FAQ

Crossman Educational Consulting works with a very broad range of schools and programs, including traditional boarding and day schools, learning differentiated boarding and day schools, therapeutic boarding schools, wilderness programs, residential treatment programs, transitional living communities, home schooling programs, community based support services, and other specialized settings. CEC also provides college and post-secondary planning, including US and international colleges and universities as well as a range of alternative options. In conjunction with your educational, therapeutic, healthcare, and other advisors, your consultant will help to identify which options are most promising for your child or adult family member.

Most people find that the fees of an educational consultant are well worth the investment. A consultant will have first-hand experience visiting and speaking with the staff at the various schools and programs you will consider. In addition, the consultant will be able to help you navigate the expansive and confusing array of choices that are out there. There is no central database of schools and programs around the country, and the nuances of approach, treatment, and philosophy of each school or program are not something that could be conveyed in a website, word of mouth or AI. Finally, given the nuanced differences among schools and programs, it is the consultant’s role to communicate clearly and accurately to the school or program about the circumstances and needs of a given student or adult and also help the family tease out which characteristics in a school or program would best suit their child. An educational and therapeutic consultant can help parents not only to identify a promising program, but to ensure that the most important aspects of the student’s situation are properly framed and presented to the program.

At Crossman Educational Consulting, our work is grounded in a collaborative, multidisciplinary approach. Each team member comes from a distinct professional background, including law, education, and behavioral health, and we lean on that range of experience and expertise when thinking through each situation. Rather than working in isolation, we regularly consult with one another so that families benefit from multiple perspectives. 

We also bring a personal lens to this work. As parents ourselves, we understand how complex and high-stakes these decisions are. When we visit schools and programs, we are not just evaluating them professionally; we are asking ourselves if we would feel comfortable sending our own children there. If the answer isn’t yes, it’s not something we recommend. 

Our guidance is shaped by direct experience. We are committed to visiting and revisiting every school and program so that what we share with families is based on what we’ve actually seen, not just what’s online or on paper. When we aren’t working directly with or on behalf of clients, we are traveling near and far to tour and evaluate schools and programs. The time and effort our team dedicates to this task is an essential part of our work.

No, day and boarding schools are highly varied and it is important to understand the differences to determine what is most appropriate for your child. Among other things, schools differ in size, diversity of students, whether they are co-ed or single gender, educational philosophy, and culture. There is a school out there for every type of student. While some focus heavily on providing a rigorous pre-college curriculum, others offer specialized support for differentiated learning or allow students to pursue advanced studies in specific areas of interest or talent. Our role is to guide you in finding schools that would best align with your unique child.

Yes, while applying outside of the traditional admission cycle may limit options, there are often schools who will accept late applications. Through regular communication with and outreach to admission directors, we are able to assist in developing a list of schools that have availability and also meet the student’s specific needs.

At Crossman Educational Consulting we do not provide medical, psychiatric or clinical advice, but we can put you in touch with professionals who have substantial experience with schools and program interventions. In our experience, some skilled professionals lack sufficient familiarity with such programs and so may not be prepared to advise fully on the pros and cons of such a change. In our view, the best decision is an informed decision, so you should ensure that before selecting any particular course of action, you have adequate advice on all of the available alternatives.

It is common for adolescents and young adults in crisis to miss and fall behind in school. The good news is that most residential therapeutic programs will have it as one of their goals to assist your child in catching up in school. The academic aspect of making a match is one of the important factors that we consider in finding the optimal placement for each student. If your child or young adult isn’t currently behind in school, we will help you find a program where they can stay on track with their education and earn the required credits toward graduation.

If you have any responsibility for the child’s living arrangements, support, education, or emotional well-being, then you are in a position to at least begin the discussion with a consultant. A consultant can work through with you any special issues affecting the child, whether that be custody issues or other legal status matters. Although Crossman Educational Consulting does not offer legal advice, our experience and access to knowledgeable legal counsel do help us to guide you to the resources that are most appropriate to your needs.

Yes, Crossman Educational Consulting works with adult clients in addition to our work with adolescents and young adults. 

While many people first engage our services when looking for support for an adolescent or young adult, we also regularly work with adult clients. Adults often come to this process with different considerations, such as work, relationships, and a longer history of previous treatment, and we take those factors into account in our recommendations. As with younger clients, we help adults identify appropriate programs and providers, understand the range of available options, and coordinate next steps.

Our goal across age groups is the same: to help each client find resources that are appropriate, well-suited, and aligned with their circumstances.

After an initial consultation, we will be pleased to share with you a copy of our standard consulting services agreement for your consideration. Although the points in this frequently asked question list are intended to help you to find your way in this process, they do not form a part of the consulting contract. To ensure that everyone’s expectations are clearly spelled out, all of the terms of our contract are contained in the standard form of agreement, in what we hope is clear language so you know exactly what to expect.

A “Placement”, as the term is used in the CEC contract, refers to one cycle of gathering information about your child or family member, applying that information to generate a list of potential schools or programs, and assisting with the admissions process. If a student matriculates at a recommended school or program, we will continue to interface with that school or program during the remaining term of the contract as part of the placement. If a student does not matriculate at any recommended school or program, we will continue to apply the same placement criteria during the term to attempt to find additional schools or programs to recommend.

In some cases, circumstances may initiate additional placements. Our recommendations involve considerable behind-the-scenes work and application of know-how, much of which is not necessarily visible to parents. A significant change in placement criteria will usually cause us to essentially start our work over, constituting a new placement. If this happens, or if a student leaves a school or program, the placement ends, and any further work will require a new agreement for an additional placement.