Schools for Students with Learning Differences

Here are some considerations to ponder whilst choosing schools and when your child is actually away at school.

DO: Visit schools.

Visiting schools takes a lot of time and effort. It is, however, one of the most important parts of the school selection process. Use the search tools on this site to develop a preliminary list of schools that interest you and your child. If you are located overseas, be sure to research flights to major ports of entry such as Seattle and Los Angeles on the west coast and Boston, New York, Atlanta, and Miami on the east coast and Denver and Chicago in the western and mid-western parts of the country. If you ever have to make an emergency trip to your child's school, you will understand why this step is so important.

Once you have developed your preliminary list, refine it to a shortlist of 3-5 schools. Then visit these schools to determine if they are indeed a good fit for your child's needs and your requirements.

While this video outlines college visits, the concepts are the same and more than applicable to visiting boarding schools.

The "gap year" is more popular than ever, with thousands of students taking an interim year between high school and college to pursue a passion, do meaningful volunteer work, or explore a new culture. However, some students feel that an academic gap year is the best way to spend the year. They know that an academic year will help them to improve their grades and SAT scores, have a taste of structured independence and develop study and writing skills.

For many of these students, a "post-graduate year" at a boarding school is a wonderful option. Over 1400 students are currently enrolled as "PG" students at boarding schools in the US, Canada, and Europe. The PGs have graduated from their local high school, and come to boarding school to join the senior class and to be part of the tight group of PGs on campus. These popular members of the school community are able to participate in varsity athletics and extracurricular activities and have access to the school's college admissions counselors.

PG programs are varied in terms of academics and social life.

Just as colleges have different levels of academic rigor and a variety of social settings, PG programs also have differences and should be evaluated carefully. Strong students can enroll at highly selective boarding schools where they can take upper-level classes and experience the grind of three to four hours of homework a night. This rigorous academic environment will prepare them for the fast pace and independence of a

They offer accelerated learning.

Probably the most compelling reason to send your child to a junior boarding school is to jump-start his academics. Having experienced, credentialled teachers in middle school is a huge plus for impressionable adolescents. If your son is passionate about math and science, he will have the opportunity to give wings to that passion. That's what a junior boarding school can do awfully well. Junior boarding school students discover that despite all the pressures of adolescence, it is cool to be smart. Learning is challenging and stimulating, and always full of discovery. Your son will have the satisfaction of accomplishing many things at a time when his friends in middle school are being distracted by all the things which distract young teenagers. As you and I well know, most of those distractions have little to do with learning.

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Most American families thinking about boarding school tend to stick to schools located within the United States. But, depending on your circumstances and inclinations, you might want to think about Canadian boarding schools. Here are five reasons why.

1. The foreign factor

Canada is not the U.S. It is a sovereign nation with a multi-ethnic population of just over 33 million. Most of the population resides along the U.S.-Canadian border. The three principal cities are Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal. Each has its own particular characteristics and attributes which you can discover as you explore their websites.

Canada is close to the United States. Most major Canadian cities are short flights from most American cities. So you don't have to fret about getting there quickly if something happens to your child. You do need to have proper identification both to enter Canada and, perhaps more importantly, to return home to the United States.

Canadians and Americans share much in common. The shops and restaurants are similar to what you would find stateside. While you will encounter a lot of French in French-speaking Quebec, the rest of the country uses English. The climate is northern with a short summer, fall and spring and a long cold winter. Vancouver and Halifax, being on the water, have much more temperate weather though it can get pretty cold there too.

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