EDUCATIONAL CONSULTING
What kind of educational consulting does Jones & Associates do? Great question. There are certainly a lot of "consultants" out there! Our mission is to give clients peace of mind in their family's daily educational decision-making, as well as to assist with the "big" events in their lives that can seem overwhelming (such as changing schools in town or navigating through educational options when moving to another town or city). Like many educational consultants, we operate around the more typical transitional times in the education lifespan such as helping apply to college or boarding school, our practice also assists with the less conventional demands. Among those included are:
- AdvisorWe
- Student Performance Coaching
- Elementary & Secondary School Placement (public and private)
- School Placement as a result of a family move
- Review of current school "fit"
- Interview prep
- Educational components of Family & Divorce Mediation
Of course, our services delve far deeper than this bullet list of transitional events. We provide experienced guidance in a wide range of circumstances, and would like to introduce you to our integrated, flexible, and client-specific services.
Partner
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From our initial encounter with a client, Jones & Associates enters into a unique partnership with the client and his or her family. When necessary, we will travel to accompany a family as they explore educational options, and are happy to participate in school tours alongside the family.
In select circumstances, Jones & Associates will make itself available to accompany a family to their current school to provide evaluative or pedagogical support. |
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Case Study
Having determined that their current school was not a good fit for one of their children, a client requested that we join them touring three other schools - both public and private - to add objectivity and appropriate distance to the process. We were then asked to facilitate the final deliberations, including a needed reconsideration of a school move in the first place. |
Advise
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Jones & Associates will act as an independent sounding board for you regarding daily educational decision-making when an opportunity or issue arises for your family. In short, we will work with you when you could use some pedagogical expertise. No topic is insignificant where your child's education is concerned. Simply call or email us.
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Case Study
There are countless examples to use, but one client called when their child was placed in a classroom with a maternity-leave substitute who they perceived to be a poor fit. We worked to manage the client's expectations with real-life options and provided them with strategies designed to promptly and most appropriately improve the situation for their child. |
Locate
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Should you be moving or simply looking to explore other educational options near your current home, Jones & Associates will provide you with all the quantitative and qualitative analysis necessary to make informed decisions regarding your and your family’s next educational steps. Further, we will walk alongside you as you venture through this decision-making process. In addition, we will act as a contact point with potential schools should you wish to maintain anonymity.
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Case Study
A client was considering a move away from their small southern city to either a rural east coast or central American location. We presented them with all the options available to them in both locales and, when possible, made educated apples-to-apples comparisons to give the family full confidence in this next chapter of their lives. |
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Altogether, we exist to be your
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With any client engagement, Jones & Associates will safeguard the process by signing a confidentiality agreement with you personally or your contracting firm.
Families can arrange for either hourly or retainer fees. Jones & Associates can also be contracted by businesses (typically as a client and/or employee benefit) on a retainer basis.
Families can arrange for either hourly or retainer fees. Jones & Associates can also be contracted by businesses (typically as a client and/or employee benefit) on a retainer basis.
*There are some issues related to our family-related services about which we wish to provide full transparency:
- Jones & Associates believes in a wholistic multi-year "college prep" advising role - see AdvisorWe - in lieu of an intense one year college placement consultancy. We know many good folks who do the latter, and are happy to provide a recommendation.
- We try to foster a good relationship between our clients and their children's educators, and therefore we encourage as much communication as possible between the school and the family. Accordingly, beyond admissions work and one of the special circumstances mentioned above in the Partner section, we don't directly interact with a school, its faculty, or other parents on your behalf.
- In our immediate location at the north end of the New Jersey shore, there is the potential for a conflict of interest as we have made decisions related to our own school-aged children, as well as the fact that we volunteer our time with a few local schools. It is our goal to minimize such plausible conflicts and we will be happy to make clients aware of any that could be perceived to exist.
- Additionally, when travel is necessary, travel costs and a per diem would be additional expenses; only select days of the week are available.
- Chuck Jones is an Associate Member of the Independent Educational Consultants Association ("IECA").
