Boarding Schools Increasing in Popularity

Boarding schools are becoming increasingly popular in the state of California. Generally considered a staid east coast phenomenon, these private institutions are becoming a viable alternative to public schools for many west coast families. Available financial aid, and growing dissatisfaction with public schools are contributing factors that are driving students to consider the possibility of going away to boarding school.

The LA Times reports:

But that mind set is evolving, and the number of boarding students at California schools has risen nearly 8% over the last decade, according to the National Assn. of Independent Schools.

The Assn. of Boarding Schools tallied 3,195 students at 25 member schools in the West in 2007. That number is dwarfed by the 19,722 boarders at 96 schools in New England. West Coast schools still do not have the cachet of institutions such as New Hampshire’s Phillips Exeter, founded in 1781, or Groton in Massachusetts, which dates to 1884.

Still, campuses like Cate, Thacher (founded in 1889), the Webb Schools in Claremont and Stevenson School on the Monterey Peninsula attract students from around the world and consistently rank among the nation’s top prep schools in selectivity and test scores.

Reasons for boarding schools’ growing popularity are varied: Dissatisfaction with public schools has encouraged families to look for alternatives, and financial aid is helping attract more mid- and low-income students, said Peter Upham, executive director of the boarding schools association. And migration of people with means from east to west has brought a familiarity with boarding school traditions.

LA Times: “California boarding schools? It’s not an oxymoron”