10 Facts About Boarding Schools

Schools for Students with Learning Differences

Every parent deals with learning issues as their children progress through school. Not understanding math concepts is one thing, but what if you suddenly realize your child can't read? He cannot process the characters on the page to make sense of them. That's a whole different thing. You need to deal with this issue as it will not disappear. Read the information on All Kinds of Minds. Understand that there is much research on learning differences and disabilities. Realize that processing information, developing good study habits, and much more are essential aspects of what you are dealing with. The National Center for Learning Disabilities lays out a road map for you.

If you let this go on without remediating it, he will have more significant issues as he heads into adolescence. You cannot allow him to become discouraged. It makes so much more sense to begin helping him right now. To delay merely postpones the inevitable.

Assessment

The first thing you need to do is have him assessed professionally. You will receive many opinions from family and friends. These people mean well, but their observations and opinions cannot be considered authoritative. Your child's future is at stake. Spend the money to have a thorough evaluation performed by an experienced professional. You must find out the parameters of his learning disability. An in-depth assessment will look at every aspect of how he processes information. Once that's done, you can

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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