Menlo Park Campus
815 El Camino Real
Menlo Park, CA 94025
Have you ever wondered what a private school made just for you might be like? Of course, you would want the best teachers and courses that interest you. Yet, there are a lot of other factors that should be considered when choosing the right private high school for your child and for your whole family unit. From culture to class size and the individual learning needs of your child, here is your guide on how to pick a private school for your child.
Your child’s high school experience occurs at a critical point in their development, both academically and emotionally. A positive high school experience builds confidence and sets your child up for success in post secondary education and in life.
Choosing the right school means selecting the right environment for your child to learn and develop, not only academically but also as a person. This means selecting a school that allows academic potential to flourish, caters to a student's unique needs, and allows challenged or gifted students to succeed in school or at home.
Selecting potential private schools for your child can be more of an art than a science. There are a few factors to take into the equation.
The ideal location means the school that best fits the needs of both the parents and the child, including travel options and work schedule. This means determining how far you are prepared to travel while not disturbing your life too much.
Kids who are approaching 11th and 12th grade may be able to tackle a short commute on their own. For parents with younger children who will need to undertake a drive to and from the school, location is everything.
Location could also be considered to be a flexible concept in this day and age. An online private school or flexible campus time could mean that your commute to the perfect school is not too far away.
The school you choose should fit you, your child’s, and your family’s ideas and values in a supportive, inclusive, and kind environment.
An optimal high school culture should support growth and success. This may not come in a hard and fast curricular style but may be flexible with smaller classes or even one-on-one instruction. This means that the culture should support academic, mental, and emotional development while building confidence and capability for the future.
While they might easily fall behind in a large classroom, students who experience learning challenges can greatly benefit from personalized one-on-one tutoring. Similarly, gifted and twice-exceptional students can have a hard time accessing the learning they need to flourish.
One-on-one learning helps students to rediscover confidence and make significant academic achievements that may not be possible for them in traditional classroom-based education. Through individual, personalized learning plans and guidance, tutors can easily adapt to your child’s needs with a great deal of focus and attention.
A flexible class schedule and personalized learning program that suits your child’s learning style and your family’s schedule is the best option. This may mean conducting classes online, from the comfort of home, that support mental and emotional wellbeing and play to your child’s strengths.
When it comes to class size, the smaller the class size the better. The more attention your child gets, the better the chance they will have of overcoming and conquering academic adversity.
With one-on-one teaching methods, the downturn in stress that students typically experience in classes of 15 to 30 creates mental space for focused, highly specialized attention that can see academic success skyrocket in an effective, efficient, and sustainable way.
The best outcome for any student is to leave school having achieved their full potential. Their high school education should enable them to plan for the future and for post-secondary school life with the confidence they deserve.
Researching the outcomes of a private high school in terms of graduation and post-secondary education rates can give you a better idea of the outcome you can expect for your own child.
At Lydian Academy in Burlingame and Menlo Park, CA, we believe that every student deserves a learning path that is designed for their personal academic needs and goals. With that in mind, we offer a year-round one-on-one learning experience both virtually or at our multiple campus locations. Contact us at (650) 321-0550 today to learn more about our unrivaled private high school program.
