Advising & Support
Ambition Needs Support
Tabor's faculty members are committed to helping our students develop their characters, explore their interests, and reach for higher standards. Our academic support programs seek to foster a growth mindset in our students while encouraging them to become self-advocates. This ensures students have the best chance for success as they navigate the world at Tabor and beyond.
The Cornerstone: A Great Advisor
The cornerstone of the Tabor experience is our great advisor system. Each newly enrolled Tabor student is assigned a faculty advisor, and most students elect to stay with that adviser for their career at Tabor. By keeping advisor groups small, the school fosters strong relationships that allow faculty to counsel their students effectively. Of an advisor’s many jobs, helping advisees embrace the many challenges inherent in achieving an excellent education is the most important. Advisors make students aware of opportunities, cajole them to stretch their wings, and sometimes insist that they take the leap in discovering a new skill, trying a new activity, or challenging themselves to achieve to their highest potential. The advisor is often a student’s first stop for information or guidance, but students also meet frequently with their classroom teachers during faculty office hours to ask specific questions, discuss ideas, and brainstorm paper topics.
Setting Goals and Planning Ahead
Starting in ninth grade, advisors help students create a four-year plan. Together, they update the plan each spring, mapping out academics, co-curricular, and leadership opportunities for the coming year. Advisors place careful emphasis on ensuring that the chosen schedule balances rigor, risk, and intellectual curiosity. In coordination with Tabor’s College Counseling staff, the advisor helps to remind students of the importance of crafting a transcript and overall Tabor experience that best leverages a student’s talents and opportunities when it comes time to apply to college.
The Parent-Advisor Partnership
Advisors rely on parents for insights on their children, while parents come to rely on advisors as the first avenue of communication concerning their student. Advisors write formal summative letters to parents twice during the year, while grades are reported home four times a year. Of course, conversations between parents and advisors take place throughout the year, and during Family Weekends or anytime that is convenient. Parents are always welcome to schedule conferences or a phone call with advisors.
GETTING HELP ALONG THE WAY: ACADEMIC SUPPORT
From daily faculty office hours to our helpful librarians and the academic support professionals in our ASSIST (Academic Success Strategies through Inquiry, Self-Advocacy, and Technologies) Learning Center, there is always someone to turn to for academic advice.
ASSIST
Professionally managed, our ASSIST Center offers skills based, individual academic support. The team is qualified to manage students with formal learning plans, and extends their reach through the coordination of our peer tutoring program. Peer tutors are available most evenings to answer questions and lend a helping hand. Students can also take advantage of EAST (Evening Academic Support Team) appointments to receive half-hour tutorial sessions in math, writing, and research.
Faculty Office Hours
Faculty are available every day in their offices from 1:35 PM to 2:00 PM for guidance on projects or homework, or for further discussion of a class topic. They are also available to students during their free periods and during evening study hall by appointment.
Structured Study Hall
Boarding students have an evening study hall in their dorms, while day students who opt to stay on campus after dinner are welcome to study in the library or academic center. Ninth grade students also have structured study hall blocks during the academic day to help instill good study habits and to help them adjust to the rigors of our curriculum.