March madness ends on April 10th, at least in the boarding school world. That’s the date that marks the deadline for students holding acceptance letters to choose which school they will attend. Williston, as with our peer schools, has held a number of “Second Visit Days” in an effort to provide admitted students and their families with as much information as possible with which to make an informed choice. Unlike many boarding schools, Williston invites students to spend the night in our dorms, a “sleepover” which undoubtedly makes for more tired eyes on the full day of activities that follows. Why do we do that?
Students and families face a big decision. To make a clear choice, one needs to process myriad facts and details as well as to sort through stereotypes in order to gain a level of insight that’s often hard to accomplish. Williston, literally, provides such a chance for “in-sight”—looking into the inner workings of our school from life in the dormitories to classrooms, to a variety of panels and exchanges representing every aspect of a student’s experience. We open our school to families because we are, authentically, an open school. We believe that each student we’ve admitted will thrive at Williston, contribute meaningfully to our community, and become engaged and transformed by her/his time here.
So as April 10th approaches, I advise families to privilege their “sixth sense,” to pay attention to the insights they have gleaned from school visits, and above all, to have fun in the opportunity that exciting choices present.