Junior boarding schools provide younger students (usually ages 8-13) with a nurturing environment that fosters learning, community, and interaction, and offer students the opportunity to build the confidence they need to reach their true potential.

Features of Junior Boarding Schools
Many  

junior boarding schools

  serve students from Pre-K to eighth grade, while others only serve children between the ages of eight and 13.

Junior boarding schools offer students the opportunity to build the confidence they need to reach their potential both academically and personally. Junior boarding schools provide help with entrance to college prep boarding schools by providing assistance with applications and entrance exams. For many, attending a junior boarding school helps assure them a spot in the Ivy League -- the discipline and academic rigor required at many of these schools is valuable preparation for highly selective colleges.

Student Body
Junior boarding schools are not all co-ed, the majority are either all-boys' or all-girls' schools. They have an average class size of 12 students. The average size of a junior boarding school is usually under 200 students. Approximately 10 percent of the student body at junior boarding schools is international students. With international students among the student body, students are introduced to different cultures at an early age.

Life at Junior Boarding Schools
Most students at junior boarding schools are required to maintain a routine and specific schedule of study and activities. They must rise at the same time every day and often have designated quiet/sleep times to which they must adhere. Junior boarding schools also designate mandated study time hours so that students can focus on the day's schoolwork. There are scheduled meal times to ensure that the student is eating three times a day and remaining healthy.

Which School to Choose?
Deciding which junior boarding school to send a child to can sometimes become a daunting task. Location is probably one of the most difficult things to decide upon. Junior boarding schools are found mostly in the northern east coast, but some are also in the west coast. Also to be considered is where your child will best flourish -- at a co-ed-, all-boys'-, or all-girls' school.

Ultimately, the decision to send your son or daughter to a junior boarding school depends on the schools' climate of collaborative learning, dedication to excellence, and the goals you and your child hope to accomplish.

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