Sanford's school counselors share ways for helping adults manage stress during the pandemic.

Sanford Speaks

Helping Adults Manage Stress During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Recommendations are given by Sanford School's technology team for creating a safe and reliable virtual learning environment for your child.

Creating A Safe & Reliable Virtual Learning Environment For Your Child

Helping Teenagers Manage Stress During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Find out ways to helping your younger child manage stress during the COVID-19 pandemic from Sanford's school counselors. Watch the video podcast at https://youtu.be/dhyA1nKNMws.

Helping Your Younger Child Manage Stress During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The Sanford admission team discusses how to navigate private school admissions during the Coronavirus pandemic. Listen to their tips, suggestions, and guidance on how to choose the right school for you and your family in 2020.  To hear more about Sanford’s admission process, register for our division-specific informational webinars hosted by our admission team on our blog, Education Matters: https://sanford.link/3jO3WSb.  Episode Guide (14:07) 0:40 - Where does one start when looking for a new learning environment for my child? 1:45 - What are the first steps to take the admissions process started this year? 3:00 - What are some things to look for when touring a school in person? 4:29 - How can one get a feel for a school’s culture, in-person or virtually? 5:39 - What are good questions to ask when connecting with an admission representative? 8:42 - After touring a school and connecting with the admissions office, what are the next steps? 11:30 - If I receive multiple acceptances, how should I go about finalizing my decision? 13:03 - How can I get more information about Sanford?

Discussing Private School Admissions During COVID

Members of the Sanford School technology team share recommendations, strategies, and resources to help parents protect their children when they’re using the Internet, apps, and electronic devices. Episode Guide (26:52) 1:35 - Do you think parents should be in touch with what their kids are doing online?4:45 - What strategies do you suggest for staying in touch and in tune with what kids are doing?6:46 - What steps can parents take to try to create the safest environment possible?10:10 - Are you aware of any other resources to help protect children’s online privacy? 11:47 - Can you define ransomware? 12:36 - What are your thoughts about children having cell phones and mobile devices? 16:00 - What are some things that schools can do to offer a higher level of protection for students? 22:43 - Electronic device or book—which do you recommend? 24:30 - What other resources or guidelines would you suggest for people who want to learn more?  

Keeping Your Kids Safe in the Digital World

Sanford School’s three counselors—Courtney Gregor, Skye Rashkind, and Sarah Satinsky—share insights, perspectives, and information about childhood anxiety. Learn about how the disorder is diagnosed, strategies and treatments, and how anxiety can impact learning. Episode Guide (15:28) 2:11 - What is anxiety? 3:57 - What causes anxiety? 5:15 - Can you give examples of how anxiety might affect children, particularly young children? 6:35 - How is anxiety diagnosed? 7:51 - What treatment options are available? 9:22 - Does anxiety impact learning? 11:14 - If a parent thinks their child might be suffering from anxiety, do you have any advice? 14:42 - Any final thoughts?

Shedding Light on Childhood Anxiety

What are the benefits of private school education? Members of the DiUbaldo family answer that question and share their Sanford School experiences and insights from the perspectives of an alumnus, an educator, and a student. Episode Guide (34:22) 3:10 - Tell us a little about your experiences as a Sanford student in the 1990's 5:24 - Do you think coming to Sanford impacted you as a young man, and , ultimately, as the adult that you are today? 6:03 - Do you compare and contrast your time at Sanford with the experiences your three children have today? 7:39 - How does the type of education you delivered as a Sanford teacher compare and contrast to the kindergarten to 12 education you received? 11:39 - How does Sanford encourage risk-taking and talent development? 13:27 - What attributes do new students demonstrate when first transitioning to our school? 15:47 - As parents, what was your thought process when choosing a school for your first child? 17:51 - As a rising senior, what are your thoughts about Sanford? 21:47 - Can you talk a little bit about class sizes? 27:59 - What are the benefits of private school education, and what should families be thinking about as they make their choices?

The Benefits of a Private School Education

Laura Giardina, Sanford’s Home & School Association president, shares her thoughts about how parental involvement in schools yields rewards for parents and schools, strategies that can help working parents get involved, and how private schools build strong communities. Episode Guide (21:55)2:10 - How did you get involved in Sanford? 3:20 - What benefits do you derive from doing all of the things that you do for the school?4:08 - How does your involvement impact our community and the lives of students?6:57 - Are there opportunities for working parents to get involved in their school communities?8:58 - How have you seen Sanford try to build community?10:43 - What are some ways that private schools get new families involved in the community?13:06 - Are there ways that reach out to other organizations and school communities?13:20 - What are some of the things we’re hoping to with the culture of philanthropy in the future? 16:26 - What is it about Sanford that makes it worthy of consideration when families are looking for schools?

The Benefits of Parent Involvement and How Private Schools Build Strong Communities

Sanford School’s Associate Head of School for Advancement, Jaime Morgan, talks about affordability in private schools. Learn about options, strategies, and programs that can help make a private school education an affordable choice for families. Episode Guide (19:28) 1:45 - What is about the value of Sanford that makes paying tuition something that families should consider?3:43 - What is the greatest misconception that families have about the cost of private school tuition?4:43 - What do terms such as tuition assistance, financial aid, and merit aid mean?6:00 - What admission and financial aid advice do you have for families that are considering private schools?7:01 - Do you have examples of success stories in which families who thought they wouldn’t qualify for aid were eligible for assistance and ultimately enrolled?8:31 - Does Sanford look for any particular types of students or families when building student populations each year?11:20 - How has Sanford changed and stayed the same during the past 20 years?13:20 - What are some of the things we’re hoping to with the culture of philanthropy in the future?16:26- What is it about Sanford that makes it worthy of consideration when families are looking for schools?

Affordability In Private Schools

Sanford School faculty members Chris Mosberg, Heather Taylor, and Brittany Elia share their thoughts about the importance of problem-solving when teaching and learning mathematics. Discover how problem-solving helps to prepare students for college and careers and why problem-solving is beneficial in other academic disciplines. Episode Guide (27:03) 3:18 - What’s the downside of teaching students to memorize concepts? 5:29 - How does teaching problem-solving play out in the classroom? 7:16 - Are we seeing a progression in our Lower School math program since we switched to the Math in Focus curriculum? 10:15 - What’s changed in the Sanford math program during the past 30 years? 13:09 - Are there examples of students whose confidence has bloomed due to the implementation of problem-solving in the classroom? 16:12 - Can teachers and students in other disciplines benefit from problem-solving? 17:39  - What is it about math that makes a wall go up when students are faced with challenges? 19:28 - What would you change about teaching math at Sanford School? 20:17 - Are our math teaching spaces conducive to teaching problem-solving in a collaborative manner? 22:29 - Is our math curriculum aligning with the best practices shared in Drexel’s master’s program, and what are some areas that Sanford’s math department can push even further?

Add Problem-Solving to Multiply Learning

Sanford School faculty members Sandy Sutty, Emily Amendum, and Cecilie Coker talk about how school libraries and librarians encourage and inspire 21st-century student learning, why libraries are important, and how libraries can play an expanded role in serving school communities. Episode Guide (22:05) 3:57 - What are your thoughts about the absence of a library in a school?5:52 - Why do we have multiple libraries to serve our school?7:14 - How are each of our libraries physically set up?10:58 - Can non-traditional libraries, such as our Upper School digital library, prepare students for college and careers?12:29 - How can librarians support personalized learning for students?15:14 - Do we still use password-protected databases?16:47 - How can Sanford’s libraries serve the school community?18:34 - How can librarians and curricula support the teaching of digital literacy?20:22 - Does anyone have any final thoughts?

Checking Out Student Learning in School Libraries

Sanford School faculty members Ensign Simmons, Maria Tate, and Patrick Martin discuss how woodworking helps students develop problem-solving and other valuable skills, why woodworking is in sync with a college-prep program, and where woodworking opportunities exist outside of school settings. Episode Guide - (22:15)2:08 - How does woodworking sync with a college-prep program 5:21 - What are some of the skills students develop in woodworking courses?6:44 - What kind of professional development did our teachers receive?8:41 - Do you think STEAM is driving force behind woodworking’s popularity?11:08 - What are some of your most fun or memorable experiences?15:03 - What are kids saying about woodworking?16:45 - What woodworking opportunities exist outside of school settings?19:37 - What advice do you have for people who say they would never consider taking a woodworking class?

Carving Paths to Excellence with Woodworking

Sanford School faculty members Clint Williams and Jenna Knaster talk about the part that performing arts plays in education. Learn about the role of music education from preschool to high school, why the arts are important, and strategies that you can use to bring music into your children’s lives. Episode Guide (23:27)2:46 - Why is music education important for children?5:31 - What are some of the academic benefits associated with studying music?6:41 - How did Sanford’s most recent theatrical production unfold and affect the school community?11:21 - How does music education for 3 to 5-year-old children lay the foundation for the later years?15:09 - What can parents do to make music a part of their children’s lives?17:40 - What should high-school students do if they’re interested in pursuing the arts in college?20:30 - What’s on the horizon for the Sanford School performing arts program?

Raising the Curtain on Performing Arts

Sanford School's Summer Enrichment Program co-directors, Eric Peoples and Scott Swope, talk about summer enrichment programs—what they are, how they benefit students, and why families should consider enrolling their children in Sanford's revamped summer enrichment program. Episode Guide (23:52) 1:00 - What is summer enrichment? 2:48 - Are we avoiding the term summer school? If so, why? 4:07 - What is summer slide? 7:08 - How did the directors’ experiences influence the development of Sanford’s summer program? 9:38 - Are courses available for preschool through high-school-aged children? 13:24 - What is Sanford Camp? 16:20 - Are we offering credit for some courses? 18:12 - Can non-Sanford students enroll? 19:20 - What is the cost of the program? 20:18 - Why did you choose to be directors for this program?  

The Scoop on Summer Enrichment Programs

Sanford Speaks provides valuable insights and information to help parents and students navigate the world of education.