When considering a junior boarding school, most parents and students review academic, athletic, and artistic programs under a microscope. Beyond the core programs, people often evaluate the facilities during a campus tour, ask about faculty-to-student ratios, and glance at a typical boarding student’s schedule. But what actually happens outside of the classroom? It’s important not...
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What do boarding schools and marshmallow-powered jetpacks have in common? Resources and innovation. Just ask Fessenden alumnus Charlie Schlager, a self-proclaimed tinkerer. As a child, Charlie liked to take things apart to see how they worked. And, as much as he liked to break things, he was driven to create. “I wanted to build things,...
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When people think about boarding school, they often think of structure. Wake up. Eat breakfast. Attend classes. Play sports. Study. Sleep. Repeat. While this is true of most schools, and there is great value in providing structure to young learners, there is also great value in adding a little mystery to children’s lives. According to...
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Your child zips through his tests, spending hours every week fidgeting at his desk while waiting for his classmates to catch up. He’s read chapters ahead in his textbooks and by the time the rest of the class reaches him, he could practically teach the lessons. And, he’s bringing home all A’s. It’s every parent’s...
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Your son’s junior boarding school interview might be the most pressure-driven conversation of his young life. Your son is only 10, 11, or 12 years old. He’s never gone to a job interview. He’s never had to impress a date or charm a client over dinner. Most of the adults your son has spoken with...
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A boarding school, in the 21st century? With all boys? And starting as young as middle school? Isn’t that a bit…old-fashioned? As families evaluate their son’s middle school options, many of them reject the idea of junior boarding school because of what their friends and family might think. But despite the somewhat anachronistic reputation boarding...
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Your son’s report cards boast all A’s. His resume is brimming with volunteer experience. His elementary school teachers are standing by to make glowing recommendations. He’s shown prowess on the soccer field or a budding virtuosity on the clarinet. That should be enough to stand out to a top junior boarding school, right? Not exactly,...
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When you’re a gifted middle school athlete stuck in an area where there are few opportunities to compete at the highest levels, life can seem agonizing. You may have the fastest serve in town (among 11-year-olds, anyway) but before you can really test your mettle against elite competition, you have to wait two or three...
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After your son starts junior boarding school, you may not hear from him every day. You won’t always be there to make sure he does his homework, tidies up his room, or brushes his teeth. For a parent, it can be nerve-wracking. Yet, while many parents go to great lengths to make sure their sons...
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Are your son’s middle school classes uninspiring? Is his homework just so much drudgery through which to suffer? When classwork is too easy, many gifted students disengage. They coast on their natural abilities, acing their exams but failing to develop the intellectual habits that will sustain them when they reach the greater academic challenges of...
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