School Selection Consultations
School Selection Overview
Mary Beth Hes offers school selection consultations to help you find the best fit elementary, middle, and high school learning environment for your child in the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill NC area, including public, private, and homeschool options. She works with all learners and specializes in matching neurodivergent students to their best fit school environments, including students who are academically gifted, twice exceptional, as well as students with learning differences or developmental disabilities.
Why Seek A School Selection Consultation?
The decision of what school to enroll your child in is a tremendous one that has the potential to set your child up for success in life. By placing your child in a nurturing and supportive academic and social environment, they can grow to their full potential. In contrast, a poor fit can lead to academic setbacks and harm to your child’s self-esteem and emotional well-being.
Enlisting the advice of a skilled educational consultant saves time and highlights opportunities that are often overlooked, making the school search process easier, more enjoyable, and ultimately successful. It’s an investment well spent!
Mary Beth Hes M.Ed., A/OGA
she/hers
Associate Level Member of the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA)
Completed IECA’s Summer Institute Training
Comprehensive Package
The comprehensive package includes the document review, initial consultation, recommendations, and creation of charts and spreadsheets described in the introductory package, and additionally allows Mary Beth Hes to be available to discuss questions and concerns with families on an on-going basis throughout the school selection and application process, for up to six hours of correspondence. This can be an especially helpful way to debrief after school visits and admission meetings with potential schools.
Pricing: $1,500
No price negotiations are offered.
Hourly Rate
If additional time is requested, beyond that allotted in the selected package, it will be billed at rate of $250 per hour.
Arrange a Consultation
Please complete the linked interest form to begin the school selection consultation process. Once completed, Mary Beth Hes will reach out to schedule a complimentary meet and greet. Questions may be sent to marybethhes@engagedminds.net.
Legal Disclaimers
Admissions:
Mary Beth Hes has no influence on the admissions process. Her recommendations do not imply that the student will be accepted at any given school. Furthermore, her recommendations are not a guarantee that the child or family will be satisfied with the school selected. Mary Beth Hes’s school recommendations are suggestions for further investigation by the family; the responsibility for school selection ultimately rests with the parents.
Range of Schools to Consider:
Recommendations are limited by the schools available in the area, and in the case of students with complex learning and/or emotional needs, an ideal school fit may not be available. In this case, recommendations will be made based on the best-fit available, even when no perfect match can be made.
Families with a neurodivergent child may need to consider a range of learning environments including specialized schools for students with learning differences or developmental disabilities, local public schools, services with a tutor at a private school, and homeschooling as options. Additionally, families may need to consider private schools in a neighboring city (such as Durham residents considering schools in Chapel Hill or Raleigh).
School Selection Packages
Families who pursue educational consulting with Mary Beth Hes may select an introductory or comprehensive package, described below.
Introductory Package
The introductory level option provides families with a meeting to discuss their priorities, concerns, and hopes, in terms of school selection, for their child, followed by a meeting to present and discuss a list of schooling options. The list will be grouped into categories of top choices, 2nd round picks, and other schools to possibly consider. Each meeting will be up to 1 hour in length.
Additionally, Mary Beth Hes will provide a customized spreadsheet displaying key information such as school size, special academic programs, and admissions dates and links, as applicable, as well as a pros and cons list of each school, tailored to your learner.
Prior to meeting, Mary Beth Hes will review school report cards, standardized achievement test results, and psychoeducational/neuropsychological testing reports, as available, to gather background information about the student’s learning profile.
Pricing: $500
No price negotiations are offered.
Mary Beth’s Expertise
Mary Beth has an undergraduate degree in elementary education from Duke University and a graduate degree in educational psychology with a concentration in gifted education from the University of Virginia. She spent 15 years working in the independent school sector and is the parent of a neurodivergent child. As such, she knows firsthand the importance of school culture and values in determining fit with a family.
Just like each child is unique, schools are not one size fits all. Mary Beth has knowledge of the public and private schools in the Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill areas. She has attended numerous private school campus tours and has fostered relationships with many of the local admissions directors. With this knowledge and experience comes her ability to match your child’s needs to their best fit environment.
Mary Beth is an associate level member of the IECA, Independent Educational Consultants Association. She has completed IECA’s Summer Institute Training. This demonstrates her commitment to professional growth and knowledge.