Boarding Schools Provide Support to Struggling Girls
By Hugh C. McBride
It seems like just yesterday that your daughter was taking her first steps, speaking her first words, getting all dressed up for her first day at school. Those blissful moments didn't occur all that long ago, but sometimes those memories seem like scenes from someone else's life.
Today, it seems like all the walking your daughter does is away from you when you're trying to talk to her. And school? Don't even ask.
Clearly, the problems your daughter has been experiencing are beyond your ability to "fix," and they're threatening not only her healthy development, but your entire family's well-being. But is boarding school really the answer?
Not Too Young to Be Helped
Contrary to a common misperception, boarding schools are not exclusive to high school or college preparatory students. For example, on campuses in Henderson, North Carolina, and Bend, Oregon, New Leaf Academy offers a unique and supportive private boarding school environment for young girls (ages 10 to 14) who are having problems in school or at home.
Both New Leaf campuses feature highly structured and supervised programs that combine superior educational opportunities with comprehensive therapeutic services and a range of enriching experiences (including horsemanship training, 4-H participation, and a number of sports, recreational, and community service activities).
The schools' academic, social, developmental, and therapeutic programs all work together in a focused effort to help young girls accomplish the following:
• Respect adults and work cooperatively with parents.
• Comply with rules and expectations.
• Communicate feelings and needs in an appropriate manner.
• Manage emotions in a positive way.
• Understand their unique learning styles, and build their academic self-confidence.
• Develop the social skills to establish and maintain healthy friendships
• Master previous developmental milestones that may have been missed.
Attending New Leaf Academy will allow your daughter to developing these skills at a relatively young age, and will help her to overcome any obstacles that may presently be preventing her from pursuing her greatest potential.
The Benefits of Single-Sex Schools
Even with the many benefits that students receive at single-sex boarding school such as New Leaf Academy, some parents still question why they should send their daughter to a girls school.
Here are a few answers to the question, "Why girls only?"
• Research has demonstrated that girls perform better, are more prepared for adult success, and develop both increased self-esteem and a more definitive sense of self when educated in a single-sex environment.
• Girls at New Leaf Academy reap the benefits of all girls schools because the program is fluent in the way girls listen, learn, and absorb. New Leaf uses this fluency to help ensure that girls leave the program much more confident, capable, and ready for the challenges that await them.
• At New Leaf Academy, teachers, therapists, and other staff members work to help girls improve their self-esteem by providing lots of opportunities for learning, growth, and success. The students also learn how to cope with and build upon failures, too. This allows them to develop a greater appreciation for themselves, their strengths, and their ability to work through their problems.
Providing a single-sex environment allows young female students to benefit from a number of opportunities that are often unavailable to them in a traditional coeducational classroom:
• In all-girls schools, girls can participate in all levels of leadership, including government, clubs, sports, and other extracurricular or co-curricular organizations and activities.
• At all-girls' schools, instruction is provided in keeping with the female learning style, and girls feel freer to participate in class discussions and debates (which can often be dominated by boys in traditional coed schools).
• In 2001, a British study of 2,954 high schools and 979 primary schools showed that nearly every girl, regardless of either ability or socio-economic status, performed to a higher level in single-sex classrooms than they did in coeducational learning environments.
• All-girls schools can create a supportive atmosphere that counteracts the negative influence of mass media and its often troubling depictions of women and girls. Issues such as sexual harassment, dating violence, and pressures to conform to unhealthy appearance or body-size standards are much less of a problem in a well-managed all-girls school.
The Right Decision for Your Daughter
Deciding to send your daughter to a boarding school can be a difficult process. You may be extremely frustrated with your daughter, you may feel defeated by the problems you've been having, and you may even feel embarrassed (as if you have somehow failed in your parental responsibilities).
Let's be clear: If you are looking into sending your daughter to a private therapeutic boarding school, neither you nor your family has failed. If anything, making the effort to get your daughter the best help available shows just how committed you are to her health and your family's well-being.