Frequently Asked Questions

An honor roll would single out only a fraction of our student body for their academic performance when so many of our students are doing such honorable work. All of our students are college bound and two thirds of the class of 2006 have a GPA of 3.5 or above-that's a B+ average. But that's not the only reason. When we review students for admission, intellectual ability is only one of the qualities that we look for. Other important considerations are the child's interests and talents, leadership, integrity, kindness and generosity of spirit. We believe it would be grossly unfair to discount the achievements of students who are successful in the classroom, bring a variety abilities to the life of the school and exemplify the values of our community because they did not make the arbitrary cut-off point for an honor roll.

A love of learning. The desire to contribute to community. The willingness to explore new interests and take chances. The desire to do one's best. These are some of the values that Overlake attempts to develop in its students. School generated awards were eliminated a decade ago. With such talented, high achieving students, it became increasingly difficult to identify the "best" student in a particular area of the school's curricular or co-curricular program. The process compared apples to oranges, disappointed students, parents and faculty and, in the end, did not serve the school's mission or the values of our community. With no awards, the burden of choosing a "winner" is removed and the contributions of ALL students can be acknowledged.

At the end of the school year, instead of an Awards Assembly, we have a Closing Day Ceremony. Before the program, advisors gather with their advisees and personally recognize the contributions of each student to the life of the school. At the Closing Day Ceremony, the focus is saluting the departing seniors and faculty and announcing the student leaders for the next school year. It's a celebratory and uniting event for the entire school with no winners or losers.

Yes, of course. At the weekly Middle School and Upper School announcements we celebrate student achievement both at Overlake and in outside activities. These accomplishments are then reported to parents via the weekly eBulletin and the quarterly Newsletter. Examples include college admission offers, National Merit semi-finalists, finalists and scholars and national language and math tests, to name just a few.

Personal recognition programs, which is what the National Association of College Admission Counselors calls awards programs, rank among the very lowest factors considered in the college admission process. High school awards programs are so varied and subjective that colleges really don't know what the awards mean. Is the recipient of the English Award at School A better than the recipient of the English Award at School B? Grades, the rigor of the academic program, test scores and recommendations are still the primary factors in admitting students to college.

The Academic Council is the governing body of Overlake's academic program. Its purpose is to develop and oversee academic policy and to ensure that curricula are consistent with the mission and philosophy of the school. Members of the Council include the Department Chairs and other Administrators. The individual academic departments are primarily responsible for the development, review and implementation of their own curriculum, but the Council considers any departmental issues that impact the academic program as a whole.

Yes. In addition to any recommendations resulting from Overlake's PNAIS re-accreditation - a process that takes place every eight years - the academic departments conduct regular audits and the co-curricular programs conduct regular reviews that serve the same purpose. Outside experts are engaged who visit campus, meet with faculty and review all aspects of the particular curriculum or program. The consultant(s) then prepares a report that is reviewed by a Roundtable that includes faculty, administrators, parents and Board members.