Boarding Schools
The three hundred US Boarding schools come in many types, each with a different mission, philosophy, culture and student experience. They are far more than the oft thought of boarding high school, where students simply live on campus during the school year and come home for Christmas and summer breaks. So, it’s no surprise they can’t really be put into one or another category making it hard to see whether one is good for your child, and then which boarding school is the best fit for your hopes for your child. This said, there are a few types of schools to think about: college preparatory, specialty boarding schools (e.g., arts, such as dance/theater, or visual arts conservatory; STEM; or even sports academies), military schools, religious boarding schools, international/global schools, single gender boarding schools, and special needs schools. While many are independent schools in Northeastern or rural/suburban areas, there are urban boarding schools, public charter boardings school including the famed SEED Charter School in Washington, D.C . One hallmark of all boarding schools is they are excellent environments for children to develop life-long relationships. Check out this link for a boarding school dedicated blog. https://boardingschools.com/blog/
Many of the above-described boarding schools will be represented at the BSF & LSF School Fair. We will have schools from nine states from California to Massachusetts. We will have single gender schools, military schools, schools with day and boarding students, and niche schools. See below.
Cate School https://www.cate.org/
Cate School is a university-preparatory coed school for boarding and day students with 270 students in grades 9–12 in Carpinteria, California, whose students come from 31 states and 18 foreign countries.
Dana Hall https://www.danahall.org/
Dana Hall School is an independent boarding and day school for girls in grades 5-12 located in Wellesley, Massachusetts. Founded in 1881.
Fay School https://www.fayschool.org/
Fay School, founded in 1866 by the Fay sisters, is an independent, coeducational day and boarding school located in Southborough, Massachusetts. Fay is one of a small number of boarding schools for primary and middle school students.
Fessenden Middle School https://www.fessenden.org/
The Fessenden School is an independent day and boarding school for boys, founded in 1903 by Frederick J. Fessenden as a school for the intellectually gifted, and located in West Newton, Massachusetts.
Fork Union Military Academy https://www.forkunion.com/
Fork Union Military Academy, located in central Virginia, is an all-boy military boarding school for grades 7-12, with one year of post-graduate education. Fork Union practices the One Subject Plan—where cadets take just one core course at a time.
Fountain Valley School www.fvs.edu
The Fountain Valley School of Colorado is a coed day and boarding independent college preparatory school for students in 9th-12th grades. The school's primary campus is located on 1,100 acres of rolling prairie at the base of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Fountain Valley has many signature programs, including Round Square.
Milton Hershey https://www.mhskids.org/
The Milton Hershey School, formerly the Hershey Industrial School, is a private boarding school in Hershey, Pennsylvania for K–12 students. The institution was founded in 1909 by chocolate industrialist Milton Hershey and his wife, Catherine Hershey. The endowment allows all admitted students to attend without tuition costs.
Peddie School https://peddie.org/
The Peddie School is a coeducational college preparatory school in Hightstown, New Jersey, and serves boarding and day students in the ninth through twelfth grades, as well as post-graduates.
St. Margaret's www.sms.org
St. Margaret's School is an independent, Episcopal, all-girls school located in the town of Tappahannock, Virginia, offering rigorous academics with experiential learning.
St. Mark's https://www.stmarksschool.org/
St. Mark's School is an Episcopal co-ed college-preparatory day and boarding school in Southborough, Massachusetts. Founded in 1865, it is one of the first British-style boarding schools in the United States.
The Webb Schools serve grades 9–12 in Claremont, California. Up until 2024, it was separated into the Webb School of California for boys and the Vivian Webb School for girls. It is surrounded by mountains, beaches, and Los Angeles. It is primarily a boarding school, but also enrolls a limited number of day students.
Westover https://www.westoverschool.org/
Westover School is a girls-centered boarding and day school for grades 9-12 located in Middlebury, Connecticut. Westover uses the Oxford Tutorial Model, which allows students to focus on small group, and one-on-one, learning.