by Mark Sklarow, Executive Director, Independent Educational Consultants Association

Sixteen years ago, my first day with IECA was at the start of the spring conference in Raleigh, North Carolina. I believe there were fewer than 250 attendees, including some 80 IECA members. There was no NATSAP back then, Small Boarding School Conferences were intimate events, and The Association of Boarding Schools, just separating from NAIS, was years away from hosting its own conference. Today with more school conferences, therapeutic conferences, college conferences, plus LDA, CHADD, and more, I contemplated the role of IECA gatherings. I wondered if we are we simply duplicating efforts, and more importantly, whether IECA makes a significant contribution to the welfare of students.

To be sure the IECA conferences have grown. Upwards of 1,200 people have attended our conferences, including as many as 300 consultants. There has been a surge in college participation, while attendance from schools and special purpose programs grew rapidly in the first half of the decade and has stabilized. Even as the economy turned sour and where other associations reported 25 to 30 to even 35% percent drops in attendance, IECA has exceeded expectations with only minor declines. As a friend of mine, the director of another educational association, said to me recently, “The rest of us feel lucky to be hanging on…IECA is doing great and YOU’RE the one wondering how to change, improve, and redesign conferences? People come because there’s value to attending.” But again I wonder, with so many other choices out there, what IS the value? What makes IECA conferences unique and valued?

I recently asked a representative of Wintergreen Orchard House, a veteran of trade shows from coast-to-coast, about our conference. “The IECA Conference is a must-attend,” she told me. “It goes on my calendar first.” When I asked why, I was told “No where else can I meet people across disciplines: those in college placements, boarding school administrators, LD experts…it allows me to connect with all of the communities we want to reach.”

I asked an IECA member who has been around for years, someone who I’ll see at NACAC or other regional gathering from time to time. Her view was that IECA conferences provide something no one else does: a holistic view of adolescents. “We see teens as far more than a commodity to be placed or a potential student at a small private college. We know that to understand placement you need to understand the entire child: hopes, fears, learning style, anxieties, traits, and flaws. No where else do I get workshops on so wide a range of topics.”

While attending NATSAP last month I sat down and spoke with the head of a small emotional growth boarding school. He indicated that a few events each year are “musts.” This includes the two IECA conferences, because “…no where else can I speak to educational consultants who directly deal with students and families who are desperate and emotionally spent, and need a real professional to help them through a crisis; and then, turn around and talk to wilderness programs that could feed into my school, then traditional schools that we may feed into, and even colleges who want to understand better who we serve. Where else could I find that?”

And one more: a dean of admission from a college who jokingly told me many years ago that he would “never” tell his admission colleagues about IECA because it was one of the best kept secrets: “The last thing I want is more colleges to come. No where else do I get this wonderful opportunity to talk about my school with professionals who are MUCH more likely to work with students considering private colleges and MUCH more likely to explore colleges out of state. Why would I want my competitors to know about IECA?”

What then does IECA offer? First of all, the unique crowd that assembles: colleges, traditional boarding schools, gap year programs, emotional growth schools, therapeutic programs, and summer opportunities—all who believe in a holistic view of the student. Also, a schedule of workshops that range from NCAA rules to Asperger’s, and from learning communities to parent advocates. And we have worked in recent years to strengthen the academic offerings, even while expanding opportunities for networking in both formal and informal settings. As I look toward Toronto, I can say with confidence that “No Where Else” will such a gathering be possible.

by Mark Sklarow, Executive Director, Independent Educational Consultants Association

Our spring conference registration opened less than a week ago, and registration is already approaching 250. Early bird discounts end THIS FRIDAY (February 26), so if you are planning to attend our gathering in Toronto (May 12-15), get your registration completed right away. Full details on the conference are posted on the IECA Web site (http://www.iecaonline.com/conferences.html) and additional information, including details on all breakout sessions, will be added to the site in the next few days.

I have gotten a few questions and welcome this opportunity to clarify:

“I really don’t work with Canadian schools or universities (or ‘We don’t really get any students from Canada’). So maybe there won’t be as much for me at this conference.” Hold on!  Just because we are meeting in Canada for the first time doesn’t mean our focus is shifting. Of the first 225 registrants, just 15 are Canadian consultants, schools, or universities. The other 210 are from the U.S. What we expect is full participation by our IECA members from across the U.S. with a bit of an uptick in non-U.S. participation, reflecting how much easier it is for consultants in Asia, South America, and Europe to travel to Canada. We expect all of the schools, colleges, and programs that typically attend IECA conferences to be joining us in Toronto, but with the added bonus of greater participation by Canadian institutions. Remember, school, program, and college representatives from Nova Scotia to Vancouver helped us plan the conference!

“There’s so much going on before and after the conference, I’m still trying to figure out what to do, so I can’t register yet.” Wait a minute! We don’t want you to lose out on the early bird discount. Register for the conference now and get your discount. You can always sign back on using our Web-based registration system and modify your registration. That way you won’t miss the discount. We know there’s a lot going on: pre-conference activities include IECA tours of Ontario universities; special tours of Ontario boarding school and gap year programs; the popular Speed Meetings—actually two of them: one for traditional boarding schools and the other for therapeutic programs; and a pre-conference workshop on LD issues as well as one on Web-based marketing. Whew!! Post-conference activities include TWO different college tours: one of universities in upstate New York and the other in Nova Scotia. There’s a school tour in Nova Scotia as well.

“I just got a conference/tour price list via e-mail and it looks like the prices really went up.” NO! That was an e-mail from some other association! Don’t be confused. The cost of our three-day college tours (pre- or post-conference) is still just $95—not the $200 the other group charges. Our conference fee for members, including meals and special events and even including a pre-conference workshop, is unchanged at $395 ($370 early bird)—not the $595 the other group just e-mailed for their conference and pre-conference registration. IECA works hard to keep our costs as low as possible (with thanks to our conference sponsors). As proof: our membership dues have not changed in 30 years! Finally, even non-members can save a bundle. Our conference and pre-conference workshop full registration for non-member consultants is $530—not the $745 others are charging, according to that e-mail. Of course, cost is just part of the story. We are confident that everyone will get a great deal out of participating in the IECA conference: amazing speakers, great educational sessions, and lots of opportunities for networking.

by Mark Sklarow, Executive Director, IECA

As the competitiveness in college admission continues to grow, and with it parent anxieties, school systems across the country seem to be in a frenzy to grow their Advanced Placement (AP) offerings. In doing so, many schools place increased pressure on students to take AP courses in a desire to strengthen their students’ college applications and meet parental demands.

The problem of course is that schools need to meet three conditions BEFORE such a plan can be successful: (1) adequate training for teachers who will be responsible for the AP curriculum; (2) adequate preparation for students; and (3) sensible screening of students before placing them into AP classes. The current lack of such planning is further harmed when national “experts” evaluate and rate schools based on how many AP courses they offer and how many students are “pushed to challenge” themselves, with little attention paid to how many succeed. Some schools are reporting failure rates exceeding 70%!

Nationally more than 41% of students are now failing AP tests (receiving a grade of 1 or 2, typically considered failing). This is a 14% increase in the failure rate over the last decade. Much of the increase, and the highest failure rates, are seen in the South where almost half of all students fail, including more than 55% in New Mexico, Arkansas, Mississippi, and West Virginia. During this same decade the number of students enrolled in AP courses has more than doubled.

As recent IECA surveys indicate, students are best served when they take challenging classes and succeed in them. Looking at these new figures, one has to wonder whether the groundwork has been laid for this huge increase in offerings and participation as students in alarming numbers are not able to pass these tests. Are schools and counselors properly advising students when they are urged into coursework that is either above their ability or when a class’s progress is delayed because improper screening was done? One wonders if the growth has been pushed by an organization that materially benefits when more students take AP courses and tests—whether they are fully prepared for success or not.

Let’s continue to challenge students, but let’s use some common sense. Let’s also look at schools where three-quarters of student fail, and ensure that teachers are properly trained and students are able to handle the requirements.

by Mark Sklarow, Executive Director, IECA

I had a brief e-mail exchange last week with Scott Jaschik, editor of Inside Higher Education. He called my attention to the Web site of a consulting firm that was meant to appeal to parents of one ethnic group. Scott was pretty sure that the owner of the site wasn’t an IECA member, and he was certainly correct. To me, everything about that site—and the approach taken by those charlatans—reflected the worst of private consulting.

What they were selling, versus what reputable, ethical consultants—those who are members of the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA)—provide to families is the difference between student success and parental failure.

The Web site Scott directed me to, and scores of others like it that I have seen in recent years, speak only to the narrow question of HOW TO GET IN. That is, no discussion of how to choose a school, what benefits come with a large vs. small school, public or private, urban or rural, cut throat or supportive, liberal-minded or conservative, diverse or not, close relationships with teaching staff or large lecture halls. None of that—or hundreds of other criteria—is ever mentioned. What is being sold: how to get into to a very exclusive school.

Whenever I explore such a site (knowing the services of a consultant are being offered to students, but with parents as the customer), I fear for the child. For the parent drawn in by such claims is seeking, I think, some level of prestige that they think they get for themselves when their child enrolls (or all too often is rejected from!). They are asking all the wrong questions: How do “we” get in? What do we have to do? What are the secrets?

Here are the questions I’d rather see parents asking:

What’s the best fit?

Where will my child thrive, mature, grow?

What will best suit her/his learning and motivational style?

Where will they be happy?

Where will my child be successful over the long haul?

What often makes this worse—and this was certainly true of the ad I was directed to last week: the admission process at elite schools was portrayed in an almost secretive, sinister light. The consultants promised that they knew the secrets, the language, the keys to use to fool the admission staff into accepting their child. How absurd! In this specific instance parents were warned that discrimination against their child’s ethnic group was rampant and only by using their secrets and their tricks could their child get in.

Once and for all let’s say what is the truth: admission staff members are hard-working, dedicated professionals seeking to create a freshman class reflective of the school’s overall mission and strategy in as fair a way as they can. They accept students who are the strongest candidates within that framework based on what they have achieved and their potential—both personally and what they’ll bring to campus. A good consultant succeeds when s/he understands a college, appreciate its strengths and weaknesses, and can pair this to what a student needs to thrive, succeed, and be happy.

The choice for parents is clear when they explore a consultant’s Web site or interview them by phone in order to determine if they are honest, capable, knowledgeable, and have your child—and your family’s—best interests at heart. What is the central focus of their “pitch”? The success of your child over the next four or five years at a school where he or she will grow and learn and mature—or just getting in? And which is it you really want for your child?

Or to be more stark, parents can ask themselves the following question: “Which is my priority: my child getting in, at all costs even to a school where they may not be happy or well-suited but will bring honor to me?” Or:  “Finding a great match where my child will shine and succeed?” And let’s again note: these firms promising to use smoke and mirrors are full of nonsense: they have no ability to “get your child in,” and despite their claims, no proven track record. Jacques Steinberg of the New York Times looked at the claims made by many of these companies and found them full of lies, distortions, and false claims. That’s why none of them can gain membership to a group like IECA.

I’m proud to represent the organization that has talked about and promoted the importance of the “match” for more than 20 years. We have fought the notion of tricks, gimmicks, and packaging of students. IECA believes that success is measured not by the thickness of the envelope but by the richness of the school experience. I hope you agree.

by Mark Sklarow, Executive Director, IECA

Nearly 30 years ago IECA set the standard for the profession of educational consulting by establishing the first Principles of Good Practice. Major revisions several years ago made these ethics guidelines stricter and more demanding, setting limits on the value of gifts, articulating the limits on commercial activities, and places a firm prohibition against activities that heighten student or family anxieties. IECA became one of the first associations in the country that regularly reviewed the marketing materials of applicants to ensure these emphasize a “good fit” over “getting in.”

Now the Independent Educational Consultants Association has again raised the bar substantially by establishing new STANDARDS OF EXCELLENCE for the practice of educational consulting. These new competencies (covering 14 pages of information) ensure that those in the field keep up with the ever-changing body of knowledge and practice in a professional and empathic way. The new document covers the major consulting areas of college advising, school advising, advising of students with learning disabilities, and advising students with special needs (emotional and behavioral problems). Within each advising specialty, competencies are articulated in the areas of assessments, working with the family, working with educational institutions, professional ethics, professional office management, and professional development.

Among the competencies:

• Consultants seeks to empower the student to take charge of the application process.

• Educate families and students about college ranking systems and media coverage in order to bring balance to decision-making and put this information in context.

• Recommend only schools that the consultant has visited except in highly unusual situations; make regular visits to campuses (spending up to 20% of one’s professional time doing so).

• Advise on the best alternatives for the child, regardless of parental desire or pressure. Consultants should seek to help parents understand why actions are recommended.

• Use intake procedures that insure the consultant develops an in-depth understanding of the unique characteristics of each student, i.e. unique abilities, academic learning style, personal characteristics, values, attitudes, feelings, interests, personal strengths and weaknesses, work ethic, aspirations, short-term and long-term goals.

• Prepare students and families for issues surrounding the transition from high school to college, i.e. self-advocacy skills.

• Understand the limitations of and appropriate uses of common assessment instruments.

• Be aware of accreditation, licensure and approval status of programs they recommend.

• Maintain knowledge of programs’ safety records, number of students, maintenance, administrative policies, education, therapy and emotional growth components, food service and quality, population description, confidentiality, and more.

• Respect the families’ and parents’ experience, history, values, religion, goals, and financial parameters in order to factor these in to the application and decision-making process.

The complete document, copyrighted by IECA, is available on the Association’s Web site: www.IECAonline.com.

by Mark Sklarow, Executive Director, IECA

We tried a number of new things at the conference: from a bookstore and Conference Central to debates and a master class. Among the most anticipated were our first Speed Meetings that gave participating schools and consultants a series of short, seven-minute appointments over a three-hour block of time. Drawn directly from evaluations and letters, here’s what we heard.

My view: the school meetings went flawlessly, a few glitches with the therapeutic meetings need to be ironed out but the concept works. I’m thrilled that we could offer these to schools at a cost of under $200, about $10-$15 per contact. Add your thoughts using the comment section:

from Dana Harbert, Eagle Hill:
“Eagle Hill School participated in the consultant speed conferencing. I am grateful that we as a school were chosen for this venue. I think six minutes for conferencing proved to be a decent amount of time to start discussions (and in some cases to finish the discussions). I want to stress, however, that these speed conferencing sessions should always be in addition to the swap on Thursday morning. This was my eleventh IECA conference and it was by far the best.”

from Andrew Weller, Ridley College:
Thanks for selecting Ridley College for the first of the speed meetings—it was great. You asked for feedback and I only have one thing really: It would have been great to have at my table a list not just of all the consultant attendees but a list of the ones I was seeing—in order. On the whole, I heard very positive comments from folks and imagine you did as well. Most people in the room were disappointed when it ended! That said, the one criticism I heard from others was that seven minutes was not long enough. I respectfully disagree. I think these meetings function best when the goal is to assess whether or not the conversation needs to continue outside the scope of the event (meet later, visit someone in their office, have them to campus, etc.). I imagine those unhappy with the short time probably did not have a good game plan or were expecting too much in just a short time. My singular goal for each meeting was to simply determine if there was mutual interest in continuing the conversation—and the time allotted was sufficient for that.

from Maryline Deschamps Kruger, educational consultant:
I had my doubts about the speed meeting format, but after participating in the therapeutic program speed meetings I’d like to report that I was pleasantly surprised. I found them extremely informative and believe that the information I gathered will prove to be helpful to my consulting practice. Thank you IECA!

From Brian Fisher, AdmissionsQuest:
The speed meeting approach gives admission officers and educational consultants a quick, defined time to exchange substantive information. It could be a new introduction. It could be catching up on what’s new. This new approach represents a purposeful exchange. Schools & consultants agreed that it’s an excellent modification to the conference format.

And 10 anonymous comments quoted from the conference evaluations:

(1) I was disappointed with the Therapeutic Speed Meetings! The organization was poor and we only got to meet with about half of the consultants we expected. The consultants did not seem into it and did not follow the rules!

(2) The Speed Meetings on Wednesday morning were excellent. Wish there were more opportunities like this…do another round rather than the Thursday morning fair?

(3) I was not happy on how the schools were selected for the speed meetings. My school did not get in and I feel like the fair was not as well attended by consultants since they participated in the speed meetings.

(4) I thought the Speed Meeting session was a terrific addition. Please keep it in the conference agenda. Thank you for this opportunity to speak at length with an IECA member.

(5) Overall, this was the best IECA conference I have attended in six years. It was so well attended, and I enjoyed all the opportunities to network. The speed conferencing was spectacular. I thought six minutes would be too little time. It was fine though. Probably ten minutes would be perfect.

(6) The therapeutic school speed meeting was horrible!! It did not start on time. Many consultants showed up late and others did not show at all. During the meeting consultants didn’t keep the rotation order and did virtually what they wanted to. In the future, the meeting times should be 10 minutes long, breaks should be followed by EVERYONE and, it needs to be much more organized.

(7) I really do think you should offer the speed meetings the afternoon before the college/school fair. I had at least seven consultants state they wished they had more time to visit and discuss.

(8) I participated in the Speed Meetings. These were GREAT! Made the IECA conference more valuable than any I have attended in years. I would love to see this replace the info swap. I would love to see the speed meetings take off. I think eight or nine minutes would be better than six. For consultants who did not know Bement, a few extra minutes would have been helpful. I would be more than happy to see this event grow from a morning to an all day event (with breaks and lunch) or two mornings. The time flew by for me and the use of breaks during the morning was helpful and sufficient. I do hope more consultants sign up next year. I feel as though the information from Rachel about what to bring and what to prepare was helpful and accurate. I felt really ready for my meetings and the time with the consultants was really valuable. Only change (aside from two to three more minutes) I would suggest is making it longer so we can meet with more consultants!

(9) Please find a way for more programs to participate in speed meetings. It was hard having only one program like mine be eligible. If it was successful for the boarding schools, I certainly believe it would be an instant success for colleges and universities.

(10) I was disappointed in the Speed Meeting session for therapeutic schools as a number of consultants chose not to attend so that left a number of programs with an empty dance card.

by Emily Snyder, IECA Professional Member (Virginia), and Chair of IECA’s College Committee

For those of you who follow national development of educational issues, I returned home from the IECA Conference to hear Al Sharpton, Newt Gingrich, and Arnie Duncan come together with David Gregory on NBC’s Sunday morning “Meet the Press” to discuss forming a coalition to address what they all believe is a need for national curriculum standards. The implications of such a movement — which we have actually been headed towards for some time — on education from pre-K through college and beyond are enormous. My belief is that any resulting legislation will require us to alter how we work with students and families, regardless of our specialties, in ways that we have not even begun to fathom.

Part of our role as consultants is being aware of what’s on the educational horizon so that we can appropriately guide the students and families we work with as they make expensive and long term educational decisions. That’s why it will be more important for us than ever before to support IECA sponsoring workshops and sessions on controversial legislation that impacts any and all of us — like the Friday afternoon session where members from CAFETY and therapeutic boarding schools came together to discuss their views with consultants.

While there wasn’t much time to do more than touch the surface of the issue and its implications, Mark Sklarow as the moderator, the panelists, and the comments from the audience all served a purpose — IECA created a public dialogue where both sides of the issue were aired and information was shared; a forum I would encourage all of us to support as the nature of our work continues to evolve.

By Peter Baron, AdmissionsQuest

This afternoon I attended “School Showcase: The Carolinas and the South.” It reminded people that Southern boarding schools offer a series of programs & approaches across the educational spectrum.

Representatives from 14 schools of all types- from all-boys boarding to military to single gender to co-ed boarding/day- highlighted a series of opportunities & characteristics that help define their institutions and make them special.

Some highlights from the session:

American Hebrew Academy (co-ed, boarding/day) offers a dual curriculum- both Jewish & secular studies.

Asheville School (coed, boarding/day) remains purposely small (fewer than 300 students) and focused on boarding education. Arch Montgomery, Asheville Head said, “we are a boarding community. Not a day school with a boarding program.”

Blue Ridge School (all-boys, boarding) offers a Tuition Lock program. If you pay your first year tuition by August 1, you lock that rate for the entire time you’re enrolled at the school.

Learned that Breneau Academy (all-girls, boarding/day) is part of Breneau College in Georgia. Academy students use the College’s facilities and take college-level course while in school. New this year, students can earn an Associates degree from the college along with their high school diploma at no additional cost.

Christ School (all-boys, boarding/day) outside of Asheville, NC, is a place that helps boys become a more mature expression of what they’re intending to be.

Chatham Hall (all-girls, boarding/day) is an ideal place for girls who are ready to step out of their comfort zone and embrace new & different experiences.

Darlington School (coed, boarding/day) offers two competitive sports academies- soccer & tennis. Both provide high-level training & competition.

Since the 1950s, Fork Union Military Academy (all-boys, military, boarding/day) has offered the One Subject Plan- five 7 1/2 week semesters during which students focus on one primary academic course.

McCallie School’s (all-boys, boarding/day) commitment to character development covers five areas: Honor Code; Spiritual Emphasis; Public Speaking; Resident Advisor Program; & Voluntary Community Service (85% participation rate).

St. Mary’s School’s (all-girls, boarding/day) My Achievement Plan ensures that students have the same advisor all four years; each student, her parents & teacher participate in the design of the plan; each plan is custom tailored; & students meet daily with their advisors.

Salem Academy’s (all-girls, boarding/day) January Term program includes three components. School Trip for the upper schoolers; On Campus program for the 9th & 10th graders; and internship opportunities.

Virginia Episcopal School (coed, boarding/day) emphasizes community. School-wide discussion about issues that affect the community & the world are a regular part of school life.

The Webb School (co-ed, boarding/day) is the oldest coed boarding program in the South.

Woodberry Forest School offers a Nolan Fellowship that funds independent student research projects.

by Mark Sklarow, Executive Director, IECA

From the SSATB Annual Conference, Washington DC

The nation’s leading independent schools have gathered here to discuss current

Jody Dobson, Mark Sklarow, and Georgia Irvin at the SSATB Conference

trends. The conference comes at an anxious time for the nation’s private day and boarding schools. With the economy continuing to struggle, nearly half of the schools have seen inquires and enrollments decline as compared to last year. Many of the others indicate that they maintained or increased enrollment only by providing increased financial aid—even on a temporary basis.

The key topics targeted at this gathering include marketing, data-driven admissions (from test scores to demographics), school leadership, recruitment of future students, assessment of applicants, use of technology and, of course, the impact of the economy.

I’ll be presenting a short piece later today that will explore how the world of secondary school educational consulting has changed in the last two decades, as well as how schools can best work with the consulting community today. Among other topics, I’ll explore how the traditional “admission funnel” does not apply to working with consultants and why messages about the school’s strengths and weaknesses need to be on point and far more specific than information readily available to the general public.

IECA’s roots began with the consultant/boarding school relationship, and this remains a central, core reason the profession exists. I hope in my presentation that I’m able to build on that history in the best interests of the schools and the students we serve.

The Association of Boarding Schools has just changed its Web address from schools.com to www.TABS.org. The new address is up and running but next month they will unveil a newly designed Web site. Among the new features will be a searchable database of IECA member educational consultants, including all specialty areas. This inclusion marks a wonderful partnership with TABS and expands our reach to more families looking for help.

Posted by Mark Sklarow, IECA Executive Director