Shoes and Shadow Days
My favorite part of shoe shopping is trying on all of those lovely shoes. On the shelf, every one of them looks so appealing. The image of a nice evening out with those shiny stilettos adorning my feet comes quickly to mind. The salesperson, noticing my dreamy gaze and correctly sensing my interest, is quite happy to regale me with all of the benefits of the shoes – the incomparable brand name, the top notch quality of leather, the handcrafted artistry involved in the construction. However, when I sit down and actually try on the shoes, I find that they just don’t fit. There’s no way I could wear those toe-squeezing, ankle-breaking shoes for longer than thirty seconds without a podiatrist on retainer. I do discover, however, that the strappy sandals on the next shelf over are just right – they fit like a dream and will go with just about everything I own. Success!
Shopping for a private school is much like shopping for shoes. You pick your favorite school based on the website and brochure because it looks so appealing. You have no problem picturing your child on campus, and the admissions director is quick to give you all of the reasons why this school is the best of the bunch. But wouldn’t it be great if you could try on the school before making a commitment?
Many private schools offer shadow days for students just for that reason. Shadow days allow children to try on the schools and see how they fit as they experience “a day in the life.” A prospective student is usually paired with a current student and, depending upon the age of the child and policies of the school, will attend a half- or full-day of classes and activities.
While a shadow day is meant as a way for your child to learn more about a school, you should also realize that the school will be observing your child to see how well he/she will fit in as a student. This evaluation is somewhat informal, meaning that your child will probably not need to worry about taking a test or being interviewed on a shadow day. However, check with the school’s admission staff to make sure that you and your child understand what the expectations are for the day. Also, most schools will limit the number of shadow students that they will accommodate, so let them know as early in the admissions process as possible if you would like for your child to participate.
If your child is feeling stressed about attending a shadow day, prepare for the day by discussing the things that he will want to notice during his visit. How was he greeted upon arrival at the school? Did he feel welcomed? Was the school ready for the visit? How do the current students feel about the school? Are they happy there? What do they like the most/least? What do the interactions with teachers feel like? Are they approachable and easy to talk to? Finally – is this a place where he feels he can be happy and learn?
* Lesson learned from a client: If you’ve scheduled a shadow day for your child, give the school a call or send them an email the day before to confirm that you are still on the schedule. One client recently showed up at a San Diego private school on the scheduled shadow day only to discover that the school had no record of their information. Because the school was at their limit for shadow students for the day, the prospective family had to reschedule for a later date.
2 Responses to “Shoes and Shadow Days”
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