For Parents

International Students in U.S. Boarding Schools: What Parents Should Know

Sending your child abroad to attend a U.S. boarding school is a major decision—especially for international families. In 2025, with evolving visa regulations, rising tuition, and shifting global competition, understanding the ins and outs of U.S. boarding for international students is more critical than ever. This article guides parents, students, and educators through key considerations, best practices, benefits, and risks of enrolling as an international boarding student in the U.S.

Why Consider a U.S. Boarding School as an International Student

Academic & Preparatory Advantages

U.S. boarding schools often offer:

• Rigorous, college-preparatory curricula (AP, honors, or even IB)

• Close faculty access, small class sizes, and structured academic supervision

• College counseling and alumni networks oriented toward U.S. higher education

• Immersion in English and American culture, which helps transition to U.S. colleges

These elements can give international students a stronger footing when applying to U.S. universities.

Cultural Exposure & Network Building

Living on campus allows students to:

• Forge friendships with peers from across the U.S. and the world

• Develop cross-cultural skills, global mindsets, and independence

• Access extracurriculars, leadership opportunities, and advanced facilities

Many boarding schools in the U.S. actively recruit and support international

How Boarding Schools Are Using Generative AI: Rules, Risks, and Rewards for Boarding Students

In 2025, generative AI is no longer a distant concept in academia—it is a reality being woven into boarding school life. From homework help to creative exploration, generative AI tools offer both tremendous promise and serious challenges. In this article, we examine how boarding schools are adapting: the rules they are putting in place, the risks they face, and the rewards available to students, educators, and institutions.

What We Mean by Generative AI in the Boarding School Context

Generative AI refers to computer systems—including large language models (LLMs), image-generation tools, chatbots, etc.—that create new content (text, images, audio) rather than simply processing or retrieving existing content. Examples include tools like ChatGPT (for text generation), DALL·E or Midjourney (for images), and tools that assist with coding, translation, and summarization.

In boarding schools, generative AI can appear in many contexts:

• Academic work: essays, problem sets, lab reports

• Creative work: art, music, storytelling

• Learning aids: summarization, tutoring, revision

• Administrative or support roles: scheduling, feedback generation, mental health chat support

Why Boarding Schools Are Taking Note in 2025

Some key trends and developments:

• Policy urgency: A UNESCO survey found that fewer than 10% of schools or universities globally had formal guidance or policies around generative AI as of early 2024.

Ideally, a private school education is a partnership. The school, parents, and student comprise this partnership. What makes this partnership unique is that all partners must work together for the best interests of a young person. In addition, each partner has a specific role to play and items to take care of. So, let's examine the three partners and their roles and obligations implicit in this arrangement, which makes a private school education a good value.

This video discusses effective parent-teacher communication.

School

Motivation Obviously, the school wants the partnership to work for several reasons. First, successes enhance the school's reputation. The academic marketplace is always competitive unless, of course, the school happens to be located ten miles from the James Bay. Word of mouth within a community spreads word of both successes and failures. I realize that some will interpret word of mouth as gossip, but most parents do their own diligence. They can distinguish between those with an ax to grind and the truth. Furthermore, parents visit schools and see for themselves and ask questions.

Contractual The contractual agreement the school signs with parents spells out its obligations. Private schools are unique. So, the contract you signed at another school will be very different from the one your child's current school requires you to sign. Review it carefully, and, if warranted, have your legal advisor review it.

Academic Academics, the curriculum, and how

2020-2021 have been unusual, depressing years as we all coped with the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, notwithstanding all the gloom and doom, there was some good news in 2021. Several announcements of major gifts to private schools have lifted our spirits and given us, and the recipients, hope.

In October 2021, Berkshire School in Sheffield, Massachusetts, announced that an alumnus had left a bequest to endow three faculty chairs. Also in October, the Frederick Gunn School in Washington, Connecticut, reported that a current trustee and his wife had endowed a faculty chair. The munificence of these donors supports the stated mission of these schools.

The Berkshire School's mission statement notes:

"Rooted in an inspiring natural setting, Berkshire School instills the highest standards of character and citizenship and a commitment to academic, artistic, and athletic excellence. Our community fosters diversity, a dedication to environmental stewardship, and an enduring love for learning."

This video offers an overview of Berkshire School.

In its mission statement, The Frederick Gunn School states:

"In 1850 Frederick Gunn established a school based on the belief that strength of character was the goal of education. Today, The Frederick Gunn School rests on the four cornerstones of character: scholarship, integrity, respect and responsibility. Character is forged in a cohesive, diverse community informed by a challenging college preparatory curriculum, a

Disclaimer: I am not a health professional. I am a concerned parent and grandparent. This article draws attention to some of the questions I have about sending my grandchildren off to boarding school. ~Rob Kennedy

Getting your child ready for school in the summer of 2020 is a nerve-wracking experience for parents. We have always been concerned about our children's safety both at school and at home. We have taught safe behaviors since they were tiny tots. Sending them away from home to a residential school always posed issues of separation and homesickness that you and I were able to deal with more or less successfully. But sending them off to boarding school in the middle of a global pandemic? Well, that's something else again, isn't it?

Suddenly, all those familiar scenarios of dropping our children off at school seem so benign and distant. This COVID-19 pandemic is unlike anything you and I have seen in our lifetimes. The virus seems to attack people of all ages. It seems to lurk in hosts and find new hosts via droplets that hang in the air. It lives on common surfaces such as doorknobs and stair railings. It spreads to its new host when he touches his face. Worst of all, there's no vaccine for the COVID-19 virus. Scientists are scrambling to create vaccines, but it doesn't look as though anything will be available before early 2021.

I have listened to This Week In Virology podcasts for