2006-2007 Fall/Winter Directions - Friends' Central School

CAMPUS LOG
From the Admission Office
Barbara Behar, Director of Admission and Financial Aid
Every year, the Admission Office staff meets and assesses prospective
students in an effort to identify those who we think would benefit
from and contribute to Friends’ Central’s challenging curriculum and
creative environment. Even though we were told by demographers
that this year there would be fewer school-age students from whom
to choose, once again our applicant pool was strong.
The Admission Office is delighted to report that this year we have
added 150 very talented and engaging students to our community.
They come to FCS from nursery, public, and independent schools
from all over the metropolitan area, from seven different states, and
three different countries. They bring a variety of talents and experiences
to Friends’ Central and enrich our community through the
diversity of their unique backgrounds and perspectives. We welcome
them and look forward to getting to know them and their families as
the year progresses.
From the College Counseling Office
Grant Calder, Director of College Counseling
People tend to focus on class size when discussing the advantages of
an independent school education. Smaller classes are a plus, no
question, and the “small is better” advantage is particularly pronounced
in the area of college counseling. Colleagues of mine working
in public high schools, even those in which eighty percent or
more of the graduates go on to attend four year colleges, are typically
responsible for three, four, even five times the number of students
that we are here at Friends’ Central. What’s more, they must act as
the primary advisor, the “guidance counselor,” for each one of their
advisees during their entire four years in high school. At Friends’
Central, every student has a faculty advisor, each grade has a dean,
and there is a Dean of Students for the Upper School. This powerful
combination of faculty and administrative support for our students
leaves the college counselors free to devote their time entirely
to college counseling. We have time to sit down with all the students
in a junior or senior class, and with their parents, as often as needed.
We have time to meet with the seventy or so college representatives
who come to visit Friends’ Central each fall. We have time to
visit colleges and universities ourselves (we average about fifteen visits
per year per counselor). We can attend meetings of our local
Delaware Valley independent school group of colleagues, as well as
state and national gatherings of college admissions officers and high
school counselors. We have time to be advocates for our students
throughout the college admissions process. And we make time for
ALL SCHOOL
Ross Trachtenberg ’98, Cynthia Harris, Jason Kramer, Barbara Behar,
Deanna Ciarrocchi, Lou DelSoldo, Anna Marie Ciglinksy
Mary Lynne Jeschke, Grant Calder, Carrie Brodsky
the many of them who return to visit after they graduate, to
catch up with them and hear their thoughts about the colleges
they are attending. It gives us great pleasure to report that the
feedback is positive: overwhelmingly, our recent graduates feel
they have chosen schools that support their academic and
extracurricular interests.
DIRECTIONS Fall 2006 / Winter 2007 9