Recently, I was working with a high school senior, who is preparing her college applications. She wrote a beautiful essay concluding with the sentence, “Although I learn differently, I like the way my brain works, and I want to help others like the way their brains work, too.” 

This senior is referring to her dyslexia. She had the opportunity to attend a specialized school for students with dyslexia where she learned the Orton-Gillingham approach to learning. I could go on about her various accomplishments, but I feel the quote above is emblematic of her most significant accomplishment: learning to love herself and the brain she has. This is at the crux of our practice at McMillan Education. We are not a “get in” to the best school agency, we are specialists in finding the best fit for our students. 

It’s not just students with learning differences who benefit from our best fit formula; we know first-hand that the “best school” is not determined by prestige or competitiveness. Instead, the quality of the schools is defined by how well the school is able to align with the unique strengths, interests, and needs of each student. Below, please read about students who have benefited from finding a better fit school. Do any of these sound like your student? Please note that all names have been changed to protect our students’ privacy. 

Sally is a tremendously talented, smart, and sophisticated young woman who is suddenly not thriving academically at her large public high school. How could this be?  With her entrepreneurial spirit, close group of friends, and success in theater, she seems ready to go off to college at the age of 15. But… she is feeling overwhelmed by her school work and not able to keep up with her classes. She doesn’t have a learning difference. Well, the huge class sizes, one-size fits all curriculum, and lecture-based classes don’t suit her learning style. Furthermore, she is so bogged down in having to re-teach herself the material, she doesn’t have time for her preferred extracurriculars, mainly theater, which affects her mental health. Sally is a candidate for a mainstream school, but she needs a school that offers multimodal teaching methods, a tightly-knit community, and more flexible scheduling, allowing her to pursue her theater passions. Now at this remarkable school, Sally is thriving! 

Ben started his high school career requiring much academic and emotional support after receiving a new learning diagnosis. After two years at this highly structured and specialized school, he had essentially outgrown the school. He learned the tools that optimized his well-being, and thus, his overall success. Ben was ready for more of a challenge at school and has his eyes on college planning. Although Ben wasn’t prepared for the full independence of a mainstream school environment, he would benefit from gradually reducing the support of his highly structured school. A setting that offers more autonomy and academic challenge, while still providing access to executive functioning support when needed, would be ideal for his development. He’s been at a slightly-structured college prep school for a year now, and he’s eagerly submitting applications to college as I write this. 

DJ is smart, well-liked by his peers, and a stellar athlete. When he gets home, though, he “falls apart” in his parents’ words. He is emotionally volatile and essentially holds his parents hostage to his demands and moods. At his very inflexible prep school, he works hard to “hold it together” all day at school. This school is not equipped to help him navigate ADHD. Instead, when he “misbehaves” in class, he must miss after school sports as punishment. As you can imagine, sports are a terrifically positive outlet and mood regulator for this kiddo, so missing out on sports only exacerbates his blow ups at home. DJ transfers to a school that understands the way his brain with ADHD works. He is allowed brain breaks and fidgets in class, among other accommodations. His school periods are shorter, the classes are more experiential, and the teachers have a background in working with students with ADHD, coming from a place of compassion and understanding. He is still at an esteemed college preparatory school, but the school embraces his neurodiversity, helping him learn how to love the way his brain works.

In the words of my compassionate and wise colleague, Carolyn, “There’s a school for every type of learner!” While finding the best school for your student is nuanced (leave it to us!), the benefits are numerous. Don’t just try to “muscle out” getting through school. I’ll conclude with several positive outcomes associated with the ‘best fit’ model, as highlighted by our CEO and developmental psychologist, Sarah McMillan, Ed.D: 

• Best-fit produces happier students, which developmental research shows is the foundation for intellectual growth and success.
• Best fit yields students who develop more insight into their strengths, vulnerabilities and passions.
• Building on this self-knowledge, best-fit students are more likely to develop the self-confidence that allows them to tap into their leadership potential, take risks, and challenge themselves to grow intellectually, socially, and emotionally.
• Students at “best fit” schools will have more opportunity and incentive, and thus more natural drive, to stand out and distinguish themselves from their peers as they pursue their individual passions and strengths within the best fit environment.
• Best-fit students ultimately have better college choices that are also more directly aligned with their understanding of what they want from their college education and beyond. 

In a world where every learner is unique, McMillan Education remains dedicated to nurturing individual strengths and fostering environments where all students can thrive, ensuring that each journey toward education is as distinctive as the minds we serve.