Why Boarding School?
Everyone says military children are resilient, adaptable, and strong, right? So, why would military children need to attend boarding-based high schools?
A campus scene at The Lawrenceville School
The Short Answer
Currently, there are approximately 1.4 million U.S. military personnel serving on full-time active duty. These service men and women and their families are subject to mandatory military orders, permanent change of station (PCS) moves, and deployments. Approximately half of all active duty personnel are parents, which means that as many as 2 million military children experience deployments of their active-duty parents (typically 6 to 18 months each in duration) and frequent PCS moves to new duty stations (typically every 2 to 3 years). Frequent moves and deployments cause disruptions in military children’s social and academic lives and puts their physical, social, and emotional well-being at risk. Boarding schools can mitigate the problems military children face, by providing stable educational experiences that allow military children to remain in one high school for four years — regardless of military orders, PCS moves or deployments.
The Specifics
Military children move three times more than their civilian peers. A typical military child will change schools six to nine times before graduating high school. Frequent moves not only cause disruption in academics, sports, extra-curricular activities and friendships, moving a lot also puts children at higher risk for anxiety, depression, and social isolation. In fact, a recent Military Teen Experience survey done by the National Military Family Association indicates that 42% of military teens show signs of emotional distress, and 87% of military teens score in “at-risk” categories (low or moderate) for poor mental well-being on the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well Being Scale. This is where boarding school comes in — According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, connecting with one’s school community can protect military children from poor mental well-being : “Building strong bonds and relationships with adults and friends at school, at home and in the community provides youth with a sense of connectedness” which “protect[s] adolescents from poor mental health, and other risks like drug use and violence.”
Military teenagers may believe that they don’t belong in boarding school; however, today’s boarding schools are vibrant, diverse school communities with students from all walks of life. In fact, 96% of boarding students say their schools are ethnically and racially diverse, and almost half of all boarding students are receiving financial aid. Overwhelmingly (98%!), boarding students are satisfied or very satisfied with their academic experiences at school, and 75% of boarding students say they feel supported by their school community. Additionally, boarding schools are financially endowed with the resources to provide military children with the excellent education they deserve, which can help them build strong academic records and set them up for success after graduation. [Statistics: the National Association of Independent Schools and The Association of Boarding Schools.]
The Clincher
According to a 2020 Department of Defense report, only 11% of U.S. youth between the ages of 13 and 24 say they are willing to serve in the military. However, the Military Teen Experience survey indicates that 44% of military teenagers plan to serve their country — that’s four times as many! Considering that less than one percent of Americans serve in the military, it’s remarkable that so many military teenagers plan to serve our country. This statistic illustrates the importance of providing military adolescents with the stable, uninterrupted, quality educational experiences they deserve and need. Orion Military Scholarship Program helps military children find those opportunities through its consortium of member boarding schools. Together we understand that many of the military children we will send to boarding schools represent the future leaders of America’s military forces.
