More parental involvement, advisory services in an environment that realizes that not one size fits all
By Victoria Newman, Founder & Executive Director, Greenwich Education Group
The generation known as “Generation Z,” born 1995 and later and comprising children now aged 13 to 24, share a lot in common with the generation that came before them, the Millennials, who were proclaimed the “Me, me, me generation” by Time Magazine. Gen Z shares much of that “me” focus, but at the same time, they recognize that it is up to them to educate themselves, earn their own money, and prepare for their own future. As a result, Gen Z parents are looking more closely at a school’s value proposition and key differentiators. Independent schools in particular are looking to define their place in the Gen Z household as parents look to define what may be missing in the public school environment, and struggle with the decision on whether they are prepared to pay for an independent alternative. Parents are not just automatically moving to independent schools right away, but are more attuned to the timing of it.
Ensuring that a child receives a good education has always been a stressful proposition, but it is even more stressful today for all parties. Demand for financial aid has outpaced supply, and as a result, some Gen Z families are putting off private education until middle and high school because of those financial pressures, opting for a strategy of finding the best public education in earlier grades, spending available funds on life experiences and extracurriculars, and building a compelling application for an independent school later on. This also puts more pressure on private schools that begin in Pre-K or Kindergarten to work harder at attracting students, and at the upper levels, demand is increasing and spots are becoming more competitive. But by far, the greatest pressure is on the Gen Z students themselves, who are under stress at a much younger age than previous generations.
In helping those students overcome stress and meet their educational goals, schools combine traditional key strategies such as parent involvement, with more direct advisory services, college counseling and programs that acknowledge that a “one size fits all” approach to school will not work with a Gen Z student population, who are more face-to-face and individualistic than the generation that came before them, with 53% of Generation Z preferring in-person communications over instant messaging or email.
One example of this is the Life Coach model at The Spire School in Stamford, CT, a therapeutic day school with robust academics for students in grades 6-12. Each student is paired with a Life Coach, a clinical professional who holds at least a master’s degree in fields related to counseling, social work, or school psychology. Life Coaches are paired with a small caseload of students and meet individually with each student weekly, as well as being available throughout the school day to help reinforce skills through executive function support, Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). In addition to leading groups, Spire’s Life Coaches actively collaborate with each student’s Community of Allies: parents, teachers, therapists, psychiatrists, tutors, or other professionals. According to Tammy Moscrip, PhD, LCSW, Executive Director and Chief Administrator for Spire, “The Life Coach model integrates well with the face-to-face and individualistic nature of Gen Z students. We are able to customize each student’s school experience to help students develop the skills necessary for success in school and beyond.”
Anxiety and pressure impacts Gen Z students more
Anxiety among elementary, junior and high school students goes far beyond what to wear, who to take to the dance and where to sit in the cafeteria. Childhood anxiety is on the rise, according to both clinicians and research. Anxiety, not depression, is now the leading mental health issue among American youths according to an April 2018 study in the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. Based on data collected from the National Survey of Children’s Health for ages 6 to 17, researchers found a 20 percent increase in diagnoses of anxiety between 2007 and 2012. (The rate of depression over that same time period ticked up 0.2 percent.). Generation Z is born social, with 92% of children in the U.S. currently having a digital footprint. According to mental health consultants nationally, social media has become an anxiety-provoking factor as it’s all about self-image—who’s “liking” them, “following” them, who clicked on their picture. Increasing pressure to lead a perfect online life, which isn’t often the case in their offline life, is leading to increased childhood anxiety. Social-emotional support, such as identifying triggers and using coping skills, is an essential part of education for students in their schools because today’s education is not just about reading, writing and arithmetic, but also development of soft skills like interpersonal skills, time management, work ethic, critical thinking, problem-solving, etc. that best prepare students for life outside the classroom.
Another disturbing trend is a notable increase in students with debilitating migraines, which can occur in children as young as four years old.
According to a recent seminar hosted by Links Academy, a division of Greenwich Education Group, 20 percent of migraine sufferers had their first occurrence before the age of five, and it’s clear that migraines are becoming much more common in children as Gen Z faces more stress than other age groups. Naturally this trend will negatively impact school performance, as well as social-emotional well-being.
Besides treating migraines, it’s important to get to the root cause. In the majority of patients who suffer from migraines, there is one or more triggers, and the two biggest triggers seen among Centennial children suffering from migraines are stress and lack of sleep. We are only starting to recognize just how sleep deprived our children really are. While studies show that teens require nine to ten hours of sleep to be fully functional, most teens get only seven hours, and 15 million American children are sleep deprived.
Success factors
Every generation perceives a different set of educational problems, challenges and stressors, and those stressors are more evident than ever as they manifest physically in the current generation of schoolchildren. Treating headaches isn’t enough – we must look at what’s causing the anxiety and take action with positive success factors, including more advisory services for both students and their parents, college counseling, finding the “best fit” schools for each student, and more active mentoring at all grade levels.
More important is delivering a high-quality education, both in public and private schools; creating more opportunities for parent involvement; and allowing students and parents to have a greater measure of control over their educational environment.
Some of the most important key signature programs that act as differentiators include a move away from a singular focus on Advanced Placement, and inclusion of more service learning, global studies, and makerspaces, and a recognition that schools must meet the needs of a more diverse set of learners. In recognition of some of the stress-related factors inherent in today’s educational environment, a greater focus on health and wellness has also become a key factor in differentiating an independent school. This means finding each student’s passion, whether it’s attending an Ivy League college or going to work as an auto mechanic. Further, while programs for gifted and exceptional students are essential and remain an important part of private schools, more schools are opening up to address the needs of children on the autism spectrum and who may need one-on-one education to succeed, or a greater focus on health and wellness. The time is right for more unique, and more individualized learning options in the classroom.
Victoria Newman is founder and executive director of Greenwich Education Group. She is also the Director of Day & Boarding School Advisory Services. Vicky began her career as a teacher in the Stamford Public Schools, then went on to teach in the Greenwich Public Schools. She is deeply knowledgeable and passionate about the academic curriculum in both public and private arenas.