Roundtable Q&A Discussion About The York School (2020)
The York School alumni, current students, and parents shared their insights on the school’s culture, values, strengths, and weaknesses. Hear what Noah Godfrey, Heather Ursu, Sasikan had to say about the school.
Highlights from the Q&A discussion
Noah Godfrey — current parent
Noah has three children at The York School. Valuing a co-ed environment, he praises the school's emphasis on perseverance and believes each student finds a unique match catering to their distinct needs and talents.
- “So [York School] is coed, which was really important to us. Then when we looked around there, there really weren't many [schools] that were comparable to York school in terms of what was being offered, the quality of education, and real reputation in the city, and around the globe. So, for us at the time, it was York School or bust, it is really where we wanted to be.”
- “I think we had [high] academic expectations, that we see. There are some good high expectations of the students, which I think is fantastic. I think we've been pleasantly surprised with the amount of coaching and support, and real love that the kids receive from their teachers, from the entire staff. Everyone knows their name. Everyone makes them feel like they're part of the family. You know, struggle is not shamed, but in some ways it's celebrated and they're taught to persevere.”
- “I tell my kids every day that they are so unbelievably lucky to get up every morning and be able to walk into those doors into an environment that not only pushes them, but really supports them and helps them, helps them achieve and enjoy the journey of learning.”
- “I think it feels like the school has behind the scenes, almost a fairy godmother for each kid, that's there to make sure that there's a way to help each kid, both where they're struggling, and where they excel. There's something very specifically targeted towards them. So, my son was also an assembly host in Grade 5, and I think they could see that he’s got a lot of energy, and that he loved it. So they really helped nurture that.”
- “Nothing slips through the cracks if they see that there's a little bit of struggle or pain or discomfort around something, whether it's like something happening at recess, or a certain class that they're in, there's no cracks that [an issue] slips through. So, all of my kids, all three … have at times been in both those [situations] where something's happening because they're a kid, or they're a teenager, and they're growing up and they're struggling.”
- “In first year, [my daughter] became an ambassador to the York School. This was a very big deal for her … . It was identified in the first couple weeks or the first week or two that she was at the school that this is something that would be a really good challenge and opportunity for her, and something that would actually help her shine. I'm eternally grateful for that kind of love and attention and support.”
- “[My children] never say ‘I don't like school,’ and they never say, ‘I don't want to go to school.’ You know, I recall as a kid just being there a lot of times you're like, ‘oh, school's a pain.’ Or at the end of summer when you have to go back to school, I was like, ‘I really don't want this to end’, but they say they're excited to go back to school!”
- “For them, [school] is not seen as a negative… . It's they're really excited about the chances that they're given. And yeah, sometimes it's tough and they get frustrated because of what's expected of them, but they see it as a very positive place, as a place that they want to be.”
- “I equate the school to be like a coach ... one of those iconic coaches that you have in life, those people that push you to perform when you're on the court, or whatever the field of play is, but also see the entire you, the whole you and realize that as a coach that they need to coach the whole person and not just the player, if I'm making a sports analogy. So, I think the school is really focused on the [student] as a multifaceted person, and the fact that there's people on staff whose sole job is social, emotional learning. … There really is a focus on the entire kid and not just whether they can do their multiplication tables.”
- “So there's a minimum that they want everyone to get to, but if you excel at something, there are opportunities within every even assignment to actually take what's expected, and go one step further.”
Heather Ursu — current parent
Heather's family, relocating from New York to Toronto, sought a small, co-ed, progressive IB school for its global transferability, compatible with their previous school in New York City. The York School's extensive IB experience solidified their decision.
- “[York School] has been accredited as an IB school for a long time, which means that the teachers deliver that program expertly, with a lot of experience behind them. I think that that is probably why we went IB, because we weren't sure we would be staying [in Canada]. We wanted to set the kids up so that their [international] moves would be seamless.”
- “As far as [York School] exceeding our expectations, I have to say that it's probably the culture of the school that went beyond anything that we were expecting. I remember our son plays basketball, and he joined the basketball team in Grade 5. That team went on to play competitively in the D1 level, because the athletic director saw that they were a good team, and he wanted them to compete at the high level.”
- “My daughter had so much information that she was gathering in preparation for an assembly [speech], she had this idea that she would like to just give little bits of information [to the school] every morning during morning announcements over the P.A. system. She took that idea, and went to her teacher, and they made it happen. I just find that it's just so empowering that you can be an out-of-the-box thinker. You can have an idea.”
- “You may want to dive deeper into learning, and then everyone around you kind of rallies, the teachers and the staff rally to make it happen. I feel like for my daughter as a formative lesson, she's learned to advocate for herself. She feels the empowerment of learning, and the empowerment of taking a risk, and getting out of your comfort zone. This is not a kid who would have wanted to stand up in front of people before, and now she's emceeing at an assembly.”
- “My son applied to a boarding school program, and because of his marks coming out of the IB middle year programme, he was guided into the honours program there, which will put him on an AP path at his school. So, because he has experience with the workload and academic rigour, he's prepared, and is able to handle the workload that he has now, as a ninth grade high schooler at a boarding school.”
- “Both my kids entered [York School] in non-entry years … and both would say that it was a very welcoming and inclusive environment and culture. They've made deep friendships that they expect to have for a long time, and I think we all feel that even as parents, reflection is a really big part of everything that they do at the school.”
- “I don't know if it’s specific to an IB curriculum or not, but we do reflections on everything after every assignment, test, field trip, experience, good and bad, there's a reflection piece. That took training for my kids, particularly my son. His reflections in the beginning would be one-word long, and when asked what he might be able to improve, he would tell you ‘nothing.’”
- “They reflect because they've been practicing [reflecting]. They say, ‘I didn't know that I could do that. Look what I've done.’ They feel really proud to be part of the community, and for their accomplishments, because it is challenging. At the end they say, ‘I didn't know I was capable of that, and I've really grown.’ They have the ability to see that now. I think that's pretty special.”
- “I think that the word [to describe York School] that jumps out to me is probably curious. I think that curiosity actually drives a lot at the school. I feel like the teachers approach learning themselves, as lifelong learners. I think curiosity just kind of drives the whole bus. I find it to be a very caring place. I think they care about our kids, and I think our kids learn to care about each other, and we care about our community, and the world at large.”
- “[York School] makes us engage in community service. I think innovative is another word that I always come back to when I think about the school. It's a school that embraces technology, and embraces opportunity. I think the way that it innovates and it's able to adapt and change is a big part of its personality as a school.”
- “I did have one child test as gifted, and then joined the IB curriculum. I know because of the application process for [my son] going to boarding school, is that it is a passport, having the International Baccalaureate as a framework. It becomes like a passport for what you might want to do next.”
- “I know from reading in our communications, and things about it [from York School], that our students go far and wide, and that they have a lot of support at that level. I don't know how it compares to the gifted program, but I do know that the International Baccalaureate as a product is incredible, and it is universal. So it transfers. Admissions teams from other schools, whether you're graduating and going on to university, or college elsewhere, they recognize it. [The IB Programme] is very well regarded and respected.”
- “You can expect rigour for your gifted child for sure, and they will not hit a ceiling because … you could think out of the box, but [at York School], there's just no box. It's really, truly a place where you can set your path, and there's a lot of people around you that will support that.”
Sasikan — current parent
The mother of two girls at the York School's Junior School, Sasikan chose it for its coed, IB curriculum, and inclusive international community, which she felt mirrored their family background. The school surprised her in how it nurtured their daughters into passionate readers.
We wanted all of our kids to go to the same school. So the fact that the York School is coed was really important to us. And from there, when we looked around.
There really weren’t many schools that were comparable to The York School in terms of the quality of education, and a real reputation in the city and around the globe. So, for us, it was The York School or bust. It is really where we wanted to be.
I think we’ve been pleasantly surprised with the amount of coaching and support, and real love, that the kids receive from their teachers, from the entire staff. Everyone knows their name. Everyone makes them feel like they’re part of the family. If they see that there’s a little bit of struggle or pain or discomfort around something, whether it’s something happening at recess, or maybe a certain class that they’re in, there’s no cracks that you slip through.
Students are taught to persevere. Struggle is not shamed, but in some ways it’s celebrated. I tell my kids every day that they are so unbelievably lucky to get up every morning and be able to walk into those doors, into an environment that not only pushes them, but really supports them and helps them, helps them achieve, and enjoy the journey of learning.
The kids always seem to find some opportunity available at The York School that’s almost specifically targeted towards them. The teachers are very proactive and very quick to identify struggles, or more importantly, strengths. It feels like that the school has, behind the scenes, a ‘fairy godmother’ for each kid. For my daughter, her ‘fairy godmother’ wasn’t even a teacher, it was someone in the Admissions Office. They struck up a really close, really great relationship. This person saw a strength in my daughter, nurtured it, and it led to her becoming an ambassador to the school in her first year there, in Grade 6.
To me, the York School is like a sports coach, one of those ‘iconic’ coaches that you have in life, who push you to perform but also see the entire ‘you.’ I think the school is really focused on the student as a multifaceted person: for example, the fact that there’s people on staff whose sole job is social-emotional learning, or how, especially in the younger years, parent-teacher interviews aren’t about what happens inside the classroom so much as outside of it, what happens in the hallways, at lunch, at recess. There really is a focus on the entire kid and not just whether they can do their multiplication tables.
We were looking for an IB school that was co-ed and went all the way to Grade 12. When we were looking for a school, there was really no competition, no schools we considered other than The York School.
We started asking around with my husband’s colleagues, and we got extremely good feedback from them about the school. Everybody said the same thing, that The York School is a great school.
What we wanted was an international community, that was very open-minded, and that’s exactly what we got at the school.
The parent involvement in the school is amazing. We all have similar values and mindsets, in terms of what we want for our kids, and with the support and the community, it’s been a very great experience for us. There are so many activities in which parents can be hands-on involved with the school. Up to this day, it really surprises me.
With the IB Programme, we love the Units of Inquiry. It presents students with an open-ended question, and they investigate it and learn how to present their knowledge in different ways. They actually learn how to learn. The students learn how to do research, and learn how to present their work at a very early age, and I think that’s really impressive.
One major impact that The York School has had on my two daughters is the love of reading in the Junior School. We have an amazing librarian. I don’t know what it is, but my especially my older daughter, she’s been gobbling up books like crazy. We can’t find enough books for her to read right now.
Another great impact The York School school has had on my daughters is it has really boosted their self-confidence. It’s made them both become more of a risk-taker, which I find really great. My daughters were extremely shy when we started at the school, so it’s a slow progression, but we definitely see it. I’ve seen it happen over time, and not only in one aspect. We can see it in terms of the questions that they ask us, or the food that they’re willing to eat, different cultures and different people that they’re willing to approach and say ‘Hi’ to.
For me, the three words that describe The York School would be inclusive, adaptive, and engaging.
We wanted the IB Programme, because we weren’t sure if we would be staying in Canada. We were coming from New York City, where our kids were in a smaller, urban progressive coed school. We wanted to mirror our experience in New York as best as possible for our kids, who were in their primary years.
We found The York School, which not only has IB but it’s been doing it for so long. The York School has been accredited as an IB school for a long time, which means that the teachers deliver that program expertly, with a lot of experience behind them.
As far as how The York School has exceeded our expectations, it’s the culture of the school that impressed us the most. Our son plays basketball, and he joined the basketball team in Grade 5. They won the final in four consecutive years. But there were also lessons in sportsmanship that spoke volumes about the school’s culture.
The kids get a lot of leadership opportunities. My younger daughter, when she was in Grade 5, was an MC for the assemblies leading into International Women’s Day. I feel like, for my daughter as a formative lesson, she’s learned to advocate for herself. This is not a kid who would have wanted to stand up in front of people before, and now she’s emceeing at an assembly.
The biggest impact I saw on my son was from the IB Programme. My son applied to a boarding program in the U.S. for high school, and because of his marks coming out of the IB middle-year programme, he was guided into the honours program there. That will put him on an AP path at his new school.
Reflection is a really big part of everything that they do at The York School. Every experience, good and bad, there’s a reflection component that’s included. The students are able to reflect and feel really proud of it, feel like they’ve really grown — they have the ability to see that now.
The word that jumps out to me to describe The York School is ‘curious’. The teachers themselves, I feel, approach learning as ‘lifelong learners’. I think curiosity just kind of drives everything at The York School.
I find The York School to be a very caring place. I think they care about our kids, and I think our kids learn there to care about each other. They learn to care about our community, and the world at large.
I think ‘innovative’ is another word that always comes up when I try to describe The York School. It’s a school that embraces technology, and embraces opportunity. I think the way that it innovates and is able to adapt and change — that’s a big part of its personality as a school.
