Roundtable Q&A Discussion About The Dunblaine School (2021)
The Dunblaine School alumni, current students, and parents shared their insights on the school’s culture, values, strengths, and weaknesses. Hear what Vanessa, Leanne had to say about the school.
Highlights from the Q&A discussion
Vanessa — current parent
Vanessa, a parent at Dunblaine School, shared her perspective on finding the right learning environment, the impact of small-class support, increased confidence, strong relationships, and Dunblaine’s child-focused philosophy.
It definitely felt like a welcoming environment. Despite my lack of familiarity with what the program would be like at Dunblaine, it surpassed my expectations in terms of what my son would get out of it: the community environment, the small class environment, all the teachers really knowing about him and being able to support him in different ways throughout the day, in all the different things they do.
I think he got the benefit of the small class environment, but also the greater Dunblaine community. Everyone was supportive and focused on learning to the best of their abilities in a very supportive environment.
I think there are a lot of program offerings to support children with diverse learning needs… It’s small enough that everybody knows who he is and can support him with his needs and the other children’s needs, but it’s big enough that he has exposure to older kids, other classrooms, other teachers, and other opportunities outside his own classroom.
It opens up the world to more than just the benefit of that small class offering, but bigger opportunities for him, even though he’s getting close, and focused attention on his learning needs. I don’t think that can really be matched at the other schools I looked into.
So the biggest impact, I would say, is that he’s been able to improve at his own pace and get a lot of support and challenges in learning. But he’s also had the benefit of being challenged to be a more independent person, to have compassion and empathy for other kids there, and to understand the impact of his actions on others.
That stress of trying to make sure he was supported and okay in the other school has just completely disappeared. I’ve only had positive experiences so far.
He looks forward to going to school. I have never heard him say, except on a very sick day, that he doesn't want to be there.
When he’s had a successful day, he’ll come home excited because he got a compliment or had an improvement. I’ve seen his confidence level go up, and I see that he feels accepted and welcomed in the school.
Whenever his time at Dunblaine comes to an end in Grade 8, I think he will do well. I think there’s support there to make sure he’ll continue to do well.
The confidence, the increase in his capabilities, and his solid friendships: these are the things I hear and see.
When you come to Dunblaine and meet the other parents, you see the diversity of the families. We’ve all basically been where we put our child because it's the best place for them. And we all contribute to a rich, diverse learning environment.
Leanne — current parent
- Child 1
Leanne, a parent at Dunblaine School, shared her perspective on compassionate support, small classes, community involvement, individualized learning, overcoming challenges, and how the school helped her child gain confidence and independence.
For our family, Dunblaine was about rolling with the punches. Every child is different, and for us, there was no difference between any other one. It was rolling with the punches when things came up, as they often do.
It takes a village, and this is a community-based school, where it’s not just the teachers coming to the forefront; it’s the whole community. The way that they support the kids, and how everybody is around just wanting the kids to succeed, to be happy. And all of this together comes and makes a happy, successful, and healthy child.
At the end of the day, I can look back and say, they got it. They got him. They understood him. And we were all able to work together, no matter what the issues were, to make a better child, to make a happier child, and to help him strive toward what he was able to achieve.
The smaller classes. That was paramount to his success. That’s what my son needed, and that was his learning-style requirement.
For us, striving to meet our child’s needs and requirements and helping him achieve what he was capable of in a nurturing environment was everything. The teachers were always helpful and supportive.
The entire time we were part of Dunblaine, we always felt we were never alone. If there were any issues or problems, there was always somebody to speak with. In the community, you could be as involved as you wanted to be.
When my son started, there was an older student in the school, and he turned to him on his first day and said, “Don’t worry, you’ll like it here.”
My son was very anxious when he started, and going to school was an issue. It was very difficult; his separation anxiety was off the charts. And I’m happy to say that now he takes the subway by himself and the bus to school, and I have to call him to see if he's even okay.
