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Who Knows the Student Your Transcript Can’t Introduce?
Why boarding school students might want to look beyond the classroom when choosing an additional college recommender. Anyone who knows me knows there are two things I can spend far too much time talking about: art and sports. I love walking through an art museum and getting close enough to a painting that the image almost…
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Not Every Student Belongs the Same Way. Shouldn’t Boarding School Dorms Reflect That?
What if one of the most important conversations in residential life isn’t about programming at all, but about the spaces students come home to every day? Some of my favorite ideas for Beyond the Bell don’t come from sitting behind a laptop. They come from conversations with people who make me think differently. This one…
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What Every Boarding School Can Learn from Summer Camp Communities
There is a moment at every great summer camp that feels almost impossible to explain. It’s only been a few days. Children who arrived as strangers are already laughing around a campfire. They know each other’s names. They’ve developed inside jokes. They cheer one another on with genuine enthusiasm. They begin to feel like they…
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Why Residential Life Should Have a Seat at the Admissions Table
There is a moment that happens long before a student walks into their first class. It doesn’t happen during Orientation. It isn’t at Convocation. It isn’t when they unpack their belongings in the dorm. It happens during the admissions process. As schools, we spend countless hours helping prospective families understand our academic offerings. We proudly…
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Parents Have Spidey Senses
I have a theory. Parents have spidey senses. Not the comic book kind. The boarding school parent kind. I’ve watched it happen on hundreds of campus tours. A family arrives, excited and nervous, carrying a thousand questions. They listen politely as we talk about academic programs, college matriculation, student-to-teacher ratios, and campus traditions. But while…
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When “Extra Time” Becomes a Public Debate.
Last night, Tuesday, May 19th, I found myself sitting in bed reading a Wall Street Journal article about the growing backlash surrounding SAT and ACT accommodations, particularly extra time. Almost instantly, I was transported back to my own testing experience as a student with ADHD and slow processing speed, wondering if the people around me…
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Beyond the Bell Announces New Chapter for Andrew Waugh at Franklin Academy
Some opportunities feel professional. Others feel personal. For Andrew Waugh, accepting the role of Admissions & Student Engagement Associate, Research Fellow at Franklin Academy feels like both. After spending the past several years working in boarding school communities across the country, Waugh will officially join Franklin Academy in August, bringing with him a background in student life,…
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Admissions Is Only Step One: Why Student Life Determines Whether Students Actually Stay
Every boarding school invests enormous energy into admissions. Schools travel across the world recruiting students. Admissions teams read hundreds of applications. Families tour campuses, interview with faculty, and carefully consider whether a school is the right fit for their child. When a student finally enrolls, it often feels like the work is finished. In reality,…
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Helen Waldron on Admissions as the First Act of Student Support
Opening Remarks At Beyond the Bell, we often talk about admissions as more than an entry point. Done well, it is the first act of student support. It is where schools begin to understand not just what a student has done, but how they learn, where they have struggled, and where they have the potential…
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The January Belonging Crisis: Why the First Three Weeks Determine Student Retention
Every August, schools pour their energy into orientation, community building, and creating a strong start. But in reality, student retention is not determined in the fall. It is shaped in January, during the quiet first weeks after winter break. January is the most overlooked danger zone of the school year. Students return from home and family…