Admissions FAQ
Welcome to our Admissions FAQ. Here are answers to some questions we have often been asked.
Can my child transfer to Whitefield in the middle of high school?
We welcome students of any age, and we work hard to ensure their success and assimilation into our community. Without question, earning a classical education is challenging, but certainly worthwhile, whether you are coming from public school, private school or homeschool. Students who transfer are without question able to succeed academically.
What do I need to do to prepare to enroll my Kindergarten, TK, or Pre-K child?
Our youngest prospective Whitefieldians are invited to participate in Kindergarten and K Prep (Pre-K) Round-Up in January, which gives parents a chance to learn about our school while their children are assessed for placement and enjoy their first taste of classroom activities and interactions.
Is there an after school program?
Parents who cannot pick up their Pre-K-6th grade children when the school bell rings can take advantage of our After Care program. Students are able to play, study and socialize until Mom or Dad’s day ends.
What will my child eat for lunch?
Our dedicated staff are in the kitchen preparing hot lunch for students that are both nutritious and a great value for families. Meals always include fresh, healthy ingredients and are made with as much care as a lunch that Mom or Dad can prepare.
Where do Whitefield students go after graduation?
Whitefield graduates are well-equipped to pursue degrees and vocations in all fields. Whitefield seniors have averaged in the 90th percentile on the ACT and SAT standardized tests, and 100% of our students have qualified in the essay portion of the exam. This placed them higher than students in all of the public schools in Johnson County and Kansas City.
Six graduates have been recognized as National Merit Finalists, Semi-Finalists or Commended Scholars. Students, regardless of grade level or subject matter, routinely score in the top 10-15% nationally on standardized tests, including the ACT and SAT.
Students find that the communication skills they have learned at Whitefield place them well ahead of the curve in their freshman year of college. During Junior and Senior year, Whitefield provides support to students as they seek out colleges to visit and scholarships to their schools of choice.
Do Whitefield students earn college scholarships?
We are proud to say our graduating senior students’ accepted scholarship awards average over $10,000 per year. Each year our students receive offers totaling over one million dollars. More than half of our graduates attend college on an academic scholarship.
How can I best prepare my student for Kindergarten?
Seven Tips to Prepare for Kindergarten
Sending your little guy or gal off on the first day of Kindergarten is a momentous occasion. As parents, we all try to be prepared for that day, but the transition to school can be a challenge. Our Kindergarten, TK, and Pre-K teachers have compiled their own “to-do” list for parents to help them make sure your children have the smoothest and easiest transition into school life as possible.
- Help Your Child Advocate for Herself
There is a transition and an adjustment between a small preschool classroom for a few hours, 2-3 days a week and going to school five days a week. It’s important that students begin to learn how to ask for what they need or want and are able to accept that answer. This is an ongoing social skill, and we work on this often. Students who already have a sense of how to do this seem to adjust to school quickly.
- Help Him Get a Grip…On His Pencil
When practicing with pencils or crayons at home, parents can help their children develop good habits, rather than habits that will have to be broken in Kindergarten. Students need to hold the pencil between their thumb and middle finger near where the paint on the pencil ends. Begin by pointing the index finger straight up, then drop it naturally on the pencil. Holding the pencil correctly helps avoid undue strain on the arm, shoulder, and hand. The pencil is LIGHT! If a student holds their pencil (pen, marker, crayon) correctly, someone should be able to pull it out of their hand without any resistance. Bad pencil habits make learning to write extra challenging and more painful than it has to be.
- Take Care of Themselves, Their Clothes and Their Things
Students in school should be able to go to the bathroom with minimal to no support. If there is a problem, of course we’re willing to help; however, students need to be able to do a majority of this personal routine on their own. Manipulating buttons, snaps, zippers and shoes will make their time at school so much easier and less time-consuming for students and teachers!
Additionally, students should be able to zip their backpack and carry their things. As you prepare to send your child to school, LABEL EVERYTHING! This is especially important because we wear uniforms and so many things look alike. Every article of clothing, every lunchbox and personal item should have a name written in laundry-proof marker.
- Naptime: Do You Need to Phase it Out?
In Pre-K and TK at Whitefield, students still have a quiet lie-down time in the afternoon. Kindergartners do not lie down, but do have a quiet time, which includes lights off, music on and creative time for 15-20 minutes.
- Talk About It!
You are excited for your child to start school, but she has no idea what she is in for. Begin talking about how excited you are for your child to go to Pre-Kindergarten, Transitional Kindergarten, or Kindergarten! Share your excitement about making friends as well as learning new things (cursive, scripture memory, phonograms) and how much you’re looking forward to hearing about these new experiences.
- Establish a Routine
Fact: Children ages 3-6 need 10-12 hours of sleep a night. Consistent routines at home are one of the most important factors for your child’s success in school, including meal and bedtimes. Inconsistency or unpredictable changes to schedules often cause children to be stressed or sleepless. Begin to think about what your routine needs to look like for everyone to be happy campers.
- Enjoy this Time!
The Kindergarten year flies by in no time at all, so enjoy this phase. You will be amazed at how much your child will grow and learn in such a short time.
How can I best prepare for Upper School?
Seven Tips to Prepare for Upper School
Transferring to a new school as a middle or high school student is not to be taken lightly. At Whitefield Academy, new students will find that their teachers are friendly and their classmates are always helpful in getting them acquainted with school life. Our head Upper School teacher, who has taught seventh and eighth graders at Whitefield for more than ten years, has compiled a “to-do” list, a few ways that students and parents coming into seventh through twelfth grades can ensure a smooth and easy transition.
- Take Advantage of Summer Prep
It’s always easier on Day One if you are not coming into the classroom “cold.” If possible, take advantage of our summer learning program. Our teachers and tutors will make sure you are familiarized with our writing curriculum.
- Take Some Time For Reading
During the summer, it would also be wise to get the reading list from the year previous to the one you are entering. Choose a book or two to read over the summer. In class, students read for comprehension, rather than speed or completion. Even if you find that a book is challenging, do not be discouraged if you do not finish.
- Mark Your Calendar
There are plenty of things to do at Whitefield that help round out student life. New students should plan to get involved in some school-related activity, such as debate, art, choir, drama or sports. Soccer players enjoy a special opportunity to get acquainted early with our summer soccer camp.
- Reach Out to Others
Getting to know people does not have to be a formal affair. You probably met a few students on a tour or Open House. If you have an opportunity, reach out to other students and parents to get better acquainted before school starts.
- Stay Organized
Organization is a key element to success at Whitefield. It’s helpful for a student to have a planner that they use to keep track of their assignments.
- Read the Handbook
Read the Parent/Student Handbook, especially to familiarize yourselves with matters of the dress code while you shop for school clothes. Whitefield also keeps a uniform closet of gently used uniforms that students have outgrown and donated.
- Open House
Come to the Open House before school starts, to meet the teachers and other students, get a feel for the building, pick up a schedule, and get your sign-up sheet for elective classes.
What is Whitefield’s Philosophy of Discipline?
While serious discipline issues are rare, we strive to base our policies on our understanding of the Holy Scriptures and how God’s inspired and authoritative Word speaks normatively to every aspect of life and thought. To help us work this out in the classroom and all of school life, and to ensure clarity of expectations, we have established the Seven Major School Rules (see below), and we make some use of the “Love and Logic” methodology.
Perfect behavior does not equal Christian faith or eternal salvation. Disciplinary situations are God-given opportunities to show the grace, goodness, and redemption of God in Christ set against the sinful deceitfulness of our fallen natures. They are spiritual occasions to lead a child to understand his or her own sin, and to find grace from God in repentance and forgiveness.
Each student is a unique individual with his or her own personal, spiritual, social and educational needs. As a result, every disciplinary situation becomes distinctive in nature. Consequences for misbehavior provide the best learning value when matched to the unique student and the specific situation. We therefore seek to individuate disciplinary procedures knowing that children learn best from their mistakes when they see a reasonable connection between their own behavior and the resulting consequences.
We believe that:
Teachers and students should seek to glorify God in all they do.
A teacher’s primary responsibility is to reflect the love of Christ in his or her love for students.
Students must be encouraged to make sound decisions and live with the consequences.
With adult guidance, students must be responsible to solve the problems they create in a way that does not make a problem for others.
Mistakes must be considered as opportunities for learning, and spiritual and personal growth.
While not all mistakes are sinful, where sinful mistakes have been made, it is the duty of the one in error first, in prayer, to confess and repent before God and seek His forgiveness, then to seek reconciliation with the offended party and to make appropriate reparations.
Where there is sin, it represents an opportunity for redemption and reconciliation.
In the discipline process a teacher must seek to preserve students’ self-respect and dignity.