Considering Independent Boarding Schools as an Educational Alternative

by Patsy Kumekwa, Scholar Search Associates, Clinton, Connecticut

Independent residential secondary schools can be viable educational options, but they are by no means equal, especially with respect to genuinely gifted students. This point was brought home to me during a recent conversation I had with an acquaintance. As parents of children (mine a second grader, hers in college) identified as gifted, we were sharing ideas about educational approaches which both recognize and support those with notable intellectual potential. We began to discuss the relative merits of some well-known boarding schools in New England.

Some years ago, my acquaintance had explored independent schools for her son who was on his way to exhausting the math and science courses in the local high school. Under consideration at the time was a highly respected and nationally known boarding school. But when asked about her impressions of this school, the parent said, "They just didn't have the right answers."
"They just didn't have the right answers" captured for me the distinction between independent schools that compel closer examination and those that probably would fall short in meeting the needs of gifted students. What are these "right answers"? There are a lot of independent schools that possess impressive educational attributes (accelerated/AP courses, small classes, comprehensive art, athletic, and computer facilities, multicultural diverse student population, and so on). Indeed, many schools have the look and feel of small liberal arts colleges. But beyond academic rigor and extensive and well-maintained buildings and grounds, can or do these institutions truly serve those with academic and creative talent?

For starters, any boarding school that is worth serious consideration by parents of a gifted student must have a significant proportion of its student body made up of talented individuals. Being among kindred spirits is especially important at boarding schools as students are learning in and outside of the classroom with and from fellow students 24 hours a day.
One can get an idea of the relative capability of the student body through a review of average SAT and/or ACT scores and the listing of the colleges at which the majority of graduates of the school have matriculated over time. Combined SAT scores should average over 1200. This information may be derived either from school admission literature or via one of two leading guidebooks on independent schools found in most public libraries: Peterson's Private Secondary Schools and The Handbook of Private Schools. One can also inquire about a school’s typical admission rate among its applicant pool. Unlike highly selective colleges, acceptance rates at independent residential schools, even at very competitive institutions, are relatively high. This is due to the fact that there are relatively few families who seek out the independent school option, and among those who do, the goal is to enroll their child at an institution which best fits their son's or daughter's academic abilities. Thus, a family with a son or daughter of average capability, for example, will tend not to look for placement at a highly competitive school. Selective schools generally dissuade candidates from applying if it is felt that a prospective student would not be able to handle the academic load. It is not unusual for some schools to have an acceptance rate of 90+%. Among more competitive institutions, a basic thumbnail figure for acceptance is 65%.

Another way to determine the intellectual caliber of a school's student population is to study the curriculum for range, depth and graduation requirements. Families should not only get a feel for the highest levels of math, science, and foreign language courses that are provided, but also the scope and complexity of the English and history courses and the extent to which writing and analysis are required. Essentially, the more advanced course offerings at a strong independent school should compare to a course of study for first, and even second, year college students.

Finally, the ability to support an extensive curriculum and to attract capable students normally requires substantial amounts of financial resources. In general, the strongest independent residential secondary schools tend to possess endowments that are comparable to highly selective small colleges. Not that the ability to generate sizable endowment income translates into keeping tuition costs down, but it does prevent the school from becoming too tuition dependent in meeting operating expenses. This, in turn, allows the school to have greater flexibility and freedom in course offerings, educational approach, admission standards, and faculty hiring. Moreover, a healthy endowment increases the amount of financial aid that can be awarded, thus helping a school to attract a diverse and talented student population. There are many solid schools that are able to operate on a shoestring, but one should view the endowment size as an informal check on the potential flexibility a school has in both sustaining its curriculum as well as supporting a capable student body. A good endowment figure to start at would be $60 million.

When described on paper (admission literature, educational guidebooks, or web sites), a school’s facilities, curriculum, financial resources, and student body could suggest that the school caters satisfactorily to the needs of gifted students. However the institution is presented, the issue is moot if the school neither wants to understand, or appreciate, the requirements that a gifted student has, nor is willing to integrate the needs of exceptional students in its program. So when I heard my acquaintance say of a certain school that "they didn’t have the right answers", it was this lack of care to which she was alluding.

For me, lack of care on the school’s part can manifest itself in primarily three ways:

• First, the school is lax in challenging a talented student. The school believes in a prescribed course of study that allows limited flexibility in exploring beyond basic academic requirements or offerings. In this instance, the school may be unwilling to create, or give access to, higher-level courses to accommodate the needs of a highly capable student.
• Second, the school feels limited obligation to address a gifted individual’s academic inadequacies or educational gaps. For example, an incoming ninth-grader whose ability to handle college-level math courses is offset by poor writing skills may find limited guidance or support in non-scientific course work.
• Third, the school makes nominal effort to alleviate the social and emotional stresses a gifted student may have. A school may not acknowledge, or recognize, that a highly capable student likely is different from other students that typically matriculate in the fall. On top of possible discomfort arising from being academically talented, the gifted student may well face difficult adjustments relating to socioeconomic differences as well as to living away from home and friends.

In sum, the bottom line is whether a school pays lip service to gifted students or whether the teachers and staff are sensitive to the complexities of giftedness and are genuinely committed to helping talented students fulfill their potential.

I know of a student who is to be honored by The College Board’s National Forum on Education for having accumulated the highest Advanced Placement scores in the world among those who took the tests last May. This accomplishment included achieving the score of five on all of the eleven Advanced Placement exams he took by the time he completed the eleventh grade at an independent boarding school. This particular school, although not known nationally, has an outstanding regional reputation, and, theoretically has the facilities, curriculum, financial resources, and student body to provide for the needs of most gifted students. Yet even with its course offerings, the school could not, through its regular curriculum, accommodate fully the academic needs of its award winner.

It is telling, then, that after having worked his way through the published curriculum in English, math and foreign language by his junior year, the student wanted to remain at his school and graduate with his class. That’s because the teachers cared enough to add to their already full course load by designing a program of independent study (including Advanced Calculus, Middle English Literature, Homeric Greek, Medieval Latin, and Sanskrit) in which the student is being individually tutored. In essence, the school was committed to this extraordinary student and wanted to create the academic and emotional means for him to continue with his education. I think my acquaintance would agree that this independent residential secondary school has "the right answers".

Patsy Kumekawa and her husband, Michael, are founders of Scholar Search Associates, a research and consulting firm that provides counsel to independent schools. They have been involved in identifying and rating independent residential secondary schools across the country for capacity to benefit gifted students. Scholar Search Associates currently represents a small number of independent schools in efforts to inform gifted students about their clients? exceptional programs.