They discussed efforts to reshape the college process by prioritizing student community and ethical engagement alongside academic and extracurricular achievement. Talk was introduced by Head of School Than Healy and moderated by Denise Pope, PhD, founder of Challenge Success.

Read a complete recap of the discussion by Barbara Wood, featured in The Alamanc.

As The Alamanc notes:

Than Healy asked those in attendance to stand if their children had been experiencing “dangerous levels of sleep deprivation, non-ordinary difficulty with emotional regulation,” or had “dropped a class or activity they cared deeply about because it wouldn’t fit with their idea about what colleges want.”

Much of the crowd stood.

“If anyone in our child’s life came along and said they’d try to deprive them of health, vitality or happiness we’d fight like crazy, as parents, to prevent that,” Mr. Healy said. Instead, by hiring tutors, enrolling students in test prep courses, and hiring outside admissions counselors, “I think we’re complicit” in amplifying the stress, he said.

…”The only way to stop an epidemic is by acting collectively,” Mr. Weissbourd said. “This is a way that schools and parents can really stand up.”

Childhood is not a practice for adulthood, he said. “Adolescence is this incredible time. It’s this wonderful time in life and we are turning it into a treadmill.”

The risk you’re taking by choosing to step off the treadmill “is maybe … our kids will get into a good state college and not a highly selective college.”