草榴社区

Not many schools existed in in our young nation. The dearth of schools makes you wonder what forces shaped the philosophies and thinking of the men who became our first sixteen presidents. In the 18th and early 19th-centuries, formal education usually took place in a small, intimate setting in the home of a minister. Lessons included what we now call core subjects, i.e., reading, writing, and mathematics. Teachers also taught the and classical languages.

In pre-Revolution days, occasionally young men were sent off to England to study in boarding or public schools there. Many of these early presidents matriculated to colleges such as , , , and the , back in the days when these institutions were just becoming established. Politics, agriculture, law, and the armed services figure prominently in the career paths of these distinguished men in many cases. Other presidents came to the job with very little formal education. What follows are snapshots of these remarkable leaders.

1 - George Washington

President from April 30, 1789 to March 4, 1797. No party affiliation.
Born: February 22, 1732, Westmoreland County, Virginia
Died: December 14, 1799, Mount Vernon, Virginia

Our first President, George Washington, was homeschooled and self-taught. His formal education consisted of lessons in mathematics, reading, and writing. Scholars seem to think that George attended classes with

Admission to a private school is a process with many components to it. Both the process and its many components can be confusing to parents dealing with private school admissions for the first time. So, I devised this article as a hub that includes all my articles describing the private school admissions process.

The Overview

Admissions to 草榴社区 School: A-Z puts all the information you need to navigate the private school admissions process in one convenient place. Whether you are just beginning or have been through this before, you will find help and advice to guide you.

Admissions 101 offers an overview of the private school admissions process and the steps needed to find the right private school for your child. Admissions Checklist will keep you on track as you work through the private school admissions process. Essentially it takes the points covered in the previous two articles and formats them into an easy-to-follow checklist.

5 Challenges To Getting Your Child Into 草榴社区 School

If you are good at organizing projects, the challenges involved in getting your child into private school will not seem especially daunting. Bear in mind that this project will stretch over eighteen months or more.

Play the Hand You Have Been Dealt

In this article, I am suggesting that you need to be objective as you decide which schools will be on your shortlist. Card games such as Bridge and Solitaire with multiple decks of cards fascinate me. I have learned

This article has been updated to reflect 2026 data and recent developments.

For private day schools seeking to expand their reach and diversify their student body, adding a boarding component has traditionally required significant capital, staffing, and operational expertise. In recent years, however, a growing number of schools have explored a different model, outsourcing residential life to specialized third-party providers.

This approach allows schools to offer a boarding experience without building and managing dormitories independently. The model has gained traction, particularly as international student mobility rebounds and families seek structured, high-quality residential environments.

This article examines how outsourced boarding programs work, why schools adopt them, and how costs and outcomes compare to traditional boarding schools.

What Is an Outsourced Boarding Program?

An outsourced boarding program is a partnership between a day school and an external organization that manages housing, student life, and residential services. The school maintains control over academics and admissions, while the partner organization operates the dormitory and supervises students outside the classroom.

This model is especially appealing to schools that want to:

• Attract international students
• Increase enrollment without expanding campus infrastructure
• Provide a more consistent alternative to homestays
• Enhance their academic profile through greater diversity

For families, the result is a hybrid experience, combining the academic environment of a day school with the structure and supervision of a boarding program.

Case Study: Wilson International鈥檚 Model

Wilson International represents one example of this approach. Founded to support private schools in expanding their residential offerings, the company provides housing,

Editor's note: I recently asked Bobby Bossman, Director of SPIRE Academy, to explain and outline the kind of athletic programs and training the Academy offers. Specialized sports academies have expanded significantly over the past decade, giving young women and men the opportunity to pursue elite athletic development while maintaining college-preparatory academics. SPIRE Academy remains one of the leading examples of this model. ~Rob

For talented student-athletes, balancing academics and athletic development can be one of the greatest challenges of the high school years. SPIRE Academy was designed to address that challenge by combining flexible academic scheduling with individualized athletic training, sports performance programs, and college preparation.

Below, Bobby Bossman explains how the Academy approaches student-athlete development.

How Does a Specialty Institute Such as SPIRE Academy Handle the Balance of Academics and Athletic Training?

By having flexibility with each student's time and the ability to create custom daily schedules, our staff can plan the most appropriate training day unique to each student-athlete. Some athletes may require more or less time in academic training based on progress. We have the ability to accommodate accordingly by infusing more academic time when needed and allowing those who are ahead academically extra periods of athletic training.

This is versus the traditional high school setting that blocks students into a structured school day before athletic activities even begin.

SPIRE also has the ability to condense the academic portion of the day by removing some filler blocks such as study halls and physical education

Disclaimer: I am writing this article about IT infrastructure with small private schools in mind. I am basing my suggestions on my over thirty years of working as an IT professional in private schools and selling technology equipment and services to them. I hope these talking points will save you some money and give you and your staff some peace of mind so that you can focus on the important job you have, namely, teaching your students. ~Rob Kennedy, MCT, CSE

Most medium to large-sized schools will have professional IT staff on their payroll. But, while small schools need professional IT advice just as much, if not more, than the larger schools do, finding the money to pay for the needed expertise is always a major challenge in a small school. Here are some practical, low-cost solutions to secure your important data.

1. Put all your applications and data in the cloud.

This is probably the least expensive way for a small school to deal with securing your important data. For this essay, I define important data as the confidential personal and academic information your families and students have entrusted to you. Important data also includes the school's financials and business correspondence.

Ten or fifteen years ago, you would have been told that you must have a server and a complicated network infrastructure to keep everything secure. Nowadays, you can keep everything secure in the cloud. Yes, literally, there is an app for that. Check out