Dual-Advisor System

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Relationship-based learning is at the heart of the Blair experience, and our students develop perhaps their deepest and most meaningful relationships with their advisors and monitors. Our dual-advisor system supports students inside and outside of the classroom and gives them the confidence to step outside their comfort zones and try new things.

Ryan Pagotto, Associate Head of School

The dual-advisor system is a foundational element of relationship-based learning at Blair. Students are known and supported well by two faculty advisors: an assigned academic monitor who helps guide them on their academic path, and a faculty member of their own choosing who offers social and emotional support at every juncture of the Blair experience. The advisor-advisee relationship is often the most influential one a student develops at Blair, and monitors also play an essential role in Blair’s feedback loop about students’ accomplishments and challenges.

Advisors Chosen by Students

Selecting an advisor is an incredibly important decision that students make independently, a process that teaches them to carefully consider and weigh their needs and options. Our graduates usually look to their advisors as mentors and friends long after graduation, and seniors regularly reflect on the depth of their relationship with their advisor as one of the most impactful elements of the Blair experience.

Close Connection

When the full faculty comes together four times a year to assess each student’s progress, advisors and monitors offer a personal perspective on their advisees, letting their colleagues know when they deserve a pat on the back or need help solving a problem. Advisors and advisees regularly connect at impromptu evening and weekend get-togethers and scheduled time during the academic day.

Important Link in Feedback Loop

In addition to presenting on their monitees at the four annual full faculty meetings, monitors meet weekly to discuss overarching academic opportunities, trends or issues. Monitors and advisors work together to forge meaningful bonds with students, and the result is a deeper understanding of individual students and an ability to appropriately support and challenge them as they work toward their Blair diplomas.