时间：2022-11-20 22:29:15 作者：SSAT官网
对于寄宿学校来说，新冠肺炎疫情的开始看起来很黯淡。来自世界各地的学生早早赶回家过春假，许多人想知道他们什么时候或者是否会回来。在我们的教育咨询网站麦克米兰教育关于寄宿学校的日常询问似乎在一夜之间消失了。
但是后来寄宿学校的优势暴露出来了。虽然公立学校系统在考虑如何处理健康危机，但私立寄宿学校的独立性使它们能够快速适应，为社会距离重新设计学术空间，投资技术以支持国际学生基于旅行限制的混合学习，并执行口罩要求。与此同时，俱乐部、教堂和运动队在网上相遇，形成了紧密的社区，这是寄宿学校的标志。
寄宿学校还通过定期进行COVID测试来解决健康和健康问题，并通过授权心理健康顾问来处理青少年焦虑和抑郁的激增，其中许多人还担任宿舍家长和教练。我们已经看到许多患有忧郁症的孩子在小型寄宿学校的培养环境中找到了自我并脱颖而出。此外，许多学校的疫苗接种率已经接近甚至达到100%。
在曾经充满不确定性的地方，我们的团队现在看到来自世界各地的寄宿学校咨询数量创纪录。秘密已经暴露:很大程度上要感谢他们的教师，寄宿学校是一个学术和课外成长以及青少年全面发展的地方。
家长们该如何应对这种新的招生形势呢？
利用改进的虚拟编程。
由于变焦面试、虚拟访问、网络研讨会和学校博览会，招生人员现在更容易接近。学校已经极大地改善了他们的在线展示，使家庭能够更好地感受每所学校。抓住这些机会参观更多的学校。大多数校园现在也对参观者开放，所以你可以在虚拟参观之后进行实地参观。
猫头鹰寄宿学校指南中的研究学校。
当新冠肺炎来袭时，许多寄宿学校要求我们举办虚拟博览会，因为他们再也不能去挂满三角旗的初中体育馆和附属学校了。我们与100所学校举办了八次博览会，吸引了1000多个家庭。然后我们问自己:如果大学都有这些指南，为什么我们不能为寄宿学校做一个呢？我们集市上的数据被用来创造免费的猫头鹰寄宿学校指南.
广撒网。
因为对寄宿学校的兴趣正在增长，我们建议申请至少八所选择性不同的学校，以最大限度地增加你的机会。以开放的心态开始，超越每所学校的历史、传统和声誉，看看未来几年，问问自己——哪些学校最有助于孩子的发展？考虑所有的选择，从小到大，男女同校，从近到远。
使用标准应用程序简化申请流程。
当你通过简化简历表格、活动清单、论文、老师推荐等，申请八所或更多学校会变得容易得多在线标准应用(SAO)。虽然一些寄宿学校在疫情期间已经将考试作为选修课，但我们发现提交仍然是有帮助的SSAT如果你的孩子是一个优秀的标准化测试者，分数。请记住，许多寄宿学校继续接受申请，直到冬季，甚至春季。
优先考虑最合适的。
由于我们也在麦克米兰教育公司为我们安置在寄宿学校的孩子做大学规划，我们知道在高中茁壮成长的学生不仅表现出最大的个人和学术成长，他们也赢得了最好的大学选择。学校的名字没有学生的成绩重要，小池塘里的一条大鱼发展得更好，对未来有更多的选择。学校声誉可以发挥作用，但对于真正的适合，你希望你的孩子在学校里得到严格和支持的适当平衡，有领导和成长的机会，并找到他们的人。
如果说我们作为教育者在这次疫情中学到了什么的话，那就是一个快乐和满足的孩子通常是一个健康的孩子。
唐·麦克米兰(Don McMillan)和他的妻子莎拉(Sarah)在波士顿经营着麦克米兰教育公司(McMillan Education)，在过去十年里，他们的终身教育团队为来自35个州和60个国家的学生找到了最适合的独立学校。
英文原文：
The outset of the COVID-19 pandemic looked bleak for boarding schools. Students from around the world scurried home early for spring break and many wondered when—or if—they’d return. In our educational consultancy at McMillan Education, the daily inquiries about boarding schools seemingly vanished overnight.
But then the strength of boarding schools came to light. While public school systems deliberated over how to handle the health crisis, the independence of private boarding schools enabled them to adapt quickly, reworking academic spaces for social distancing, investing in technology to support hybrid learning for international students grounded from travel restrictions, and enforcing mask requirements. Meanwhile, clubs, chapels, and athletic teams met online, forging the tight communities that are a hallmark of boarding schools.
Boarding schools also addressed health and wellness concerns by conducting regular COVID testing, and they handled the spike in adolescent anxiety and depression by empowering their mental health counselors, many of whom also serve as dorm parents and coaches. We’ve seen many COVID-funked kids find themselves and excel in the nurturing environment of small boarding schools. Additionally, the vaccination rates at many of these schools have approached and even reached 100 percent.
Where there was once uncertainty, our team is now seeing a record number of boarding school inquiries coming in from all over the world. The secret is out: Thanks in large part to their faculty, boarding schools are a place of academic and extracurricular growth as well as overall adolescent development.
How exactly can parents navigate this new admissions landscape?
Take advantage of improved virtual programming.
Admissions officers are now more accessible thanks to Zoom interviews, virtual visits, webinars, and school fairs. Schools have vastly improved their online presentations, enabling families to get a better vibe for each school. Take these opportunities to window-shop more schools. Most campuses are also now open to admission visitors, so you can follow up virtual visits with in-person tours.
Research schools in the Owl Boarding School Guide.
When COVID-19 hit, many boarding schools asked us to host virtual fairs since they could no longer travel to pennant-strewn gymnasiums of junior high and feeder schools. We hosted eight fairs with 100 schools that drew over a thousand families. We then asked ourselves: If colleges have all these guides, why can’t we make one for boarding schools? The data from our fairs was used to create the free Owl Boarding School Guide.
Cast a wide net.
Because interest in boarding schools is booming, we recommend applying to at least eight schools of varying selectivity to maximize your opportunities. Start with an open mind, go beyond each school’s history, tradition, and reputation, and look at the next few years and ask yourself—which schools will best aid your child’s development? Consider all options from small to large schools, single-sex and coed, and those from near to far.
Simplify the application process with a standard application.
Applying to eight schools or more gets a lot easier when you streamline biographical forms, activity lists, essays, teacher recommendations, and more through the Standard Application Online (SAO). And while some boarding schools have gone test optional during the pandemic, we’ve found that it’s still helpful to submit SSAT scores if your child is a good standardized test taker. Keep in mind that many boarding schools continue accepting applications into the winter and even the spring.
Prioritize the best fit.
Since we also do college planning at McMillan Education for kids we’ve placed in boarding schools, we know that students who thrive in high school not only demonstrate the most personal and academic growth, they also earn the best college choices. The name of the school is less important than the student’s performance, and a big fish in a small pond develops better and has more choices for the future. School reputation can play a role, but for a real fit, you want a school where your child will receive the proper balance of rigor and support, have leadership and growth opportunities, and find their people.
If there’s one thing we’ve learned as educators during this pandemic, it’s that a happy and fulfilled child is often a healthy child.
