For the first time since the pandemic, Branson has changed the format of the presentations prospective parents receive at admissions open houses.
The format has moved from teacher-specific presentations to sharing collaborative stories with teachers and students, highlighting the importance of teacher-student relationships at Branson.
“We talk about student-teacher relationships a lot throughout the process, but we wanted an open house experience that brought that to life,” said Natholio Gray, assistant head of school for mission advancement. “We can show people better than we can tell them.”
Teachers can ask a student of their choice to present with them. Usually, it’s a student they’ve collaborated with on some work or one who would be able to explain a process they’ve worked through together in the classroom.
Evan Schnair, an English teacher, worked through a close reading of a poem with Rosie Slayen ‘25, something they had done in class.
“Evan and I annotated a poem together, and it’s kinda what we do in class, it’s exactly that, and I think for [prospective parents] it’s definitely more beneficial for them because they get to see what their kid will be doing in a class next year,” Slayen said.
Besides displaying the important student-teacher relationships at Branson, the new format displays Branson teachers’ teaching styles, Branson’s highly skilled students and the material students are actually learning.
Schnair talked about how exciting it was to be able to demonstrate a high level of skill and connection to prospective parents while simply reading literature with one of his students.
“I think it demonstrates this enthusiasm and excitement for the material and the work we do together, which I think conveys the type of student that loves being at Branson,” he said.
By observing a real teacher-student relationship, prospective parents can get a look into where the magic of Branson happens: the classroom.
So far this year both the October and November open houses used the new format.
“It was super successful, a lot of prospective families told us they appreciated hearing from the students and teachers. Everyone [faculty] was very excited to present something new and innovative, ” said Gray.
