SECONDARY SCHOOL ADVISING

Secondary School Advising Office

Alyson Henning Walker

Director of Secondary School Advising                     

Tel. 203-863-5654         

Email awalker@gcds.net    

Pat Kemp
Secondary School Advising
Tel. 203-863-5648
Email patkemp@gcds.net 

"Educators must prepare students for the challenges of the coming century. Country Day prepares them not merely for citizenship but for leadership." - Headmaster Adam Rohdie

We believe that helping students and parents prepare for the next steps beyond Country Day is a significant piece of the educational process. The Director of Secondary School Advising works closely with each student to identify schools that will allow a student to be both challenged and successful during their high school years and to guide families through the process. We assist our students in exploring the range of options available, taking into account specific programs and curricula, school cultures, geographic locations, specialized programs, whether public or independent, and whether boarding or day schools. Country Day is proud of an 80-year record of placing students in outstanding schools aligned with their particular interests and talents.

An Individual Approach
The individual approach we take to secondary school placement is key to Country Day graduates going on to productive and happy careers at their next schools.

Teachers at Country Day know their students well. This allows them to write informed recommendations to support secondary school applications.  It also enables them to work closely with the Secondary School Advising Director, providing important information on each student's academic background.  Through individual counseling sessions with both families and students, the Secondary School Advising Director gains a thorough knowledge of each student both in and outside of school.

Fulfillment of our mission to develop young adults in mind, body, and spirit is embedded into Country Day's successful placement of graduates into the nation's finest secondary schools, both local and boarding.  Our program offers:

• Individualized approach
• Establishment of criteria for identifying those factors that contribute to an individual student's success
• Identification of schools aligned with a student's interests and strengths
• Practice interviews and feedback
• On-site standardized test administration (SSAT)
• Disciplined process and systems to allow for the majority of time to be focused on each student
• Ongoing communication with receiving schools to:
  
  • Support our students' applications
  • Ensure an understanding of the depth of the Country Day program (academically, athletically, artistically and with respect to leadership learning and experiences)

Greenwich Country Day Graduates
Our commitment to academic excellence means that students are challenged to discover the full range of their talents and interests. Our focus on areas such as public speaking, writing skills, the application of technology in the classroom, and character education gives Country Day students the best possible preparation for secondary school and college. Approximately 40 percent of Country Day graduates attend a local school, either a public or independent day school; approximately 60 percent attend boarding schools.

We continue to follow the progress of our alumni in secondary schools and colleges, taking pride in their success. Many GCDS graduates assume leadership positions at their new secondary schools, and over 85 percent of our graduates go on to attend the most selective colleges in the country.

Secondary School Choices of Greenwich Country Day Students
Class of 2010

• 37% will attend local day schools such as (partial listing) Brunswick, Greenwich Academy, Greenwich High School, Green Farms, Hopkins, Rye Country Day, and King.
• 63% will attend boarding schools such as (partial listing) Andover, Avon Old Farms, Brooks, Choate, Deerfield, Episcopal, Hotchkiss, Kent, Middlesex, Millbrook, Milton, Peddie, Proctor, St. George's, St. Paul's, Taft, and Westminster.

College Placement of Greenwich Country Day Alumni

Eighty-six percent of the GCDS Class of 2004-2006 will attend colleges ranked Most Competitive and/or Highly Competitive based on Barron's Profiles of American Colleges (2009 edition).  Country Day's commitment to the highest academic standards and an extensive secondary school placement program prepare our students for success in the secondary schools and colleges they will attend after graduating.