How hard is it for a student to adjust to Catholic HS after public?

[Anonymous]

What sport?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's been a few years but my DS went from a Fairfax County middle school to Gonzaga. The biggest adjustment for him was academic expectations. In FCPS, if he didn't have to hand something in, he would not do the suggested readings. They never had unannounced quizzes. They were allowed multiple retakes.

At Gonzaga, a teacher might have a quiz on the reading he was supposed to do the night before. And since he didn't do the reading, he performed poorly on the quiz. It took him a couple of weeks to realize that he needed to do whatever was assigned even if the didn't have to hand it in the next day. He was prepared for the workload and had no problem with the rigor of the work. It was just the expectations that was the adjustment.

This is what I've seen also. Most kids who switch from public adjust to the expectations fairly quickly after getting one or two unannounced quizzes or bad grades. They may not (or may) like the new expectations, but they are also used to adapting to changes and personalities. This same thing also helps them adjust socially. Yes, depending on school and grade/group they may be the odd person out for a while, but they are also a bit of a novelty as many of the kids have been with the same group of kids for a looong time. 9th grade is an entry year, so while there may be established friendships, its often a new environment for most.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's been a few years but my DS went from a Fairfax County middle school to Gonzaga. The biggest adjustment for him was academic expectations. In FCPS, if he didn't have to hand something in, he would not do the suggested readings. They never had unannounced quizzes. They were allowed multiple retakes.

At Gonzaga, a teacher might have a quiz on the reading he was supposed to do the night before. And since he didn't do the reading, he performed poorly on the quiz. It took him a couple of weeks to realize that he needed to do whatever was assigned even if the didn't have to hand it in the next day. He was prepared for the workload and had no problem with the rigor of the work. It was just the expectations that was the adjustment.

This is what I've seen also. Most kids who switch from public adjust to the expectations fairly quickly after getting one or two unannounced quizzes or bad grades. They may not (or may) like the new expectations, but they are also used to adapting to changes and personalities. This same thing also helps them adjust socially. Yes, depending on school and grade/group they may be the odd person out for a while, but they are also a bit of a novelty as many of the kids have been with the same group of kids for a looong time. 9th grade is an entry year, so while there may be established friendships, its often a new environment for most.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's been a few years but my DS went from a Fairfax County middle school to Gonzaga. The biggest adjustment for him was academic expectations. In FCPS, if he didn't have to hand something in, he would not do the suggested readings. They never had unannounced quizzes. They were allowed multiple retakes.

At Gonzaga, a teacher might have a quiz on the reading he was supposed to do the night before. And since he didn't do the reading, he performed poorly on the quiz. It took him a couple of weeks to realize that he needed to do whatever was assigned even if the didn't have to hand it in the next day. He was prepared for the workload and had no problem with the rigor of the work. It was just the expectations that was the adjustment.

This is what I've seen also. Most kids who switch from public adjust to the expectations fairly quickly after getting one or two unannounced quizzes or bad grades. They may not (or may) like the new expectations, but they are also used to adapting to changes and personalities. This same thing also helps them adjust socially. Yes, depending on school and grade/group they may be the odd person out for a while, but they are also a bit of a novelty as many of the kids have been with the same group of kids for a looong time. 9th grade is an entry year, so while there may be established friendships, its often a new environment for most.

+1

+2 Caveat: The one exception will be the kid who had previously been doing great but starts to bomb after the expectations switch and doesn't adjust -- for that kid there is likely an undiagnosed 2e situation going on. Sometimes the expectations in public schools are designed to mask ADHD or milder learning disabilities -- like being able to turn things in late, do retakes, not have grades count, etc. The EF skills those policies 'forgive' means a kid who needs help with EF isn't always identified ("she has all A's, so there can't be a problem"), and so does not get the early training to overcome the deficit. They hit a wall when the supports are suddenly removed and no therapies or accommodation are in place to help.

So, if a problem with grades and expectation lingers beyond a month or two, sign up for testing right away, as it takes a long time to get through the testing process, so start early. You can always cancel before the testing if things improve later.