Schools for my daughter

Just as my DS gets sorted out for boarding school in the fall, I realize that we need to get school visits in for my DD (7th grade, late birthday) so we get a good list for her to really look at in the fall for eventual application.

We are in the Mid-Atlantic area, and our DS will be starting at a well regarded school in this area – and while we think this same school would be a good fit for DD, we want to give her options.

She is at a private K-8 with exceptionally strong academics, community, theater, and a decent sports program. Her current class is <30 students, and they run in two groups less than 15 each, core classes run three sections based on ability, so she is very much used to small classes with student led discussions starting in 6th grade.

She is an occasional honor roll student, stronger in language arts than math, but still on track to finish Alg I by the end of 8th grade. She loves theater, field hockey, and outdoor adventures.

She has some ADHD and gets frustrated by homework some evenings.

We are looking for schools that have a strong academic base without being a boiler room, an accepting student body, a strong theater program, and good options for her sports and other interests.

The school must offer some form of learning support program (paid or included is fine).

Prefer a school that is Mid-Atlantic, maybe North East with easy airport options. We prefer a school with at least 60% boarders, a strong alumni base. Co-Ed is preferred, but we will consider all-girls.

I am pretty familiar with the various school search sites, but I have found that a community like this usually has good ideas that don’t always show up in the search engine.

Once, our DS is settled at his new school, I hope to offer perspective on that at the appropriate time.

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The Millbrook School. One of my sons, with pretty bad adhd, attended and it is 100% the reason he is who he is today. He got executive function tutoring; three times a week in 9th grade, twice in 10th, once a week junior year, and none senior year. In other words, they had scaffolding, but gradually removed it, so he could be independent in college. (And he got into an excellent college).

Another good thing: it is smaller (approx 300 students) so each student is known, needed, and appreciated. At a larger school a teacher might just assume the kid is lazy when they fail to turn in homework (or whatever).

Finally, it is the only high school in the nation, and probably the world, with an accredited zoo dedicated to conservation. It is an integral part of the school. Every student rotates through as part of their community service, and for those for whom it resonates there are many opportunities to get more involved. It is life changing for some kids.

The closest airport is probably White Plains (HPN), though depending on what you mean by mid Atlantic it is potentially not a terrible drive.

Anyway, this is a start! Ask me questions etc I would be happy to share what I know.

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Definitely check out Mercersburg Academy if not already on your radar!

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Although we didn’t end up visiting, Christchurch was on our list for academic support. It might be closer to you than the North England schools.

If she loves outdoor activities, Proctor has a great experiential program and good support.

We loved New Hampton’s academic support program. (We looked for S23, so things could always change, but I assume it’s still just as good).

Both are an hour from the Manchester airport and 1 1/2 from Logan, but I’m sure they run a shuttle for breaks.

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Schools on our list so far (in no order)

Christchurch (this school was on our radar for our DS, but we never made it there)
Mercersburg
Pomfret
Grier
Millbrook – might have to go see this one in person to cut thru the noise on the reviews
The schools suggested in NH are VERY interesting – need to sort out how travel logistics would work.

Still open to more ideas

You might want to look at George. Strong theater, very welcoming, and the schedule works well for students with executive functioning challenges and offers a lot of flexibility to tailor. You’d have to look at the learning support to see if it’s what you need.

Pennington and Hun both have good learning support but fewer boarders.

We only looked at mid-Atlantic schools for our DD and a strong theatre program was one of her top priorities.

Of the three schools that we focused on (Mburg, Peddie and Blair), I agree that Mburg might be the best fit for her. The theatre program had some very cool classes (stage combat!) and chose productions that were quirky and a little outside the box. It also has an outdoor education program with a variety of activities from rock climbing to kayaking and hiking.

I’ll put in a cautious plug for both Blair and Peddie, at least to look into. Peddie has great theatre (I’ve talked about some details in other posts) and an academic support center which my DD has taken advantage of for extra math and writing help but I can’t speak to any specific ADHD support. I’m not aware of significant outdoor activity options other than the annual sophomore bike trip.

I was very impressed with Blair’s curriculum for 9th graders which they call “Habits of Mind” and teaches research based strategies for time management, learning retention, and study skills as well as general health and wellness. They also had the most robust approach (IMO) to “scaffolding” for the students as they progress each year towards graduation. I don’t know about any specific outdoor program at Blair. The theatre program seemed strong (but not as strong as at Peddie).

Love the idea of Proctor (the off campus experiences look phenomenal, I wish I could go back in time and do them all!) and Millbrook too. I suspect your DD will need to prioritize what is most important for her (theatre? outdoor experiences? location?) and match it to the schools that offer her the learning support she needs.

Good Luck!

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I might be able to answer questions about Proctor. @ridleyroo - my student is doing two of those programs this upcoming year. They are incredible and one of the reasons my student went with Proctor over their other choices.

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You might also want to look at Brewster Academy. I’m not real familiar with it, but it has strong academics with good support for ADD and LD (according to a friend who teaches there and speaks highly of it). The other thing I know is that it has an amazing campus, on a hill overlooking a beautiful lake.

What we liked about Brewster was that it felt like it would be impossible to fall through the cracks. Each team does regular meetings where each kid is discussed (academics, social, sports, etc) so no one gets overlooked. Since Brewster was the first school we visited, we used their process as the gold standard when comparing to other schools. Brewster was the only one that had us sit through a (mock) meeting to see how it was conducted, the others just assured us that kids don’t fall through the cracks. Also, Brewster differentiates instruction within each class.