools will provide a breakdown of the ‘extras’ for you upon request. Costs vary greatly from school to school for several reasons. Sound management and healthy endowments are two major reasons why some schools seem to be able to offer more for less.

The other point to remember is that American boarding schools receive no state funding, although they must comply with all the state laws and local regulations which affect their daily operation. Retrofitting older buildings with new technologies, maintaining extensive physical plants, coping with soaring health and liability insurance, legal, and energy costs are just a

Updated November 12, 2020 | by Robert Kennedy

COVID-19: A Head Of School's Worst Nightmares

This is a fictional interview with the head of a boarding school. After all, her concerns are probably yours as well.

2020 has turned out to be a most unusual year. The coronavirus pandemic has turned everything upside down and inside out. Nothing is normal. All of this has impacted boarding schools in ways they never expected. While most private school boards of trustees are smart enough to have resumption of business plans in place and adequate insurance coverage for the school plant and the usual liability issues, very few school trustees ever expected to be dealing with so many challenges converging at the same time. Against that backdrop, I thought it would be useful to conduct a fictional interview with the head of a boarding school. After all, her concerns are probably yours as well.

Rob: What challenges at school in the fall of 2020 keep you awake at night?

Head of school: Oh, Rob! Where do I begin? There are so many things demanding my attention. My workday starts at 6 a.m. and ends at 10 p.m. if I'm lucky. And I work every day just to keep my head above water.

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A Parent's Checklist For COVID-19

Updated November 11, 2020 | by Robert Kennedy

We parents have a multi-faceted role to play in protecting our school-age children during th pandemic.

As parents, the role we play in keeping our children safe during this dreadful pandemic is multi-faceted and often confusing. It's a multi-faceted role because we have to be teachers, facilitators, and monitors. I can hear you thinking that what I am saying sounds like what you do all the time. So, what's different when dealing with COVID-19? The most significant difference is that the coronavirus is invisible. Protecting your children by teaching them how to do everyday tasks involves dangers or risks which they can see. You taught your kids how to safely cross a road by showing how to do so, not once, not twice, but many times until you knew that your child understood what to do. You taught her how to swim, to travel alone on a bus or plane, to handle contact with strangers, and so much more. You protected her against diseases with vaccinations and regular medical checkups.

The problem with COVID-19 is that it is invisible. How do you teach a child to protect herself against something she cannot see? Children are logical. If it's raining, they understand the need to wear a raincoat and hat. If it's hot out, they know to drink plenty of water. And so on. But an invisible danger? That's not as easy to comprehend.

This video from New York University's Langone Health offers some expert help explaining the pandemic to your children.

Teach basic protection.

Teach your children how to protect themselves by wearing a

Updated July 22, 2020 | by Robert Kennedy

In The Pandemic: Parents' Concerns About Boarding School

Sending our children off to boarding school in the fall of 2020 raises questions about their safety and other corona virus issues. We address some of your concerns here.

Disclaimer: I am not a health professional. I am a concerned parent and grandparent. This article draws attention to some of the questions I have about sending my grandchildren off to boarding school. ~Rob Kennedy

Getting your child ready for school in the summer of 2020 is a nerve-wracking experience for parents. We have always been concerned about our children's safety both at school and at home. We have taught safe behaviors since they were tiny tots. Sending them away from home to a residential school always posed issues of separation and homesickness that you and I were able to deal with more or less successfully. But sending them off to boarding school in the middle of a global pandemic? Well, that's something else again, isn't it?

Suddenly, all those familiar scenarios of dropping our children off at school seem so benign and distant. This COVID-19 pandemic is unlike anything you and I have seen in our lifetimes. The virus seems to attack people of all ages. It seems to lurk in hosts and find new hosts via droplets that hang in the air. It lives on common surfaces such

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