In middle school, students are assigned a faculty member as an advisor, along with a smaller group of students known as their advisory. Advisors primarily help their advisees monitor their grades, assisting students in achieving the highest level of academic success possible. Beginning in high school, students stick with the same advisory group all four years of upper school but are typically assigned different advisors each year.
All advisories across both middle and upper school meet at least once a week with academic assistance provided. However, that is typically where the similarities end. The advisory a student is assigned to plays a significant role in the student’s experience within the advisory system.
10th grader Abby Albonetti has had a completely positive experience in all aspects with her advisory, having learning specialist Brenda Monk as her advisor freshman year, and French teacher Lise van Stolk as her current advisor.
“I didn’t know much about the advisory system coming into St. George’s, but I liked it because Dr. Monk was very organized and she always had slideshow presentations for everything,” says Albonetti. “With Dr. Monk, we had birthday parties, so for everyone’s birthday she would bring them their favorite candy, [and] she would bring either cake or cupcakes for everyone.”
Thankfully for Albonetti, Madame van Stolk and Dr. Monk hardly contrast one another in terms of organization and keeping their advisory engaged with treats. “[Madame van Stolk] always prints out the important emails of the week and she reads them off to us,” Albonetti shared, “Every advisory, [we] have someone who brings either cupcakes, or chips, or fruit snacks…we always have something to eat in there.”
Albonetti made sure to note her appreciation for her two advisor’s attention to detail, and their success in getting to know their advisees on a level beyond just the classroom or in passing, with both Dr. Monk and Madame van Stolk being courteous of students’ needs.
“I have a very severe gluten allergy, so [Dr. Monk] went out and bought me a separate gluten-free cake that I could eat for my birthday party,” Albonetti stated, not failing to note that Madame van Stolk did the same in regards to always having gluten-free snacks available.
“I felt that it was very important for advisors to get to know each of their students…I have heard of some people that advisors don’t pay that much attention to them,” said Albonetti.
Albonetti is lucky to have been part of such positive environments thanks to the advisors she had been assigned to. However as she herself stated, that is not always the case.
12th grader Selena Carpenter notes that with her advisory, “We just sit on our phones and it’s boring for me…I’d love to have a way to get to know people in my advisory more.”
While Carpenter wishes her advisory engaged more with one another, she acknowledges that some students may like it that way. Carpenter agreed with the idea that some advisors prefer to keep meetings less structured, and their advisees feel the same way. However, there is importance in attempting to connect with students.
Biology teacher Beth Masters shared how her son, Miles Masters ‘20, a graduate of St. George’s had a positive experience with his advisory, as they were easily able to bond, leading them to grow close. So when Masters entered her first year of teaching at St. George’s, she kept his experience in mind. “I knew that my advisory wasn’t going to have an instant connection to me because I was new.” Masters said. Taking initiative to get to know her advisees better she, “made sure we always had a card for everybody’s birthday, and we would try to take a picture together every time…we did ornaments that year,” Masters said.
For the most part, doing engaging activities and socializing with her advisees led to positive results. Masters shared how as an advisor she tries her best to attend sporting events for her advisees, concerts, etc. Claiming, “I just think that’s part of what an advisor should do.”
On the other hand, Masters acknowledged that there are some advisors that are not necessarily as engaged or in tune with their role as an advisor. During Mrs. Masters’s first year at St. George’s, she proctored a 10th-grade flex every day, considering that the group’s advisor had work-related tasks that prevented them from attending meetings, Masters shared that when it was time for parent-teacher conferences, she met with two students belonging to the advisory she proctored during Flex.
“One of [the students] was just like, ‘Well, I just feel like I know you better,”, and then the other [student] was like, ‘Well, my parent needs to come at this time when he’s not available.’” Masters shared.
One’s initial conclusion when hearing the information from both Albonetti and Masters regarding an advisor not fulfilling their role is to question why that faculty member is an advisor in the first place. After all, isn’t it an advisor’s job to be present for their advisees and help foster a fun environment while still fixating on academic success? How difficult can it be for someone to fulfill those needs?
Masters states, “If you’re a coach, [like] the Whickers, you can’t make it to everything…I try not to judge every advisor the same, because…every advisor’s life is not the same.”
Masters brings up the valid argument that the complaints regarding advisors not being as present for their advisees, disregard the idea that advisors have other obligations on top of being an advisor. Advisories are not truly a “make or break” experience for St. George’s students, but there is more to gain from an advisory than to lose. As Albonetti and Masters said, having an organized advisor, and one who shows up and shows out for their students allows for students to feel more comfortable in their learning environment, fostering a more well-rounded community. Because of this, advisories are not a flop.