A Guide To Schools Within 10 Miles Of Philadelphia

The Cleveland Council of Independent Schools currently has thirteen member schools in the Greater Cleveland metropolitan area. On the list below are schools which offer a variety of programs including college prep, Montessori, and special needs. The CCIS website is informative and useful. It also has an employment section worth bookmarking if you are looking for a teaching or administrative position in one of their member schools.

Andrews Osborne Academy, Willoughby, OH

Founded in 1910
Number of students: 336
Grades PK-12, day. Grades 7-12, boarding. Coeducational
Religious Affiliation: Nonsectarian

Andrews Osborne Academy is situated on a 330 acre campus about 20 miles east of Cleveland just outside the charming suburban city of Willoughby. The school offers a 6:1 student-teacher ratio. The course catalog lists 104 academic courses and 11 AP courses. For complete details regarding curriculum, sports, extracurricular activities, costs, and other information, see the Andrews Osborne Academy profile.

Birchwood School, Cleveland, OH

Founded in 1984
Number of students: 202
Grades PK-8, day. Coeducational
Religious Affiliation: Nonsectarian

Birchwood School is located in Cleveland convenient to I-90, I-480 and I-71. The school offers gifted education as well as a comprehensive series of signature programs such as Speech Fest and Woodmath. For complete details regarding curriculum, sports, extracurricular activities, costs, and other information, see the Birchwood School profile.

Gilmour Academy, Gates Mills, OH

Founded in 1946
Number of students: 653
Grades PK-12, day. Coeducational
Religious Affiliation: Roman Catholic

Visiting schools on your shortlist is one of the most important parts of finding the right private school for your child. You cannot and must not skip this part of the process. Why? Well, the videos on YouTube and the glossy catalogs are excellent introductions to the schools which you have identified as possible matches for your requirements. They give you an overview of the school and its programs. Unfortunately, the schools have positioned those videos and photos to show the best features of their schools. Think Architectural Digest. Have you ever seen any clutter in an AD photoshoot? Of course not. Everybody puts their best foot forward. Same thing with schools.

The school visit allows you to look at things that are not in the photos or mentioned in the catalog. The same rationale applies to you when you visit schools. Up to that point, you and your child are simply names on a list and a file folder. Your visiting gives the schools the opportunity to see who you are and to gauge your child's preparedness for the academic work ahead. So, when you visit schools, please don't make the following common mistakes. A little thought and preparation will help you make the best impression possible.

Being late

Being 10 minutes early for your appointment is sensible. That way you will have time to park and compose yourself and your child before entering the admissions office. Admissions staffers are busy professionals who keep

Velcro is a hook-and-loop fastener that sticks things together. It also has become a popular term for describing a certain kind of over-protective parent. The other term used to describe such parents is helicopter parent. The term drone is also used. I was curious about the phenomenon as I don't recall that Nancy or I were that over-protective with our children. My research indicates that hovering came into vogue with the advent of smartphones. Texting and apps make keeping in touch with your children very easy. It is very easy to be too involved. That is not good for your child, and her school will not appreciate your velcro tendencies. There has to be a balance between hands-on involvement and a hands-off approach. So, let's approach the issue from that perspective. We will look at how this applies to each grade level as your children progress through their schools.

Pre-school

I was one of those lucky fathers who drove his daughters to their pre-schools. In those days, back in the 70s, I was on the staff of a large Episcopal church on Long Island. Our house was about 2 miles from my eldest daughter's preschool. The preschool was located in the Sunday School classroom wing of the church. The school had just been established because of the strong demand for pre-schools in that South Shore community.

Literally, the two of us would get out of the car and enter the front door of the church

Use this five-point checklist to keep your search for private schools organized. If you ask your friends and family who have gone through the process of finding private schools for their children about their experiences, you will probably hear that the search is not difficult. On the other hand, it is time-consuming, has several deadlines, and can be demanding, particularly if you and your spouse have full-time careers. Before long, somebody will create an app to help you keep your private school search in order. In the meantime, use this simple checklist.

1. Look at schools.

"Cast your net as wide as you can." "Think outside the box." Sorry to bombard you with cliches, but they are the best suggestions which I can offer. Thinking outside the box is not always easy for us parents to do. We know our children so very well. That's a given. But some of us tend to be overly-protective, and we worry a lot. "She'll never do well in that school. Helen's son had a terrible time there." Force yourself to explore schools that you might not have put on your list, for one reason or another.

As the following video illustrates, schools will put their best foot forward as they want you to consider them and, better yet, visit them.

This part of the school search process can be great fun. Why? Because most private