What About Canadian Schools?

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

Do you have a child who just doesn't fit nicely into a conventional classroom? Are you one of those parents who doesn't see the point of standardized testing? Do you want to let your child explore and discover things for himself in a less structured learning environment? Do you believe that children learn by doing? If you have answered affirmatively to any or all of these questions, then you probably should be looking at progressive schools.

Parents consistently select progressive schools such as Montessori, Waldorf, and Reggio Emilia for the pre-school and primary years. However, when it comes to middle and high school, they tend to feel that they have to follow a more traditional college preparatory model based on Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate curricula. Why? Most parents seem to think that a test-oriented educational approach ensures their children a better chance of getting into a good college.

Standardized tests are a very common feature of American professional and academic life. It's been that way for the past forty or fifty years. But should children in K-12 schools be subject to standardized testing? You get the feeling that teachers have to teach to the test, as opposed to being able to teach their subjects. Now, most private schools have developed enriched curricula which far exceed the requirements put forth by most of the common high school standardized tests, e.g., SAT and ACT.

Is your child very intelligent? Is she gifted?

"I can't find any rankings!" "Which is the best boarding school in Massachusetts?" Hardly a day goes by without somebody asking about the rankings of boarding schools. I know that you are trying to figure out how one boarding school compares with another so that you can choose the one which is best for your child. You probably even have tried looking for a site that ranks schools. Well, good luck! If you find one, let me know. There is no ranking system for boarding schools that I know of.

Try it yourself. Google "boarding school rankings" or "ranking boarding schools" and review the results. Yes, you will find several lists of "the best schools." However, what are the criteria used to select those schools? Maybe some of them are a good fit for your requirements. Maybe not. So, let's look at the reasons why this is the case.

1. Boarding schools are unique

This is the main reason why it is impossible to rank boarding schools. Each school is unique. Each school does its own thing. Schools are overseen and managed by trustees and faculty who have a particular point of view. For example, a Jesuit boarding school such as Georgetown Prep has a quite different approach to curriculum and teaching than The Putney School. Yes, as you look at schools, you can compare basic criteria such as the number of students, what they teach, and the sports programs they offer.

The broad

Does it matter when you go off to boarding school? What is the most common point of entry? Are there any advantages to entering 9th grade versus entering in 10th grade? What about attending boarding school just for 11th grade or 12th grade? Does that make sense? Is it even possible? The answers to these questions depend on you and your circumstances.

athletic facilities

10th Grade Entry and Academics

The most common entry point for American college prep boarding schools is 10th grade. That makes sense for many students because college preparatory studies usually cover a three-year cycle. Most schools follow the Advanced Placement or AP program. This begins in 10th grade, as a rule, and ends in May of the senior year when students take the national AP examinations. The AP courses offered vary from school to school, so be certain to scrutinize the academic curricula carefully as you search for the right boarding school for your child. While most boarding schools will offer ten to fifteen AP subjects, many of them frequently offer highly specialized AP courses such as Mandarin and Japanese. These AP courses are difficult to find in many private schools. They also are not commonly found in public schools.

10th grade is also a sensible entry point at boarding schools that offer the IB or International Baccalaureate programme. The IB programme has many program-specific features which are best started at least by10th grade.

A top prep school such as