Why boarding school? (Part 2)
Boarding school is not as popular on the West Coast as it is on the East Coast. However, it can be a fantastic opportunity for many kids – whether one is seeking specific programs or alternatives to local schools to round out their list of options, with 300 boarding schools in the US, there are many choices. Every year, I encounter families who never thought they would consider boarding schools, whose children wind up attending boarding school. Here are six reasons to consider boarding schools as a supplement to my list from last spring.
Boarding schools are self-sufficient communities designed to meet the needs of teenagers. They offer beautiful grounds, facilities, and amenities created for a focused and ideal learning environment. You’ll find classrooms, student centers, athletic facilities, dining halls, theaters, and dorms all within several acres of one another. For city kids access to open spaces, fields, gyms, ice rinks, courts, and pools all within walking distance of their dorm room means no more lost hours spent driving to practices and games.
Boarding schools can provide a structured, routine, and consistent environment. Most teenagers benefit enormously from clear expectations, structure, and routine. It can help to instill strong study habits, discipline, and improve a student’s organization and executive functioning skills. In our busy lives, it can be challenging to provide this kind of consistency, especially for two-household families.
The opportunity to find the right school for your child. Most families have limited school options within driving distance of their house. A boarding school may offer a generalized approach that is more traditional or progressive than your local schools, or it may provide niche offerings that you cannot find locally. For example, seeking an IB program and learning support? Check out New Hampton School. Seeking experiential learning, learning support for a committed skier or biker who will no longer have to drive four hours to Tahoe? Try Proctor Academy. Seeking a strong AP curriculum, an international community, a strong rowing program, and a great exchange rate? Explore Brentwood College in British Columbia. Do you have a sailor who wants to learn about nautical sciences? Explore Tabor Academy.
A range of academic options, including those with learning centers. Boarding schools can range from some of the most academically competitive schools in the nation to those with an exceptional commitment to learning support with robust learning centers. You can find an academic fit in a boarding school.
Boarding schools allow athletes to be three-sport athletes or an athlete and an artist or performer. At a time when many athletes feel pressure to specialize in a single sport, and club sports can dominate students’ lives, many boarding schools still encourage students to play multiple sports or at least explore various ways to remain active. At many boarding schools, students are required to participate in and explore the arts. High school still should be a time of exploration and learning, right?
Teachers who are the most committed to their students. No blog about boarding schools would be complete without honoring the commitment and care of boarding school teachers who typically teach, coach, or direct musical or dramatic productions, live in the dorms, eat meals with students, and spend their weekends “on duty” with their students. You will not find more devoted educators, and this is the reason they are able to have such a profound impact on students’ lives. Every student needs to feel loved and seen to thrive and this is precisely what boarding schools offer students.
This Sunday, May 4, 10am-1:30 pm Town School for Boys will be hosting their annual Town Boarding School Fair. You can register here. If you have any further questions about boarding schools, please don't hesitate to contact me at tara@spruce-advisors.com.
