Why Boarding School? It's All About Standards

One of our parental prerogatives is to worry about our children. That's probably because your child never came with an instruction manual and, as a result, you have had to learn so many things about parenting simply by being a parent. No matter, worry is part of the parental landscape. Now, if you are thinking about sending your child off to boarding school, your worries will be quite specific. Probably along the lines of the following questions.

Many parents find the concept of sending a child to boarding school upsetting; a child's adolescence is such a distinctively affective period that entrusting it to others seems wrong. Yet boarding schools prosper, successors to institutions dating to medieval times.

In 2026, those worries are still understandable. Families are asking not only about academics and college placement, but also about safety, mental health, residential supervision, social adjustment, and cost. The good news is that today’s boarding schools are built around structure, accountability, and close adult guidance.

Will My Child Be Safe?

Boarding schools take your child's safety very seriously. Contractually, a boarding school functions in loco parentis, which is a legal way of stating that the school acts in the place of the parent when it comes to supervision of its students, your child included.

In many respects, your child is a whole lot safer at school, where she cannot drive or go to somebody's house and get into who-knows-what. Drugs, drinking, and smoking are not permitted in a boarding school. Zero tolerance is the rule. Does

Recruitment fairs are events held in locations all over the world that are meant to help boarding schools with their Recruitment of International Students. For example, Linden Educational Services holds Recruitment Fairs in both the Fall and Spring from locations such as East Asia, Latin America, Central Asia, Africa, and Europe. It's been doing this for 9 years. Aimed at parents and students who live in locations all around the world, these recruitment fairs put admissions staff from dozens of boarding schools on location in various International cities. You can meet school representatives and ask all the questions you have about American, Canadian, UK, and Swiss boarding schools.

Why would students from overseas consider attending boarding school in the States?

There are many reasons. As a rule, the main one is that parents want their children to have a world-class education. An International boarding school education will strengthen your child's language skills. Not just English, though it is pretty much the lingua franca in the business and professional world today, your child will also be able to learn a host of other languages, including French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Chinese, to name a few. International boarding schools generally offer a rich array of courses in many subjects. As you meet with school representatives, have a list of questions handy so that you will remember to ask about matters pertaining to curriculum.

Boarding schools also offer superb preparation for tertiary or college-level studies. While most boarding schools will follow the American

If you are thinking about sending your child off to boarding school, you should try to start your school search process as early as possible. Finding the right school takes time. The process itself is not difficult; however, it is time-consuming. For example, if you are considering getting your child into school for 10th grade, you should begin the process in the spring of 8th grade. Standardized admissions testing typically will occur in December of 9th grade. Most boarding schools have application deadlines at the end of January of his 9th grade. Schools send out acceptance letters in March of your child's 9th-grade year.

Many parents think that they will have plenty of time to get everything done, but the truth is that the 18-month time frame that I am recommending flies by very quickly. Before you know it, the application deadline is around the corner. With that in mind, let's review why I feel that you need 18 months for your school search.

1. You need time to visit the schools.

Visiting schools is time-consuming. It is not enough to visit the schools virtually, although if you live abroad, that might be the only viable way of visiting schools. You must experience the school. You need to use your eyes and ears to help decide whether your child will be happy there for the next three years. Possibly four if he stays for a PG year. You wouldn't buy a piece of real

1. There is a boarding school which will fit your requirements.

The United States and Canada have approximately 400-500 hundred boarding schools. The chances are that you will be able to find a school which will suit your requirements. Take time to determine what you are looking for in a boarding school with the person who will be attending the school, namely, your child. She needs to buy into the concept of going away to school. She also needs to understand the many benefits of a boarding school education, both in the short and in the long term. Perhaps her first reactions will be negative because all she will see is that she is going to be losing all her friends and her family. In short, she will assume that going off to boarding school will separate her from everything she knows and loves. That's tough for a teenager to deal with.

If you plan your strategy carefully and discuss the matter with her rather than dictating what will happen, you will quickly build consensus. After all, you only have to point out to her how you wanted her in the first place and that you have nurtured her emotionally and in every other way since birth. Hopefully, then she will trust your judgment and good sense when you put it to her that way.

Once you have her attention, discuss what she needs to build a happy and successful three or four years away at high