Boarding schools have always been unique environments. In addition to time in class, students and faculty share meals, athletic and artistic interests, and the tacit understanding that meaningful connections with adults carry a great deal of weight in formative years. Yet in an age of increasing specialization and parental expectation, the once-…

The chances of lightning striking twice are infinitesimal, at best. What are the odds, in middle age, of being struck with a jarring bolt of figurative lightning, then a few months later being an eyewitness as the same sizzle in the sky jolts a group of students--those decision-makers of tomorrow? The author describes two experiences that proved…

Eagle Rock, a high school for 15- to 18-year-olds, serves 72 students at risk for dropping out of school. Most come from families who cannot afford any other options. The school provides full scholarships for all students and accepts only students who have not succeeded in traditional settings and want to attend the school. Its programs are…

This article examines two independent schools as case studies for educating for sustainability, and shares what they have learned, what works, and best of all, what can be replicated elsewhere. Midland School--rigorous, rustic, and full of heart--is a small college preparatory boarding school on almost 3,000 acres in the Santa Ynez Valley in…

There are several ways in which boarding school administrators can help their teachers have better lives, i.e. by offering flexible career planning, making a philosophical commitment to the teachers' continuing education, and offering greater financial security through imaginative financial planning. (AN)

A mother recounts the feelings she experienced when attempting to decide where to send her daughter to boarding school. Her concern with the frantic social life in New York City and how it would affect her growing, twelve-year-old daughter led her to England. (RK)

Presents a rationale, based on Judeo-Christian principles, for involving boarding school students in social service work. (SJL)

Sources of teacher stress in private boarding schools include the expectations placed on teachers, poor administrative leadership, the physical environment, time pressures, and age differences or similarities with colleagues and students. Coping with stress may involve lowered expectations, better personal health care, consistent supervision,…

Because boarding schools resemble "total institutions," offering no escape from failure or low self-esteem, private school students feel great stress. Both good and bad students feel stress, as do new, minority, or emotionally troubled students, especially from lack of privacy, lack of control over life, and demanding schedules. (RW)

The director of Woodberry Forest Summer School outlines the implementation and operation of his program as a model for similar endeavors. (SJL)

Discussing the role of independent schools in education today, this article touches on problems facing independent schools, their steady growth, finance sources, and changes in structure, climate, teacher roles, and curriculum. (DS)

Cranbrook School's Horizons-Upward Bound program, seeded by the Ford Foundation, was one private boys' school's response to challenges of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement. In 1965, efforts focused on three Detroit city schools. This HUB program thrived, as girls and a university partnership were later added. (MLH)

Traditionally informal, teacher evaluation in the private school sector is changing. Although faculty and administrators view the situation from different perspectives, there is agreement that more formal methods are more satisfactory. Boarding schools differ significantly from day schools in their approach to teacher evaluation. (SB)