Beyond the Classroom: Why Boarding School Might Be the Perfect Fit for Your Child

Boarding schools have often been portrayed with unusual circumstances on the silver screen in such well-loved films as Dead Poets Society or the Harry Potter franchise.

As much as we might all wish to attend Hogwarts, there’s plenty of magic to be found in the world of regular boarding schools as well. Boarding schools might be seen as the children’s version of an intentional community, created with the student front and center. Since most kids think the world revolves around them anyway, a boarding school could seem like a dream come true.

Benefits of Boarding 

In a nutshell, boarding school means a complete focus on your child’s life on campus. From classes to meals to social events to after-school and evening activities, every opportunity is available to foster academic excellence, character development, and cultural growth, all in one place. And living on campus means your child will always be with their best friends.

All boarding schools are different. For example, the educators who formed Delphian School sought to transform education through active learning rather than straight lecture format. The curriculum is highly hands-on. Students study at their own pace and, on any given day, might be participating in small group discussions on literature, art, business, science, or current events. Or they may be creating a model to illustrate an idea or foraging in the forest as part of an ecology segment. Each academic program is individually designed to serve a student’s academic needs and interests.

Here are the key factors to consider in determining whether the boarding school environment aligns with your child’s educational and personal growth aspirations.

Academic rigor.

Most students and parents choose a boarding school at least in part for its academic excellence. Knowing they will be challenged as they study alongside other top students is motivating, and helps prepare students for college early on. Because the teachers may also live on campus, it’s easier to develop strong bonds, and teachable moments often happen outside classroom hours.

Individual attention.

Most boarding schools keep class size small (typically 5-15 students), so teachers can give each student a lot more individual attention than is possible at public school or even a private day school. The teachers often act more like mentors and facilitators, encouraging students to ask questions and discover their own answers rather than to simply absorb information the teacher provides.

More experiential learning.

As the Delphian example describes, most boarding schools are focused on learning that helps students find their voice and discover whether they really want to work with numbers, become an engineer, or find a cure for cancer. Internships and exposure to a range of possible fields allow them to gain this type of clarity much sooner than a student attending a day school might.

Social and emotional growth.

Children who attend boarding school often form lifelong friendships among their peers. Through the wide range of activities and events that take place on campus, they learn how to communicate, resolve conflict, and collaborate toward a common goal. There is also tremendous support during these transformative years in the form of peer counseling, mindfulness training, and staff counseling to help students develop the resilience necessary for success in life.

Closer family connections. I

f you or your child is concerned that boarding school might be challenging because you’re a close-knit family, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to learn that boarding school can actually strengthen your relationship. Boarding school teaches children self-reliance and self-confidence. At the same time your child is learning how to live independently, the friction inherent in any family dynamic is removed. Since you’re no longer engaged in supervising homework or asking whether the chores are done, it’s easier for a parent to slip into a collaborative, supportive role as more of a guide. At boarding school, if your child wants clean laundry, guess who’s responsible for it?