College Counseling Archives

Unique Benefits: Therapeutic Wilderness Programs

January 30, 2023 Brad Hoffman Leave a Comment

Therapeutic wilderness programs are often seen as a last resort when other residential schools and treatment programs have not worked out. Many families are afraid that their child will not be able to adapt to living without the modern amenities they’ve grown accustomed to, won’t have access to sufficient clinical care, or will resent the parents for sending them away from home.

However, many young people stand to gain from a program that fosters healing and learning outside the classroom or therapist’s office. Self-sufficiency and confidence, emotional regulation, and communication skills are at the core of high quality therapeutic wilderness programs, and will be useful to students long after they return home. This summer, My Learning Springboard spoke with a group of expert educators at therapeutic wilderness programs across the United States—from Maine to Hawaii—to understand the unique benefits they offer and how to decide which program is the right fit for your family.

When it’s time to go

The biggest hurdle families face is deciding when a therapeutic wilderness program is necessary. Some will only consider a program once they have exhausted all local community and out-patient options. But Will White Co-Founder, Co-Owner, Director of Outreach at Summit Achievement, cautions that parents should not wait until “things are at a crisis level,” as few people think clearly during an emergency. “If things are getting worse or simply not progressing over time,” says White, “it may be time to consider a wilderness therapy program.”

Understanding the different types of programs

Therapeutic wilderness programs come in all shapes and sizes. Some follow a “nomadic” model, in which staff and students hike and camp over a set route for the duration of the program. Others offer a so-called “primitive” model that encourages teens to take accountability for themselves through the learning of basic survival skills. However, Kelly Webster, Admissions Director of True North, makes clear that just because these programs are called “primitive” doesn’t mean they are unsafe. All top therapeutic wilderness programs are “tailored to be just right—top of the line gear, appropriate hikes, beautiful terrain, emotional support system.”

The third option is a “basecamp” model with students dividing time between a single campus and short forays throughout their stay. Open Sky’s Admissions Director, Tere Snodgrass, thinks the base camp model is best for their participants because it “follows a trauma-informed approach, so students always have a safe, familiar place to return to after having gone ‘on expo’ to challenge themselves, learn, and experiment with new skills.”

Each of these options has its own set of benefits and challenges, and many therapeutic wilderness programs offer a blend of different models. The best way to determine which is right for your child is to first assess their physical and mental health needs. For example, if your child requires on-site counseling for substance abuse or the 24-hour presence of staff, a base camp model may be best. If your child lacks self-confidence, they may benefit from the physical challenge of a more adventurous experience offered by a nomadic program.

The final piece to consider is the therapeutic approach. Many of the adolescents enrolled in therapeutic wilderness programs have already tried one or multiple forms of therapy, often without success. Therefore, program staff are typically trained in multiple modalities: trauma-informed therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy, and family systems theory. Talk with admissions about your child’s needs in order to tailor an approach that is right for them, but also be open to trying something new.

The role of parents

Many parents will have concerns about what effect this seemingly drastic step will have on their relationship with their child. Admissions directors and counselors at therapeutic wilderness programs often field questions like, “Will my child hate me forever if I do this?”

However, when many children arrive at a wilderness therapy program, “the relationship between parent and child has been pretty strained,” says Summit Achievement’s Will White. “Our staff understands the parent’s worry that this step might further this strain, however, in most cases, the intervention and separation actually provide the opportunity for healing.” The vast majority of families describe the experience as positive, with initial flashes of anger or resentment quickly changing to understanding.

Representatives from every program who spoke with My Learning Springboard agree that therapy will be successful only if the entire family is involved. For this reason, Kellyne Smith, Admissions Director of Pacific Quest believes that a “comprehensive parent curriculum” is essential. This program helps parents support students at each point of the journey, deal with common challenges, and offers parallel therapeutic assignments for families. To maintain the balance between independence and connection, Pacific Quest offers weekly letter writing, phone calls, and Zoom appointments with your child, along with communication with counselors and therapists. As the child continues their therapeutic development, parents will be brought in for family counseling sessions, as well as an onsite visit. These touch points help parents stay apprised of their child’s growth while also prompting them to reevaluate family dynamics and patterns that may be exacerbating issues at home.

Returning home

Wilderness therapy is effective in part because it removes adolescents from the triggers and stresses of everyday life and creates an opportunity for them to develop emotionally in a safe environment. But many parents wonder what happens when their child finishes the program and how to navigate that transition. Some students will return home directly from a program, but many others will attend either therapeutic boarding schools or more traditional boarding schools with outpatient programs or other mental health services added. But some parents wonder whether their child will be able to apply the lessons they’ve learned in a wilderness program once they get back in “the real world.”

“That some of the structural aspects of the program are ‘contrived’ do not make

them less powerful or less impactful,” says Mary Jo DeGrandi, Senior Director of Professional Relations at First Light Wilderness. “Students must navigate rainstorms, backpacking on challenging terrain, interacting and working together with peers, being vulnerable and reliant on strangers with the most raw parts of themselves,” she says. “Healthy communication, problem-solving, collaboration with others, rupturing and repairing relationships, facing emotional struggles head-on—these are real-life skills that ultimately help students grow healthier in relationship to themselves and with others, which is the basis for so many other aspects of success as young adults and in life.”

To discuss therapeutic wilderness programs or other interventions and school planning for your family, please contact our office.

By Brad Hoffman, M.S.Ed and Board Certified Educational Planner, and Faya Hoffman, M.A. and Board Certified Educational Planner

Therapeutic Boarding Schools

January 27, 2023 Brad Hoffman Leave a Comment

For students who are experiencing mental health challenges that require specialized care in a residential school environment, therapeutic boarding schools can provide the more intensive and integrated support that they need. At therapeutic boarding schools, students are provided with tools to help them navigate difficult emotional experiences, build resilience, work with their families, and prepare for the next steps in their lives. These schools offer individualized programming and clinically-based treatment options to meet students’ needs in a holistic manner. For students who experience clinically significant anxiety, depression, PTSD, attachment disorder, and other mental health challenges where treatment from home with local providers has not been enough, therapeutic boarding schools can be a critical stepping stone on the path to recovery where educators, residential faculty, and clinicians – including psychologists, social workers, and psychiatrists – work collaboratively as a multidisciplinary team in partnership with families. In this blog post, we talk to several administrators from therapeutic boarding schools across the United States to hear more about the specialized support these schools offer to students and their families.

Immersive Mental Healthcare

Therapeutic boarding schools allow for students to enter a rarified space that centers their healing. “Unlike traditional outpatient, a therapeutic boarding school or residential treatment center enables a young person to completely change their environment,” Tony Mosier, COO and Co-Founder of Telos Academy in Utah, explains, “For some, getting distance from toxic friends, strained family systems, and access to substances is key to healing. Families should consider a therapeutic program when outpatient efforts haven’t been enough, or when their child’s behavior has become too dangerous to risk continued treatment efforts in an unstructured setting.” In addition, therapeutic boarding schools can also be “stepping stones” for students who are finishing up a wilderness program or residential treatment program, advises Lisa Kimball, Admissions Director of The Grove School in Connecticut. “Therapeutic boarding schools create safe, intentional settings for students to receive a high level of support while also maintaining important aspects of their independence.”

Student Profiles

Therapeutic boarding schools generally specialize in certain areas of student need. Many schools work with students who experience anxiety, depression, ADHD, learning challenges, and issues with confidence. Schools may provide specialized support for students with high-functioning autism and substance issues. At Telos Academy, students who are most successful are generally those who are academically inclined but struggle in more traditional school settings. Mr. Mosier notes that students who are actively addicted to substances and working with aggression do not fit their profile. For students to succeed in the therapeutic boarding school setting, they need to invest in their own growth. As Ms. Kimball states, “Students need to come to Grove willingly with some level of investment in their continued work.”

Parental Involvement

While students live for most of the year at a therapeutic boarding school, parental involvement is key to their healing process. Therapeutic boarding schools require parents or caregivers to attend family therapy and trainings, and to be open to their own growth process. Both students and parents need to be engaged in the healing process while students are at therapeutic boarding schools and once they return. Jill McIntyre of Alpine Academy in Utah says, “Research shows that the key predictor of success for a student after leaving Alpine Academy is their parents’ willingness and ability to make personal, parenting, and family system changes.” Due to the relational nature of the therapeutic process, family dynamics and commitment have a tremendous impact on students in recovery. As Ms. Kimball explains, “We make it clear at the onset that the whole family is in treatment during their time at Grove.”

Social and Emotional Support

Therapeutic boarding schools design and implement specific, research-based practices to address students’ challenges. Their therapeutic modalities are employed in order to help students become more confident, self-regulated, and resilient. Mr. Mosier describes how, “Telos Academy has a deeply relational approach. Using an attachment-based model, we believe treating students with dignity and respect is fundamental to creating an environment safe enough to explore personal change.” Alpine Academy’s approach is based on individually applying the Teaching-Family Model alongside clinical work to help students work on their emotional and cognitive processes. Families can expect their students to engage in various therapies that are designed for their growth and wellbeing. Notably, therapeutic boarding schools will often make use of DBT strategies, but all of the excellent programs employ clinicians who are cross-trained in a variety of treatments, and they intentionally make use of more than one treatment approach.

Executive Functioning Skills

Many therapeutic boarding school students struggle with executive functioning, or mastering the skills necessary to plan and follow-through with their goals, tasks, and responsibilities. For this reason, therapeutic boarding schools offer extensive support and accountability with executive function skill building. Many therapeutic boarding schools offer 1:1 coaching with expert learning specialists or clinicians. At Telos Academy, students also learn executive functioning skills in “an adventure-based space simulator where they work as teams to solve problems as the “crew” of a spaceship,” says Mr. Mosier. This experience provides a vehicle for skill building that becomes generalized in other situations. As students build their executive functioning skills, they increase their metacognition, or, understanding of their own thought processes. With these tools and awareness, they are increasingly able to take responsibility for their daily tasks and to achieve their long-term goals.

College Readiness

Therapeutic boarding schools ensure that students are ready to both apply to and succeed in higher education, if that is their aim. Programs are designed to help students prepare for college both academically and emotionally, and some schools even offer high school students the chance to receive college credit at local universities. Therapeutic boarding schools offer structured support to help students achieve their educational goals. Ms. Rainer of Shortridge Academy in New Hampshire says that, “The students who fit our cognitive profile have typically been tracked as students who are headed for college, and our teachers have that in mind as they seek to build academic skills. The goal for all students academically is effective self-advocacy and cognitive proficiency in developing strong independent learning skills.” In effect, therapeutic boarding schools ready their students for the academic, emotional, and social elements of the college experience.

Life after Therapeutic Boarding Schools

Therapeutic boarding schools offer support so that students can generally resume their studies in more traditional learning spaces. These schools position themselves as transitional spaces for students to hone and develop important social, emotional, and academic skills before moving on to the next stage of their lives. Students will leave a therapeutic boarding school and move on to a traditional private or public school, boarding school, or higher education institution. Ms. Rainier of Shortridge Academy explains, “Our mission is to prepare students to return to traditional school environments, and academically we do that by building on strengths, and developing strong executive functioning and self-advocacy skills.”

Parental Concerns

Given their children’s emotional distress, parents may be hesitant to send their child away from home to a therapeutic boarding school. However, therapeutic boarding schools can be a necessary intervention. Mr. Mosier of Telos Academy states that, “Sometimes, paradoxically, true closeness can only come through a period of separation in which family members can discover who they are and what they value. Out-of-home placement is an extreme step, but it is well worth it if a child’s struggles are so acute their life is in danger.” The removal of students from their habitual lives can help facilitate their recovery. Furthermore, parents and students alike often come to a conclusion that additional support is necessary. Ms. Kimball of the Grove School reflects that, “Parents and students often say that while there may be fear, reluctance and sadness around this transition, there is also a shared sense of relief. Our students are looking to get back on their path and have goals that they want to work towards.” Though the transition may take work on the part of parents and their children, attending a therapeutic boarding school allows students to get the level of support that they need, so that they can continue on in their lives in a safe, connected, and healthy way.

If you’re interested in learning more about therapeutic boarding schools for your student, please contact our office for assistance.

By Brad Hoffman, Board Certified Educational Planner, Faya Hoffman, Board Certified Educational Planner, and Laurie Gross, Special Educator and Family Advocate.

Oxbridge New York and The Importance of Pre-College Summer Programs

January 4, 2023 Brad Hoffman Leave a Comment

50 kids, 12 staff members. A college dorm full of high school students, and a city alive again after two-plus years of Covid disruption. What kind of alchemy occurs when you add, after two vacant summers, people back into the asphalt and steel, gardens and rivers of New York City? When communal living demands of and offers you new routines and a way out of routines you haven’t thought about in years? With Oxbridge New York 2022 (a program that hadn’t run since 2019), as a staff member, I was part of an incredibly lucky group that got to stumble into answers to these questions. Housed at Barnard College, with Morningside Park on one side and Riverside Park (a wonder) and the Hudson immediately on the other, we began to explore the city in all its variety.

On a personal level, this summer position with Oxbridge New York was especially lucky for me, as I’d been trying to spend an extended period of time in NYC since I myself was in high school. Five weeks in the city is enough time, thankfully, to begin to feel a rhythm of subway and building and avenue, to find a few (or more than a few) dreams made real. Such an experience on its own is a gift, but to have this experience post-Covid and with a group of students who happened to be some of the kindest, most enthusiastic people I’ve ever met meant that New York City would be the setting for an emotional re-entry for all of us. I had forgotten what dorm life meant, the amount of things I could do in a day, what I was capable of. I didn’t want to share a bathroom, adjust to the minimal space of a dorm room, or be stuck with the use of one fridge five floors down. The thought made me anxious. I was afraid of the NYC subway. By the end of the program, I would miss, dearly, (almost) all of these features of my New York experience. A beautiful irony that the shrinking of amenities could open up a world. We are always, always more adaptable than we think.

Games with the students and colleagues in the program office during sign-in time (10-11 pm every night) became one of my favorite parts of my Program Dean role. Black Magic, Mafia, other camp games on the floor in a circle, or Just Dance on the wall-mounted TV (yes, 11 pm is too late for the adrenaline of Just Dance at the volume they wanted it in the office, but the easy elation of these kids who’ve had two years of high school taken from them made it just right). I got to teach them a hip hop class; I had the chance to introduce them to yin yoga. On a day off work, I was able to jump on the 1 train to Times Square and take a class at Broadway Dance Center—fulfilling a decades-old bucket list item of mine. The kids gravitated to 42nd Street at every chance they got: to be sixteen and say, “We’re just going out for dinner in Times Square”! The headiness of it in their voices reminded us to do the same when we could. Central Park astounded us all on different days at different spots. It took me the full month to find that Central Park South (the Mall, the artists, the plaza) was what I’d been looking for the whole time. When the students weren’t immersed in the city, they were taking class (Oxbridge New York is an academics-heavy summer program). They studied business, creative writing, musical theater, photography, fashion, more. But more often than not, their classes drew them to the city’s wonders, too, at the Met, the MoMA, Ground Zero, the Whitney, the Guggenheim. Magnolia Bakery, of course.

Then there were the dreamy days I couldn’t have ever anticipated. I think this must happen more often in New York City than anywhere else, simply by virtue of the fact that the city itself is like a dreamscape; its overabundance gives you more on any given day than you could hope for. Its layers on layers of narratives (fictional, cultural, historical) mean that the city holds places in your heart you didn’t even realize. We took the students to Coney Island—a standout day from the trip. Between cinematic subway rides (the Brooklyn Bridge from the windows at sunset), we all discovered a place we didn’t know we’d been waiting for. The ocean, the rides, the kids sticky from soda and soft-serve. The boardwalk, the hot dogs, and enough roller coasters to make them happily sick to their stomachs on the walk back to our meeting spot at Nathan’s. All of them smiling or sleeping on the return subway — sunburnt, exhausted, and satiated. A perfect oversaturation.

During the last week of the program, I got to take a group of students to Aladdin on Broadway. Initially annoyed that this, out of all options, was the show they had chosen, I was met once again by the full force of NYC magic during a show that was so spectacular with people who were so ecstatic to be there. We waited outside the theater doors after the show and met the actors, then headed to Junior’s for reubens and cheesecake.

Brooklyn again proved full of its own treasures on our Smorgasburg day (the US’s largest weekly outdoor food festival). After an epic journey through hibiscus doughnuts, juice held in a watermelon, chicken kebabs, and a view of Manhattan to drop the jaw, we found the real-life library from A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.

That all of this and more happened in a span of five weeks is still surreal to me. Especially so after Covid. I know this take is colored by the fact that I had a finite amount of time there, that I was part of a pre-packaged experience and a temporary, built-in community. Nor was the community perfect. Did we have a couple meetings with the purpose of scolding the kids back into respectful living? Did we argue amongst ourselves and shake our heads at administrative imperfections? Yes, and sometimes, and way more than once. But the gorgeous paradox of New York City is that it is as much fantasy and confection as it is hard reality. I can’t think of another city where the two are so thoroughly enmeshed. “I just love getting in my bed every night,” a student remarked to me halfway through the month. “Even though it’s so small and it’s like the worst dorm room mattress, I’m so tired and happy from everything we did during the day. You know? It’s that ugly blanket and weird sheets? And I just love it.” I know the feeling exactly.

While my experience was focused on Oxbridge New York, it was a perfect reminder of just how valuable pre-college summer programs are for students. Taking full advantage of each of the three summers available before the college admissions process officially begins is critical for students’ growth and development. These adventures help our students to scaffold their transition to college and better understand what experiences they’re looking to have. Pre-college programs are a little like “restaurant week”; they provide opportunities to sample different learning environments, geography, and subject matter in order to better prioritize and ultimately commit to a “just right” college experience.

For further discussion about college counseling for your family, please contact our office.

By Jordi Rozenman, M.A., College Counselor and Private Tutor

Mainstream Boarding Schools

November 6, 2022 Brad Hoffman Leave a Comment

Boarding schools guide students in becoming independent, broad-minded, and responsible young adults. They offer environments that promote strong academic and social communities and provide rigorous support in ways that day schools cannot. Boarding schools enable students to take responsibility for their learning and growth while also ensuring that students have access to support systems that dynamically meet their needs. In this blog post, admissions directors from elite New England boarding schools share their insights on what boarding schools can offer to students and their families.

Intentional Academic Community

Boarding schools are places where students are immersed in thoughtful, collaborative environments throughout their entire day. The rich combination of academics, extra-curriculars, and residential spaces allows for learning and teaching to extend beyond the classroom walls. “Boarding school communities are uniquely and intentionally designed to foster these opportunities for our students; as 24/7 living and learning environments, we embrace teaching and learning that extends beyond the limitations of a classroom and an academic schedule,” says Allison Letourneau, Director of Admission at The Berkshire School in Massachusetts.

Given the breadth of boarding school offerings and the unique experiences that they afford their students, parents might be unsure where to begin in their search for their child’s boarding school. “I think a great starting point for parents is the school’s Mission Statement,” advises Rich Ryerson, Associate Director of Admissions at Kimball Union Academy in New Hampshire. “This will tell you a great deal about a school’s culture and identity.” Ryerson also suggests consideration of programmatic offerings, “for example, if my child loves engineering and ‘hands-on’ projects, I will be able to see if the school has a strong STEM program, perhaps offering courses in engineering or fabrication.” Ryerson points out that a school’s size and location are important qualities to consider, alongside a child’s learning style. “Does your child want an intense academic setting surrounded by other highly competitive students or perhaps a setting with more of a range of abilities. Perhaps a setting with academic support services is needed to help bolster a student’s success when mild learning challenges are part of the learner’s profile.” Ryerson also discussed the consideration of geography in connection with school programming. “If your child enjoys the outdoors–activities such as mountain biking, kayaking, hiking or being part of an environmental club–then a school with an emphasis on “place-based” education might be appropriate.”

Advisory

Alongside traditional faculty instruction, boarding schools typically provide each student with an advisor to help them grow and thrive. Students meet regularly with advisors and receive ongoing, individualized mentorship and guidance. Faculty advisors become trusted adults with whom students can share their aspirations and their challenges.

“Faculty advisers take primary responsibility for shepherding students through their time at St. Paul’s School in New Hampshire and serve as a liaison between the student, their teachers and their family or guardian,” explains Admissions Director Dana Anselmi. “Advisers strive to cultivate an atmosphere of trust so that students can openly discuss their hopes, dreams, and goals – they assist students in their academic programs and course selections, keep abreast of students’ athletic commitments and community activities, and provide the friendly support, trust, and understanding that undergird adolescent growth and development.” At many schools, advisors and students may also meet for meals or gatherings that further support strong community bonds.

Independence

Boarding schools help prepare students for life in college and beyond by allowing students to take responsibility for their own spaces and schedules. Students are able to experience the freedom of having greater ownership of their day-to-day decisions. They learn to advocate for themselves, choose the activities that they want to be a part of, and stay organized, while receiving ongoing support and structure from their school.

“We have lots of student leadership opportunities as well as experiences for students to try on new things and have new experiences,” explains David Tutle, Admissions Director emeritus of Westover School in Connecticut and current president of the Small Boarding School Association. “As a small school, we can offer more of these opportunities and the kids can take academic and social risks that they may not in larger systems. Of course, there are systems around boarding life that help as well. Having the ability to go into town, being responsible for your own space, managing your schedule, and making sure you utilize the resources available to you when you stumble, and there are times you will.” Boarding schools can be safe, nurturing spaces for students to explore beyond the bounds of their respective families and learn who they are on a deeper level.

Social and Emotional Wellbeing

As boarding schools provide holistic support for students, they have robust offerings and services to meet students’ social and emotional needs. These schools provide many layers of care, from advisors to dorm parents to social events and nutritional programs. Boarding schools recognize the significant challenges that young people face and have designed programming and structures to help their students grow as full people. “The world is fraught with conflict, and there are a lot of challenges to a teenager’s emotional, social and psychological well-being,” says Maureen Smith, Director of Admissions and Financial Aid at Marvelwood School in Connecticut. “Student health and wellness is a priority. Our faculty are well trained and well-versed in teaching and modeling what it means to have a healthy lifestyle. Marvelwood’s approach to supporting doesn’t stop when students walk out of the classroom or during a tutoring session, rather, it is incorporated into all that we do. In every aspect of our school culture, we prioritize healthy choices. We emphasize the importance of the student/faculty relationship, improve students’ self-confidence and self-advocacy skills, encourage healthy choice-making, and provide the social and emotional support our students need to become their best selves.” Boarding schools are poised to offer students extensive pathways to develop and nurture their mental health and social development, from counseling and nutrition to events and community-building.

Is Boarding School the Right Choice?

It is common for parents or caregivers to wonder if boarding school is the right fit for their child and their family. The prospect of less contact with their children can bring up concern or worry. Meghan Grover, Director of Admission of The Milbrook School in New York points out that less than one percent of American high schoolers attend boarding schools, so it is easy to understand parents’ lack of familiarity with this option. “The key to understanding the experience is to experience it for yourself,” Grover says. “Once you get on campus and speak to boarding school students, families, and faculty, you will quickly see and hear the meaning and value of the boarding school experience.” Additionally, boarding schools have structures in place to intentionally facilitate quality time between students and their families. Boarding schools have established longer breaks to provide families with more time to spend together over holidays. During vacations, the homework load is reduced so that students can focus on their time with loved ones. Families are welcome to visit campus and take part in performances and sporting events. Students are welcome to use their technology to stay in touch with their families and make sure they know what is going on in their lives.

If you’re interested in learning more about boarding schools for your student, please contact our office for assistance.

By Brad Hoffman, Board Certified Educational Planner, Faya Hoffman, Board Certified Educational Planner, and Laurie Gross, Reading Specialist and Special Educator.

Specialized Boarding Schools

November 4, 2022 Brad Hoffman Leave a Comment

Specialized boarding schools offer students flexible, individual and small group instruction tailored to their unique learning needs. For students with ADHD, executive function issues, dyslexia, or other learning differences, a specialized boarding school not only offers students differentiated and targeted instruction as well as seamless access to accommodations, but acceptance into a community. With smaller faculty to student ratios and skillful instructors working collaboratively with learning specialists and related service professionals guided by evidence-based research, specialized boarding schools offer a comprehensive level of support that cannot be matched at other programs. But just like the students themselves, no two specialized boarding schools are exactly alike. In this blog post, we hear from the experts at four top programs in New England to learn how families can select the right school and make the most of the experience once a student gets there.

Individualized Learning

Specialized boarding schools occupy a unique niche in the independent school world, designed to help students who may have been struggling in more traditional academic settings or students needing continued support from a specialized middle school experience. Instead of pulling students out of class for special instruction and creating stigma around their differences, specialized boarding schools develop individualized learning plans in close consultation with students, parents, and faculty. These learning plans are implemented throughout the day by classroom teachers, residential faculty, and related service professionals.

“The very classes in which a student studies are often created collaboratively by students and teachers, and a student’s individual goals and needs provide the direction,” says Dana Harbert, Director of Admissions at Eagle Hill School in Massachusetts. “Our nine-term academic schedule provides nearly infinite possibilities for students to customize their educational experiences.” Students are able to follow their passions, receive extra help in the areas they struggle with, and go at their own pace–with constant communication between faculty, parents, and advisors.

Libby Parker, Admissions Director at The Landmark School in Massachusetts points out that, “a child’s learning style or difference continues beyond the school day. A specialized boarding school works on strategies and teaches skills on the playing field, in the dorm, in the art studio–all of the places our students frequent after school. They continue to learn skills that take them forward to success in college or the postgraduate world.”

Reinforcement Outside the Classroom

Many students with learning differences struggle to manage their time and turn in assignments. The best specialized boarding schools understand that executive functions are essential for success in any academic environment and intentionally integrate this skillbuilding into students’ daily routines. Students should expect to receive extra supervision outside the classroom in the form of study halls, resident dorm advising, and regular meetings with counselors who specialize in developing students’ executive function skills.

David Hodgson, Director of Admissions at The Greenwood School in Vermont says that structure and accountability are the key to student success. “All our 9th and 10th grade students spend the majority of the year in a nightly hour-long structured study hall proctored by adults. This structure helps students get in the habit of dedicating time to their studies,” he explains. However, Greenwood does not require 11th and 12th graders to attend study hall, “as we want them to be independent enough to find the time to complete assignments, but we do assign individual students to attend if they miss an assignment.”

To this end, the Forman School in Connecticut focuses specifically on executive function coaching because according to Director of Admissions Jamie Feinman, this approach “provides non-judgmental structure and support as students gain a deeper understanding of themselves and develop personalized approaches.” But this coaching doesn’t end when the session is over–with students required to hold up their end of the bargain. “A critical component of coaching is accountability, used as a measuring tool for action and support as a student moves forward with a plan outside of the session.”

Preparing for College

Most of our families hope to eventually send their children to college and may opt for a specialized boarding school that will allow their child to overcome academic difficulties. Because most universities are not as accommodating as specialized boarding schools, it is essential that students be able apply knowledge and skills they have learned in high school in a potentially more challenging environment. Beyond help with standardized test preparation and college essays, schools like The Landmark School work with juniors and seniors on “skills for success in college, such as getting to know their professors, going to office hours, managing time, and breaking up long-term assignments,” says Admissions Director Libby Parker.

When it comes to applications, it’s essential that students and schools work together on finding the right universities that will meet their students’ needs and allow them to thrive as they enter adulthood. “We guide students to delineate their own personal set of criteria by taking into account each student’s personal strengths, talents, and lifelong dreams,” says Jamie Feinman of the Forman School. Such personalized advising requires collaboration and trust.

In order to prepare students for university life, it’s also important that students reflect on their personal and academic journey before taking the next step. At the Greenwood School, students in the spring of their senior year present a self-curated collection of their academic and personal work with accompanying reflections to a panel of faculty, a peer, administrators, and a community member, says David Hodgson. “We believe that by reflecting on their work, students learn more deeply and are more likely to apply their skills as they move beyond Greenwood.”

Finding the Right Fit

When faced with so many choices, it can be difficult for families to determine which specialized boarding school is best for their child. There’s no single criterion, but according to the experts we spoke with, families should consider how schools integrate learning strategies, assistive technology and teacher support into your child’s program. Take a look at the student-to-faculty ratio as well as the way the school helps students internalize study skills and ultimately manage themselves. Make sure to experience the school firsthand by scheduling an in-person tour to see how the reality lines up with the admissions website.

Finally, though specialized boarding schools are designed to accommodate students with learning differences, they also seek to appropriately challenge each student. “Those who think specialized boarding schools don’t offer the same level of education or academic challenge as a mainstream school are mistaken,” says Dana Harbert of the Eagle Hill School. “Specialized boarding schools prepare students for college and for life as much if not more than mainstream schools.”

If you’re interested in learning more about specialized boarding schools for your student, please contact our office for assistance.