Evaluating Schools

As you begin to refine your boarding school search, you will find yourself circling back to identify the schools that offer the programs your child wants and needs. Don't forget to discuss your wants and needs with your child. She needs to buy into the idea of going off to boarding school. That way, you will end up with a child who is enthusiastic about going to private school and feels involved in the decision-making process. It will be her idea. Choose your time wisely for these essential conversations. Be an active listener. Avoid jumping in as she expresses her thoughts. Choose a relaxed, informal setting for this important conversation. Chatting with your daughter while out shopping or driving around town will be a much less confrontational experience for her than having a formal discussion.

Unlike the limited options you will find in most public schools these days, private schools offer a rich array of programs. Let's look at a few.

Foreign languages

Mandarin, Spanish, French and Italian are the most common languages offered in private schools. You will find these most often at the high school level, but they are increasingly common in the primary grades. If you want to kick it up a notch, several private schools teach everything in French, German, and Hebrew, for example. Review the curriculum section of school websites to determine which language courses they offer. You can find schools quickly by inputting "chinese language" as a search string on this site.

Is online learning not working for you and your son? Are you concerned about his missing out on enrichment and other activities? During these unsettling times when the pandemic keeps reappearing just when you thought it had abated Then, maybe boarding school is a good education solution for your child? But you will never know until you explore the idea thoroughly. Before beginning your research into boarding schools, tune out the negative things you read about boarding schools. After all, the media tends to focus on sensational stories which don't show boarding schools as they really are. Go see for yourself. A quick call or an email is all it takes to make an appointment for a visit. The other consideration which keeps many parents from even considering a boarding school education is the cost. But boarding school may be more affordable than you think. That's because most schools offer very generous financial aid programs. The admissions staff at any boarding school will be only too happy to explain how financial aid works.

Now that we have those considerations out of the way, answer these questions to help you make that important decision about sending your child off to a residential school.

1. Do you want to stretch your child?

If you are content with the status quo, then boarding school is probably not a good idea. Why? Because by going to boarding school your child will be embarking on an incredible adventure.

At some point in the process of choosing schools for your child, you will have to engage in the exercise of comparing certain criteria. As much as private schools can be compared – for they really can't be compared – you still need to keep track of basic information that matters to you and your consultant.

This video explains how to use Google Spreadsheets.

Basics like tuition costs, acceptance rate, and dress code which matter to you should be part of the spreadsheet you set up to compare schools. We are using three schools for the purposes of this illustration. But you probably will want to have as many as 10-15 schools in your first group. Once that is done you can begin eliminating the schools that don't suit your requirements as you begin to develop a short list of schools to visit and examine more closely.

Where do you get the data? It's very easy to find on this site. On the splash page near the top is a drop-down menu titled Comparisons. Choose any criterion you like. Then click on schools that interest you. All the data you need is listed for you in each school's profile.

Here's an example of what your spreadsheet could look like. We have chosen basic data but you can list whatever criteria matter to you in the first column of the spreadsheet.

"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.

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