HELPFUL ADVICE
PARENTS • What degree of involvement is expected of parents in school activities and other supporting roles? Involvement with sports? Academic support? Advising? Participation in clubs or functions? QUALITY OF LIFE • Is the atmosphere that of a “tight ship” or is it informal?
• I f this is a residential school, then what is residential life like? • Are students required to participate in some form of organized athletics? Dramatic projections? Other school-wide activities?
• What is the student attrition rate? What are the reasons? • What is the school’s policy on substance abuse? Alcohol use? Smoking? •W hat types of infractions are considered serious and what disciplinary procedures are used? • How do the personal and educational guidance and advisory systems work? PROFESSIONAL STAFF • What is the typical class size, particularly in English, foreign languages, mathematics and science?
• What is the individual teacher load, including numbers of students as well as preparation and other duties?
• In what professional organizations do individual faculty members participate? PHYSICAL PLANT • Is the physical plant — including classrooms, library, laboratories and physical education facilities — adequate for and compatible with the mission of the school?
• Is the plant well maintained and does it show signs of people caring about the physical environment? (Include dorms and individual rooms if this is a residential school.)
• Is the food service area clean and are certificates of appropriate health and sanitary inspections displayed?
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SOME GRANITE STATE STATISTICS There are 319 private schools in New Hampshire, serving 29,983 students. The average private school tuition is $8,621 for elementary schools and $29,576 for high schools. The average acceptance rate is 76 percent (versus 85 percent nationally). Minority enrollment is 12 percent and the student:teacher ratio is 9:1. 26 percent of schools are religiously affiliated (most commonly Roman Catholic and Christian).
There are two all-girls schools, eight all-boys schools, 29 Montessori schools and 232 preschools/cay care schools. INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS PER COUNTY Hillsborough (107), Rockingham (83) Merrimack (32), Strafford (26) Cheshire (19), Grafton (18), Belknap (11), Carroll (11), Sullivan (9) and Coös (8) POPULAR CITIES Manchester (30), Nashua (20), Concord (13), Dover (10) and Salem 10 Source: privateschoolreview.com
I N D E P E N D E N T S C H O O L G U I D E | new
hampshire magazine
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