Educating challenges and the relocating VIP

By Sara P. Pelgrift A celebrated athlete is being relocated; confidentiality and sensitivity to their need for privacy in the school search for their children is critical to ensuring a seamless move. A senior executive has been offered a new high-level position halfway around the world, to start immediately, necessitating a midyear school transition for his/ her children. A potential new hire that an employer is trying to tempt to a new location for an important position has raised schooling as a major concern.

Undoubtedly, these are all familiar scenarios for experienced practitioners in the world of global mobility. Although each case is different, VIP moves often share certain characteristics: very high expectations, minimal lead time prior to relocation, heightened visibility around the move, and a strong likelihood that the individual’s “day job” will leave limited time to devote to the myriad aspects of their relocation. For these reasons, and because they often place a high premium on their children’s education, professional athletes and senior executives rely heavily on—and pose challenges for—the educational consulting services made available to them. Many who have been through the process will say that an international relocation is the most rewarding and challenging thing they have ever done. At the very top of the “challenges” list for families with school-age children is concern about the impact of the relocation on their children’s education—everything from managing curriculum gaps and language differences to worrying about whether their child will make friends and fit in at their new school. For professional athletes especially, who typically move every few years and often at the last minute for an “off -cycle” move, thoughtfully managing the schooling options and transitions for their children is critical to ensuring a successful relocation. The educational challenges confronting the VIP family typically include:

Moving outside of the academic year cycle, so there are limited openings, especially in private schools, where admissions cycles take place a year in advance (international schools, however, operate 'rolling' admissions throughout the year)

Minimal lead time, necessitating an ultracompressed timetable for scheduling school visits and submitting applications

Concerns around graduation requirements and missing key years for assessments

Keeping the child’s academic program “whole” if there are multiple moves—as is often the case with professional athletes—over the course of his/her schooling years

Transition between schooling in their home country and their destination country—different expectations and cultures

Lack of understanding of the curriculum differences and the overall educational landscape

Confusion and concern regarding grade placement if moving between systems with different cutoff points.

Key factors of a successful school searchSo, how best to manage these challenges? What are the various solutions that not only address the individual educational needs of the family, but also provide an overall school search experience that reduces stress, provides viable opportunities, and ensures that the children are settled into schools where they will thrive?A successful school search and placement for these families is a result of a number of key factors:Senior Consultants/Research Team. VIP families should be assigned the most experienced local area consultant who can provide the commensurate level of service and guidance. The consultant must often utilize their global research team for curricula comparisons and customized reports to help these families understand the changes their child is facingMaximum Availability and Enhanced Responsiveness. Every consultant has to sleep sometime, but a consultant to VIPs must be available during late hours and on weekends for communication with the family and to respond promptly to questions and concerns, no matter how large or smallLogistics/Scheduling. The consultant must be prepared and able to handle all the legwork of sourcing documents, scheduling visits, following up on paperwork, keeping track of all the details of the application process for the family’s school(s), and even providing guidance on a good place to stop for lunch with the childrenSchool Advocacy. Leveraging his/her strong relationships with the area schools, the consultant should provide informed, professional, and tenacious advocacy with the target school(s) on behalf of the student candidate and the familyIn-Person Support. The consultant should be available for in-person support, including accompanying the family on a school visit, offering some pre-interview face-to-face counseling, or just meeting for coffee for an in-person discussion about the various school options and/or providing a reassuring and calm voice in what can often be a stressful time for the family.Managing expectations is another important, and often difficult role, for the education consultant to perform with VIP families. VIPs naturally get used to hearing “yes” in response to their requests. But if a child does not have the academic track record sufficient for admission to a desired school, or if the school simply does not have any more space, the parents need to understand that other options will have to be considered. The right education consultant can communicate effectively with families to help them understand that open-mindedness and a focus on the right fit for their child are the most important ingredient for that child’s long-term success and happiness.