Why Boarding School

Any school is a lot of work and takes a great deal of money to open and to continue operating. So, when you look at the examples of these five founders of legendary boarding schools, you can only marvel at the sheer determination which each one had to make his or her dream come true. American boarding schools are some of the best in the world. In an age when everybody seems to be taking shots at America and what we stand for, that's a nice statement to be able to make. Here then are snapshots of the founders of five boarding schools. They are an inspiration forever, as indeed are all the founders of boarding schools throughout the United States.

Maria Bissell Hotchkiss and The Hotchkiss School

Founded in 1891

Number of students: 598

Grades 9-12, PG. Coeducational

Religious Affiliation: Nondenominational

Setting: Rural

Maria Bissell Hotchkiss had inherited a fortune from her husband Benjamin Hotchkiss. He made his money manufacturing guns. After he died, Mrs. Hotchkiss donated 65 acres of land to establish a school for boys. She wanted the school to be a feeder school for Yale University down by the shore in New Haven. Her original gift of 65 acres expanded over time into a magnificent campus of 645 acres of pristine Northwestern Connecticut countryside. Mrs. Hotchkiss' munificence also established a generous financial aid program which gave boys who could not otherwise

The media loves to focus on things like elitism and how boarding schools are just for troubled kids. Let's look at the truth.

Boarding Schools Are just for rich kids.

False. Since about 2000 private schools have been very proactive in seeking out qualified applicants, regardless of their economic circumstances. Basically, if you qualify academically and have good recommendations, you can get in. Furthermore, most schools offer financial aid packages. These vary from school to school, as each school is a standalone corporate entity with its own policies and procedures regarding financial aid. Several schools now offer a tuition-free education where family incomes fall below a specific threshold, typically $75,000 to $100,000.

This video offers an overview of The Orme School.

Boarding Schools Don't let you have a life.

False. While it is true that boarding schools will supervise your whereabouts at all times, the idea that you won't have a life is simply false. In fact, there will be so much to do at boarding school that there will be times when you will wonder how you will be able to fit it all in. Sports two days a week and extracurricular activities of every conceivable kind provide a nice counterpoint to your academic studies. Field trips and social activities are also part of the package. Yes, there is time for yourself too so you can chill, listen to your music and chat

Boarding or residential schools occupy a special niche in theK-12 educational world. Here are some facts to help you understand how these schools work and who they serve.

1. There are over 300 boarding schools in the U.S.

Most boarding schools prepare their students for college-level work. Hence the name, "college prep" or "prep" which you will see in many school names. Most boarding schools are coeducational. But there are about a hundred schools that are single-sex schools. They accept and teach only boys or girls.

There are several types of boarding schools. Alternative and therapeutic schools serve specific needs such as emotional and disciplinary issues. Still, other schools offer programs for students with special needs such as dyslexia, ADD/ADHD, and other learning differences. They have the skilled, highly credentialed staff to ensure the best possible outcome for your child. They focus on college preparation as well. Military schools combine academics and the military training many young people and their parents demand. As you will see when you review the boarding school profiles on this site, there literally is a school for every need and requirement.

2. Some schools are purely residential.

Other schools are a mix of boarding and day students. A true boarding school has most of its students resident on campus. But if a school happens to be located in a town or other major population area, it could have a significant percentage of day students. There's nothing intrinsically wrong with that, but

Every parent deals with learning issues as their children progress through school. Not understanding math concepts is one thing, but what if you suddenly realize that your child can't read. He just cannot process the characters on the page in order to make sense of them. That's a whole different thing. You need to deal with this issue as it will not disappear. Read the information on All Kinds of Minds. Understand that there is much research on learning differences and disabilities. Realize that processing information, developing good study habits, and much more, are important aspects of what you are dealing with. The National Center for Learning Disabilities lays out a road map for you.

If you let this go on without remediating it, he's going to have bigger issues as he heads into adolescence. You cannot allow him to become discouraged. It makes so much more sense to begin helping him right now. To delay merely postpones the inevitable.

Assessment

The first thing you need to do is have him assessed professionally. You will receive many opinions from family and friends. These people mean well, but their observations and opinions cannot be considered authoritative. Your child's future is at stake. Spend the money to have a thorough evaluation performed by an experienced professional.You must find out the parameters of his learning disability. An in depth assessment will look at every aspect of how he processes information. Once that's done then you can begin

Research shows: girls' school graduates have an edge trumpets the headline on The National Coalition of Girls' Schools site. The research comes from UCLA. This is peer-reviewed research as opposed to anecdotal evidence or hearsay. But first, let's examine the background of single-sex education in order to understand the significance of these important findings.

Single-sex schools were the only kind of school that existed for many years starting as far back as colonial times. But they were usually boys' schools as girls were still considered inferior and generally not worth educating. As the country grew and education matured with it, coeducational schools became the norm. The idea was to promote the equality of the sexes. Girls would be given the same opportunities as boys to learn and advance.

This video offers an overview of Garrison Forest School, Owings Mills, Maryland.

In theory, coeducation is a good idea. But there were many subtle prejudices against girls which had to be overcome. Gender stereotypes, for example, held many girls back. Women could be telephone operators, nurses, and teachers but not doctors, lawyers, or business executives. And so on. These barriers for women were real in most of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Here is how Foxcroft School describes living at Foxcroft:

"This affordable boarding school for girls in Virginia is truly a community of understanding hearts, where each girl is