Public Boarding Schools: A New Success Story
by Boarding schools have traditionally been an educational option reserved for the wealthy. However, a new trend shows a rise in tuition-free residential schools for low-income students.
These institutions are designed to provide living accommodations and quality education to children from our nation’s most economically challenged communities. The hope is that these students will learn better if they are provided with a positive environment 24 hours a day.
Public boarding schools are intended for students who may not have a safe home to return to at the close of the school day. Studies have continually shown that students living in troubled environments perform significantly worse than their peers. By placing children in a boarding facility, it is hoped they will learn better. At the boarding facility, students have a safe place to do homework, study, and interact with peers. Students are also provided with nutritious food and health services they might not otherwise receive.
The model for American public boarding schools was established in Washington D.C. by the School for Educational Evolution and Development (SEED). The first SEED school opened in 1998 and currently enrolls more than 200 students selected through a lottery process. The students attend the SEED school for five years and graduate with a traditional high school diploma. SEED’s program, which includes extracurricular activities and nightly homework assistance, has shown measurable success. Virtually all of SEED’s students outperform neighboring peers on standardized tests, and graduates generally pursue a college degree.
With the success of the SEED school, other groups are hoping to implement similar boarding school programs. In Chicago, the city’s first such facility is scheduled to open in 2009. The school is designed to accommodate homeless children from Chicago’s poorest neighborhoods. Similarly, the city of Milwaukee is in the process of raising funds for a boarding school catering to at-risk children. Although the state of Wisconsin will provide approximately $2 million for this project, another $30 million in private funds will need to be raised. Administrators hope to secure funding and complete the facility by 2011. Meanwhile, SEED is trying to repeat its Washington D.C. success in nearby Maryland. The SEED School of Maryland will open this fall and enroll 80 sixth-grade students.
Public boarding schools are not designed to remove children from their families. Enrollment is entirely voluntary and children usually return home on the weekends. Additionally, the schools encourage family involvement and invite relatives to participate in school functions. Ultimately, it seems students from troubled homes do perform better in the boarding school setting. However, the costs of maintaining a facility of this nature are high, and could limit the success of future programs. New legislation is currently being worked on in several states to overcome this hurdle and provide more children with the opportunity to live and learn in a safe, healthy environment.
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