Private School Review Blog

This article has been updated to reflect 2026 data and recent developments.

Editor's note: I asked Melissa P. Earls, Head of School of Academy Hill School in Springfield, Massachusetts, several questions about teaching gifted children. She very kindly offered the following answers. (I will disclaim that my youngest grandson attends Academy Hill School.)

1. Why should parents consider sending their child to a school for gifted children?

Not every school is right for every child. And, even if a child is academically advanced, or gifted in any number of ways, a school that offers an enhanced, enriched curriculum with high expectations and increased rigor might not be the right fit. I would never push any school on any student. But for our learners, and other students like them, Academy Hill is a terrific fit. We offer several programs that set us apart.

When looking for a school for a gifted child, it is critical that parents seek out an environment that will continuously engage the child in creative, student-driven tasks. It is important that the school allow core curriculum time and opportunities for students to pursue areas of interest in depth. It is imperative that the pace of instruction matches the student's ability to comprehend content, apply knowledge, and acquire skills at faster speeds and with high proficiency. Because these children are usually eager learners, formative assessments, while necessary in any educational setting, may not be as frequent and certainly do not look the

Getting into your dream private high school requires careful planning, determination, and preparation. Suppose you're a teenager who values good academics, robust sports programs, and exciting extracurricular activities. In that case, this article will guide you through the essential steps to increase your chances of admission to your dream school. Let's dive in!

1. Research and Identify Your Dream School

Begin by researching different private high schools in your area that align with your academic, sports, and extracurricular preferences. Consider location, reputation, curriculum, facilities, and student life to narrow your choices.

One of the easiest ways to compare schools is by using the search tools on Private School Review, which allow families to filter schools by location, grade level, tuition, enrollment, and other important criteria before scheduling campus visits.

2. Understand Admission Requirements

Thoroughly examine the admission requirements of your dream school. Check if it has any specific academic prerequisites, standardized test score expectations, recommendation letters, interviews, essays, or portfolio submissions. Understanding those requirements will help you plan your high school journey accordingly.

Because admissions requirements continue to evolve, always review the school's admissions website for the latest information before beginning your application.

For additional guidance on preparing your application, see Applications Calendar.

3. Build a Strong Academic Foundation

Focus on maintaining excellent grades throughout middle school. Private high schools typically consider academic performance as a crucial criterion for admission. Therefore, aim for consistently high grades and challenge yourself with advanced courses whenever possible.

Many admissions offices

As I prepared to write this article about searching for private K-12 schools, I had a flashback to the fall of 1986 when we started looking at schools for our eldest daughter. There was no email or internet back then, at least that the general public had access to. We knew friends who had gone to private school. At one point I had interviewed to be the Music teacher at a New England boarding school. But that was it. That was all we knew about private high schools. Reaching further back into my memory bank, I remember enrolling our eldest daughter in the now-defunct St. Peter's by-the-sea Day School when it first opened in 1971. When we moved to Garden City, we enrolled her in the Waldorf School of Garden City. These two decisions were fairly easy because we knew the schools which came highly recommended by family and friends. No email or web searches were possible, nor were they needed.

Back to our 21st-century private school search. We have some very powerful tools available to us. Unfortunately, these tools can produce results that can be misleading, confusing, or, at worst, useless. Search engines require us to filter the data carefully to eliminate information that we don't need. Useful results depend on the manner in which you word the search terms. Happily, this is not the case with the Private School Review search engine. Our programmers have set up the fields you need to search our

This article has been updated to reflect 2026 data and recent developments.

Editor's note:

I asked Attorney Sara Goldsmith Schwartz, whose "practice is focused on the critical issues facing school administrators and leadership," to answer my questions and provide some general guidance regarding best practices for enrollment agreements. This article is intended for the information of owners, administrators, and trustees of small to medium-sized private schools. ~ Rob Kennedy

In 2026, the underlying issues discussed here remain important. Private School Review's What to Ask Before Signing an Enrollment Contract emphasizes that enrollment contracts typically establish a family's financial obligations, school policies, and expectations, making careful review important before signing.

The relationship between parents, students, and the school is determined by contract law. Can you tell us what that means?

The relationship between parents, students, and the school is based on a lot of documents, including the student/parent handbook, the code of conduct, the enrollment agreement, and more. The enrollment agreement, however, is the only legal contract, and it memorializes the relationship between the parents, students, and the school, binding the parties to the terms and conditions laid out in the agreement. The agreement assists schools in collecting tuition and fees in cases of non-payment and in assessing late fees in cases of late payment. However, a comprehensive agreement addresses far more than tuition and fees.

Private School Review's Handbooks provide additional context about the relationship between a school's enrollment contract and the

Editor's Note: I asked John Gulla, the Executive Director of the E.E. Ford Foundation to answer some questions about the Foundation's work specifically, and independent school philanthropy in general. I am grateful to him for his thoughtful responses. Rob Kennedy

Preamble

JG: One does not have to read Thomas Piketty's Capital in the 21st Century, though I do strongly recommend it, to understand the challenges of late-stage capitalism and the concentration of wealth. Half of the world's wealth is now controlled by less than 1% of the population. Put another way, the wealth of the top 1% equals the wealth of the other 99%. Viewed slightly differently, fewer than 100 individuals own as much as the poorest half of the world's population. This is not the place for a discussion of how this has come about or the challenges it represents, but I think that the data provide a prima facie case for the increasing role of Private Foundations in the years ahead.

What was Edward E. Ford hoping to accomplish by establishing his foundation?

JG: The current mission of the Foundation is to "strengthen and support independent secondary schools and to challenge and inspire them to leverage their unique talents, expertise and resources to advance teaching and learning throughout this country by supporting and disseminating best practice, by supporting efforts to develop and implement models of sustainability, and