Private and Boarding Schools

By Kidglue Team on December 1st, 2008

Some parents choose to send their children to a private school or a boarding school for their education, particularly in the high school years.

They may do this for a variety of reasons. These are some of the reasons to choose a private school or boarding school.

Your child excels in a particular academic subject, or in academics generally. Parents and children may choose a private school that offers expert education and enrichment in a specific subject, prepares students specifically and intensely for Ivy League colleges, or provides more academic encouragement than public schools can offer.

Your child excels in a particular sport or athletic endeavor. Some private schools and boarding schools offer superior training and coaching for specific sports. If your child excels at rowing or fencing or boxing, for example, most public schools do not provide programs.

Mountain climbing and bouldering are not even explored in most high schools. And some private schools offer intense training in the more common sports, where soccer or basketball becomes part of the daily training.

Your child is distracted by the social aspects of school. Many private schools and boarding schools require uniforms, eliminating the clothing issue from the social structure. You can choose single-sex schools, eliminating a great deal of tension and distraction for many students. Boarding schools may regulate the social aspects of campus to outside of class and study time, allowing some students to be more focused on academics.

You want a religious education for your child. Religious groups run many private schools. For some parents and children, this provides a safer and more comfortable learning atmosphere than a public school environment.

Religious organizations are free to regulate behavior on moral grounds rather than strictly on legal grounds, which may allow them to make regulations that are less permissive than public schools. They can also teach religious material, a plus for some parents.

Your child needs or thrives in a highly disciplined environment. Most private and boarding schools are highly disciplined. They are very regulated environments where conformity is not only expected but is required for attendance. Students may be dismissed for an infraction of any of the rules.

This is an environment that some students love and in which they will absolutely thrive. Others are more free-spirited and chafe under such heavy-handed regulation. Know your child to allow a successful experience.

You want a regulated social life for your student that doesn’t require driving. Private and boarding schools try to provide a well-balanced social life. With boarding schools, all activities are provided and supervised by the school, and any transportation is provided by the school, so the need for a teenager to drive is eliminated, and the need for you to wonder whose basement your child is visiting this weekend is gone.

Another thing to consider is whether or not you would like your child to be a boarder. Even some of the higher ranked boarding schools will accommodate commuting day students for those who live nearby.

This arrangement can provide many of the benefits of the complete boarding school package without the same expense as a live-in student incurs.