Guest Blog: “The Sooner, the Better: Three Reasons Why Early Enrollment in Independent Schools Matter”
“The Sooner, the Better: Three Reasons Why Early Enrollment in Independent Schools Matter”
Guest BLog
Shari Cameron, Head of School,
BASIS Independent Brooklyn Lower School
We have all heard the idiom “The sooner, the better” and have probably used the adage a time or two ourselves to express an urgency in the completion of a task. This phrase is voiced in relation to rectifying a problem or receiving the answer to a question, but how often is it uttered when addressing the most appropriate time to enroll our children into independent schools?
The educational landscape in America has shifted throughout the years leading more of our black and brown families to consider whether or not a public school education is the best education for our children. While many families plan to send their children to independent schools at some point in their educational trajectory, several decide to push back the application process until middle or high school believing that the latter years in a child’s educational experience are more pertinent. It is, however, time for us to switch the narrative, so that our families consider the benefits of enrolling black and brown students into independent school communities earlier in their schooling. Here are three of the A,B,C’s on why enrollment in an independent school in the earlier years of a child’s development is beneficial.
Reason 1: Access
It is no secret that independent schools have access to resources and facilities that are unavailable in many public schools. Access yields opportunity, and it is crucial to provide opportunity to our students as early in their educational careers as possible. The student/teacher ratio in most independent schools is smaller, therefore, affording for more resources per student within each classroom. Additionally, most independent schools tout facilities that stand out in comparison to their public school counterparts. This especially matters in the earlier years of a child’s development because their environment/school facility serves an additional teacher nurturing their development. So much of a child’s emotional and social growth is impacted by their environment, and enrolling in an independent school during the earlier years of one’s development grants access to resources and facilities that are designed to nurture their growth.
Reason 2: Bedrock of Their Development
Why wait until middle or high school to enroll your child into an independent school when the first five to eight years of their lives serve as the bedrock of their development? Countless studies have shown that during the early childhood through early primary years of their existence, children are laying the foundation for their futures. During these years, children’s brains are thirsty and able to absorb an abundance of information both academically and socially/emotionally. Children, by nature, are more curious, explorative, and capable of understanding more complex concepts which makes the early years of their schooling the perfect time to enter into an independent school setting where their intellectual curiosity may be nurtured!
Reason 3: Community
Let’s face it: when we enroll our children into a school, our entire family joins the community. This is why it is important to take steps to build the community that we desire for our children to have once they reach middle and high school while they are still in their early childhood and elementary years. Establishing community earlier has many benefits including embracing identity and cultivating an extended family of like-minded individuals who, in essence, join you on your journey of raising community-conscious children. Taking the time to invest in forging community while your children are in the younger years of their schooling, allows a sense of trust, unity, and solidarity to prevail, thus teaching your children how to responsibly trust and be trusted by others within an organization. By enrolling your child into an independent school in their younger years, you are gifting your entire family with a community of like-minded individuals with shared commitments, passions, and values.