Why Boarding School

Military Boarding Schools: Are They Still Relevant in 2025?

Military boarding schools have a long tradition in American education. In 2025, families and educators are asking: does the model still hold value? This article examines the status, strengths, challenges, and future prospects of military boarding schools for the modern student.

What Are Military Boarding Schools?

A military boarding school is a residential college-preparatory institution that incorporates a military model of structure, leadership development, uniforms, and often Junior ROTC programs. Unlike service academies, these schools do not require commitment to the armed forces. They emphasise discipline, character building, and academic preparation.

According to one directory, there are 14 military boarding schools listed for the 2025-26 year in the U.S. and Canada, serving approximately 3,700 students. Boarding School Review

Why the Model Still Offers Value in 2025

Leadership, discipline and character

Military boarding schools remain attractive because they deliver a structured environment in which students can develop time management, responsibility, and leadership skills. Research indicates those facets remain key benefits.

Academic preparation

Many schools advertise smaller class sizes and rigorous academics alongside the military structure. For example, one listing noted the combination of academic rigour and personal development.

Unique residential community

Living on campus enhances peer bonding, mentorship and immersion in a distinctive environment. That residential component often sets apart boarding schools generally, and the military model amplifies

Boarding School Summer Programs: Are They Worth It?

Summer offers a unique opportunity for students to deepen learning, explore new interests, and build independence. For families considering a residential option, boarding school summer programs—offered by institutions that operate year-round or open their campus for summer sessions—can appear especially attractive. But are they worth the investment? This article examines the benefits, costs, and key questions for 2025, helping parents, students, and educators decide whether these programs align with goals and budgets.

What We Mean by “Boarding School Summer Programs”

A boarding school summer program typically involves a student living on campus for a period—often anywhere from one to eight weeks—while participating in academic, enrichment, leadership or athletic programming. Some programmes are offered by full-time boarding institutions; others are “summer only” intensive campuses. The setting is residential, which introduces elements of community living, greater independence and often immersive structure.

In this article, the target keyword “boarding school summer programs” will be used repeatedly to align with search intent and improve SEO relevance.

The Potential Benefits

Academic & Enrichment Gains

Research on summer enrichment broadly shows that structured programming can reinforce learning, reduce the “summer slide,” and foster deeper engagement. For example, one recent survey of summer programmes affirms benefits across academic, social-emotional, and physical domains.
Specifically for boarding school summer programs, here are key advantages:

• Focused learning in a low-distraction setting:

How Boarding Schools Prepare Students for Global Careers

In today’s interconnected world, preparing students for global careers goes beyond traditional academics. Boarding schools are uniquely positioned to equip young people with the mindset, the networks and the experiences that enable success on a global stage. This article explores how boarding schools build global-career readiness, with current-year examples and expert commentary.

The Global Career Imperative

The careers of the future increasingly demand cross-cultural competence, adaptability and lifelong learning. Students need more than subject knowledge; they need confidence in diverse settings, networks across borders and a readiness to navigate complex workplaces worldwide. Boarding schools are stepping up to this challenge.

What Makes Boarding Schools Different?

Boards of education, parents and students often identify several advantages in boarding-school settings:

• Residential communities foster independence, self-management and maturity.

• Small classes and 24/7 supervision provide tailored academic and personal support.

• A diverse student body from multiple countries creates a living global ecosystem.
  For instance, a recent review noted that 78 % of boarding-school graduates felt well prepared for the non-academic aspects of university life — far more than students at public schools.
  Similarly, boarding schools are described as cultivating “well-rounded generations for global success” thanks to extracurricular breadth and international exposure.

Core Elements of Global-Career Preparation

Here are the key ways boarding schools prepare students for global careers:

1. Academic Excellence

Corporal Punishment in U.S. Boarding Schools: 2025 Update

Every parent, student and educator considering a boarding school needs to understand how discipline is applied and legally regulated. While much attention focuses on day schools, boarding schools must also navigate discipline practices—including the controversial use of physical punishment. This article explores the current status of corporal punishment in U.S. schools (including private and boarding settings), touches on boarding-school specific issues, updates the 2025 policy landscape, presents new research, and offers insights for families evaluating boarding school environments.

What we mean by “corporal punishment”

In the context of K-12 schools, corporal punishment is defined as any physical force exerted on a student by school personnel intended to correct behaviour—traditionally paddling, spanking, or striking with an object. Historically, this has been applied in both public and private schools in certain states. While most schools today rely on suspension, expulsion, restorative practices or behaviour contracts, corporal punishment remains legal in some jurisdictions.

For boarding schools—where students live on site and are under supervision 24/7—the discipline environment can differ from day schools and requires particular scrutiny. The boarding context raises questions about oversight, residential rules, staff training and the overall culture of discipline.

Legal and policy landscape in 2025

As of 2025, the legal status of corporal punishment varies significantly by state. According to the National Education Association (NEA), 17 states currently permit corporal punishment in public schools, and additional states have not explicitly

Boarding School Diversity and Inclusion: How Schools Are Changing

In recent years, boarding schools have experienced a noticeable shift: the traditional model of elite, homogeneous residential education is giving way to more inclusive, diverse, and equitable approaches. This article explores how boarding school diversity and inclusion efforts are evolving in 2025, including how institutions define and implement practices of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), what concrete strategies are emerging, and how families and students can evaluate schools on these criteria.

What Diversity and Inclusion Mean in the Boarding School Context

Diversity in a boarding school typically refers to the representation of different races, ethnicities, nationalities, socio-economic backgrounds, gender identities, religious beliefs and abilities within the student and staff population. Inclusion means creating a school culture where every student feels seen, supported and valued, regardless of background.

For many boarding schools, embracing diversity and inclusion is no longer optional. As one college-preparatory boarding school writes, the “pillars of diversity, equity & inclusion might outrank all other perks of choosing a boarding school over traditional school.” Niche

In 2025, we are seeing more boarding schools adopt formal frameworks around DEI, shift admissions and hiring strategies, redesign curricula and expand student-life programs to build inclusive residential communities.

Why It Matters: Benefits of Diverse Boarding Environments

Diverse and inclusive boarding schools offer several clear benefits for students, families and educators:

• Students gain daily