How to Find the Right Independent School for Your Child

As we all prepare to enter the new school year, many families are simultaneously beginning the process of identifying and applying to independent schools for their children for the 2022-2023 school year. At MAIA, we understand that this can be an exciting but also daunting experience, given the wide variety of independent school options available.

Please join us for our upcoming free webinar, How to Find the Right Independent School for Your Child. This dynamic panel discussion will include Head of School, Matthew Stuart; learning specialist and educational consultant, Sharon Thomas; and school placement advisor, Nick Kruter.

Topics discussed will include:

• Understanding your child's learning profile
• Identifying school models that are a good fit for your child
• How to get to know schools
• Tips for an effective school search
• Important questions to ask
• Managing the admissions process

For some background information on this topic, please read our recent article How to Find the Right Independent School for Your Child.

Our Panel Speakers

Nick Kruter, MS

Nick serves as the Academic and School Placement Advisor at MAIA Education Resource Center. He has unique experience in admissions counseling and recruitment having worked in both boarding school (The Hotchkiss School) and college admissions (Tufts University and Davidson College). Nick is devoted to crafting distinct solutions for students' academic futures as he guides them through the different steps of the admissions process. Nick completed his BA in Political Science at Davidson College in North Carolina, and earned his MS in Organizational Change Management from The New School's Milano School of Policy, Management and Environment.

Matthew Stuart, MA

Matthew Stuart is currently the Head of School at The Caedmon School in New York City, a Montessori Pre-school and Montessori-inspired Elementary School. He has been teaching in independent schools since 1985. Prior to Caedmon, he was the Head of the Upper School and the Director of Secondary School Placement at the Town School in NYC and the Middle School Director at the National Cathedral School in Washington DC. Before NCS, Matthew was on the faculty of the Spence School in NYC, where he taught drama and speech, was the Head of the Performing Arts Department, and the Director of Student Affairs. He began his teaching career as the Middle School Drama teacher at the Hewitt School in NYC. In 1994 and 1995, Matthew was also the Co-Director of the Spence Teaching Institutes, weeklong faculty workshops focused on issues of diversity and anti-racism. During the summer, Mr. Stuart has been co-teaching an ISM (Independent School Management) Leadership Institute, called Leading the 21st Century Middle School since 2009. He holds a B.F.A. in Theatre Arts from Syracuse University and was a Klingenstein Fellow, earning a M.A. in Educational Administration, with a focus in private school leadership, from Teachers College, Columbia University.

Sharon Thomas, MSc, MSEd

Sharon Thomas is a Learning Specialist and Educational Consultant. She is the Founder and Director of MAIA Education Resource Center, an organization started over ten years ago to identify and provide timely educational services. As the leader of MAIA, named after her daughter, Sharon guides a team of talented teachers with general and special education training who are invested in the overall development and success of their students. MAIA works with students K-College with and without learning differences through 1:1 tutoring, executive function coaching, test preparation, school placement, and workshops. Sharon is passionate about giving all students access to learning. Her work and advocacy for individual students, families, and in schools reflect her belief that healthy learning environments understand and prioritize individual development and best research based teaching practices. She currently serves on the board of Promise Project, a non-for-profit organization that helps at-risk children with learning disabilities obtain the support they need to learn. Sharon completed her undergraduate degree in Psychology at Georgetown University and earned a master's degree in Child Psychology at University College London as well as a master's degree in General and Special Education at Hunter College.