About Private Schools

It's exciting to discover a veritable treasure trove of books set in private schools published recently. The United States, United Kingdom, and Peru. You can find most books at your favorite bookseller or library in both traditional paperback and electronic format. In addition, I have given you links to the authors' websites wherever possible. Happy reading!

The Truly Devious Series by Maureen Johnson

Truly Devious

ASIN: B07252X6ZH

The Vanishing Stair

ASIN: B078LXZ8CS

The Hand On The Wall

ASIN: B07QVL5SLT

The Box In The Woods

ASIN: B08CRBSN2R

"The Agatha Christie-like ecosystem pairs with lacerating contemporary wit, and alternating past and present scenes makes for a multilayered, modern detective story." -- New York Times Book Review

From the pen of Maureen Johnson comes a series of murder mysteries set in famous Ellingham Academy in Vermont. Stevie Bell solves the murders with great aplomb.

This video offers a recap of Truly Devious.

Dark Rooms: A Novel by Lili Anolik

ASIN: B00KVI9DH2

Lili Anolik's first novel tackles a murder disguised as a suicide. The murder victim's sister signs on to teach at the prestigious Connecticut boarding school where the murder took place. We suspect that this will not be the only murder Grace solves.

Atlas of Men by David Sklar

ASIN: B07HGFSNC7

"…a haunting, mesmerizing story about coming-of-age, of innocence lost and the search for redemption."

— Hedy S.

In the nineteenth-century education for several of our presidents was strictly hit or miss for a variety of reasons. On the other hand, a couple of presidents enjoyed what you and I know in the 21st century as Ivy League educations. Fortunately for our young nation, most of these men were leaders who were able to guide our country through so uncharted waters and perilous times.

17 - Andrew Johnson

President from April 15, 1865 to March 4, 1869
Born: December 29, 1808, Raleigh, North Carolina
Died: July 31, 1875, Carter County, Tennessee, Tennessee
Political party: Democratic Party

North Carolina native Andrew Johnson succeeded Abraham Lincoln. He had no formal schooling as his family was very poor. His meager educational background notwithstanding, Johnson apparently was a skilled public speaker.

Book Scrolling has a list of books about our 17th president.

18 - Ulysses S. Grant

President from March 4, 1869 to March 4, 1877
Born: April 27, 1822, Point Pleasant, Ohio
Died: July 23, 1885, Wilton, New York
Political party: Republican Party

Ohio native Hiram Ulysses Grant appears to have had formal schooling from the age of five. He attended a subscription school, i.e., a school which his parents paid for him to attend, as well as two private schools, the Maysville Seminary, and John Rankin's Academy. He matriculated to West Point. Ron Chernow's book about President Grant was #1 on the New York

I was musing the other day about how things might have turned out differently if this or that had happened in my life. The same exercise applies to just about any subject. So let's do it with private schools.

What if you can't make up your mind about whether to send your daughter to grade school or to high school?

You won't be alone if you are in a quandary about sending your child to primary grades or to high school. I wrote about this at length in Should You Send Your Child to Private Primary or High School? It is a catch 22 situation. The primary school lays the foundation for solid achievement in high school, while high school lays the foundation for solid achievement in college. If either academic foundation is constructed with less than the best materials, the educational structure built on that foundation will have deficiencies.

The solution is to find a private school which meets as many of your requirements as possible. I explain how to do this in The Search Process: A 5 Point Checklist

What if you think you cannot afford to send your child to a private school?

It is discouraging when you discover that a day school can cost $35,000 or more. And that's just for tuition. Add in fees and sundries such as music lessons, and you are probably looking at more than $40,000. Luckily, you have several options available to you. The first

As you research private schools, you will find yourself coming back to a handful of websites again and again. Why? Because they are informative, useful, and easy to use. Here are my picks for 'must have' websites when it comes to finding out about private K-12 schools.

The Association of Boarding Schools
http://www.boardingschools.com/

The Association of Boarding Schools site is dynamic and clean. I want to find information quickly with as few clicks as possible. The TABS site is one of those well-designed sites which allows you to do just that. You can drill down to member boarding schools, learn about recruiting fairs, financing, boarding school life, and just about anything to do with boarding schools. This site is a 'must have' for parents living outside the United States who are thinking about sending their children to American boarding schools.

Google Maps
maps.google.com

I included maps.google.com on this list of 'must have' websites because it allows me to zoom in and look at the street view. That is not important for schools and locations I know. But when I am researching a school in another state, Google Maps allows me to get the lay of the land quickly and efficiently. Also, because it is available as an app, I can plug the address in on my smartphone and get directions to the campuses of the schools which I am visiting.

SSAT
www.ssat.org/

Standardized admissions testing is an important component of your child's admissions profile.

Many parents tend to dismiss the idea of sending their children to private school without exploring it in depth. Similarly, many teachers flirt with the idea of teaching in a private school without delving into the matter deeply. Supporting your alma mater financially is another concept many alumni figure is somebody else's job. Of course, it isn't.

Send my child to private school?

You would want to send your child to private school for several reasons. The public schools in your area may not offer all the academic programs you want your child to have as she prepares for college a couple of years from now. The local public schools may have had to cut extracurricular activities because of financial constraints. You want your child to participate in a variety of extracurricular activities. Sports programs may have been cut as well. Many school districts are struggling with their budgets and that impacts academics, extracurricular activities, and athletic programs across the board. Those kinds of fiscal pressures make the extras problematic at best. Who wouldn't want their child to be in academic surroundings where anything is possible as this short video suggests.

In this video, a student explains his math project.

Making the decision to send your child to private school requires some serious analysis and discussion of your aims and objectives. When we were having that discussion, we had two concerns: 1) stretching out children