The fact is that studying at a boarding school in the United States is a big investment. However, it is precisely as an investment that it should be considered – the American system of education offers opportunities that are in vain to be found in Polish education.
According to the Independent School Council, an organization of private boarding schools, last year the number of Polish students in the UK, the country with the largest number of such schools, increased by 37%.The increase of 37% is very high, in other countries of the world this number of students remains at the same level as the year before, sometimes slightly decreasing or increasing by 0.5-1%, and in Poland this increase of 37% is really significant -. Barbara Salamon emphasizes, then adds:When I started my career, practically all students leaving Poland were high school students, after the second grade, that is, they were leaving for the last two years of schooling. In fact, that’s enough to get British A-levels or the International Baccalaureate. However, since there is no grammar school in Poland, roughly 40% of students leave after the eighth grade for four years of education. It’s worth noting that about 20% of my charges are even younger children – the youngest leaving with me are 11 years old, there are a few of them every year, and in Swiss schools there are already 7-year-olds from Poland, but here we are talking about families that already have a multi-generational tradition of such education.
Different child, different needs
Often parents come to me through the so-called “slipper mail” – someone from a friend recommended a particular foreign school to them. However, at this point my action begins – just because a particular school is suitable for one child, doesn’t mean it will be for another. For the rest, there is no perfect school. Usually my meetings begin with a consultation with the parent – we set up a work plan, discuss whether such a trip makes sense at all with their family. Once we establish cooperation we conduct a diagnosis of the student. The child takes tests and it depends on age, on the level of knowledge of the foreign language. These are various tests – language tests, aptitude tests of the student. I also always personally interview each student, and on the basis of the information we have, we prepare proposals of five or six schools that fit the profile of the student and the expectations of the parents. We usually choose about two or three schools to which we apply – thetellsEducation consultant Barbara Salamon, then points out: No two schools are the same, and even if they are similar schools, because yes, most boarding schools in Europe will be schools with a British program, meaning A-levels at the high school stage, or with the IB International Baccalaureate program. And this is where I usually start with this distinction of what kind of program it will be. It is less common in Europe to find schools with the American system, but in turn in the United States there are mainly such or the aforementioned IB International Baccalaureate.The programs differ so much that if the IB is suitable for a particular student, the A-level is not at all, and vice versa.
American boarding schools are always looking for cultural diversity among students, while Polish families traditionally develop focused, open-minded, motivated and creative young adults. In general, these character traits combined with an adventurous spirit propel students to achieve the unexpected. America’s boarding schools, which offer challenging but also very extensive and interesting academic programs. Experiential learning, a variety of cultural exchanges within the boarding program and value individual creativity, allowing students to create their own path – describes a representative of one of the boarding schools.
And there is growing interest in this mode of learning, as evidenced by the words of a representative of the school, one of whose boarding schools is located on Broadway in New York, above Tiffany’s store:As an IB World School, Léman Manhattan Preparatory School aims to prepare students to become engaged global citizens and confident leaders driven by a strong sense of purpose. The school’s mission is reflected in its diverse international community, which this year includes students from more than 70 countries. This diversity enriches the Léman experience, fostering an environment where students share different perspectives, languages and cultures. For new students, whether from Warsaw or Shenzhen, Léman’s welcoming atmosphere and global mindset ensure a smooth integration into the school’s vibrant community. Poland is becoming an increasingly attractive market for schools like Léman, as the growing middle and upper classes seek quality international education. Many Polish families are eager to invest in an American education known for its academic standards and holistic approach – ideal preparation for children ready to thrive in a globalized world.
US schools focus on diversity and individual attention
As the Cardigan school representative points out Mountain School from New Hampshire –Diversifying international enrollment is a priority for the recruitment offices of many of the top boarding schools in the United States. A diverse school community benefits all members – both students and faculty – by connecting people from different cultures and backgrounds. A diverse school community benefits all members – both students and faculty – by connecting people from different cultures and backgrounds. To achieve this goal, recruiters seek to work with reputable and experienced educational consulting firms in countries where there is demonstrated interest in studying abroad from prospective families. Such interviews provide an opportunity for families to learn more about individual schools and their programs, as well as for the school representative to understand the educational goals of potential candidates, in order to determine whether there is a good fit between the student and the institution.
The motivations for choosing this particular study option for a child are varied. Ms. Barbara divides parents into three categories – parents of students who are often very capable, very ambitious, who want their child to study at the best universities in the world, i.e. Oxford, Cambridge, Ivy League in the United States. The second group is parents of children who have a lot of extracurricular activities – you can do practically anything on boarding school campuses.These are the kind of small villages that somewhat resemble university campuses in the United States. Of course, each school has its own profile and has its own strengths, strong sports, strong arts activities. And that helps logistically -.Barbara Salamon notes.
Our son is only 14, so it’s not like we considered beforehand that when our child finished elementary school, he would go to a foreign school. We were thinking about the third and fourth grades, the last years of high school. That was the idea we had.
The son went to Canada for Summer School for a trial. He came delighted, but we talked all the time that we were thinking about the third and fourth year of high school. And we were set on Canada as a proven system, but also a safe place. It all really started with last year’s Boarding School Expo organized by Barbara Salamon’s Excellence in Education. We went to just see what was going on there, to listen a bit, without any particular focus. We had conversations with representatives of various schools there. In the end, we were persuaded to talk to schools from the US.
The third group are parents of students with evaluations from psychological-educational counseling centers.We have more and more such students in Poland, in the world in general, for the reason that there is a growing awareness and diagnosis of these diversities. And Polish schools are not always able to take care of, properly take care of this student, mainly because of the lack of staff. Boarding schools, on the other hand, have great staff, they have a lot of assistants, a lot of support for such students, and being in the right school, this student can develop his talents and not be as frustrated as he often is, being in a Polish school -.emphasizes the educational consultant.
Going to school abroad – cause for concern?
Parents are most often concerned about the loss of ties with their child, in second place is the fear of safety, because, however, a young person, a teenager will function in another country several hundred or several thousand kilometers from home– notes Barbara Salamon, owner of Exellence in Education.These concerns are often allayed after just a few months of a child’s stay. Why? Because the bond is a little different than it was before the trip, but parents often tell me after just a few weeks that they talk to their child several times a week on the phone, and these conversations are qualitatively much better than the ones they had somewhere on the run, passing each other in the kitchen or in the hallway at home, where only questions were asked about whether you washed your clothes for the ball or what you have to do. They just talk about more serious matters –She adds.As for security, as Barbara Salamon points out:Traditional campuses are very secure, almost like fortresses. They are often located outside the city. There, there is no way for an outsider to enter, no way for a child to leave such a campus unnoticed.
Students, on the other hand, are most often concerned about losing friends.Peers are the whole world to teenagers, and teenagers are afraid that they will simply lose these contacts, that they will lose friends, lose colleagues. Indeed, these ties with teenagers from the city where the student is from are loosened, for the reason that they simply don’t see each other every day, but establishing contacts with peers on campus is very easy and pleasant, for the reason that there not educators and the whole school program is also structured in such a way that there is a building in it, children get to know each other, integrate. Well, and they make great friends, which opens their minds to different cultures, different world views. And the second, such a bigger concern is also about relationships, but establishing new relationships in a new country, in a new school. Let me reassure you – establishing relationships with peers on campus goes very easily and pleasantly, that’s because team-building is used, children get to know each other and integrate. As a result, they make great friends that open their minds to different cultures, different world views and often last for many years -.Barbara Salamon explains.
Investment in children doesn’t have to be precarious
It is often heard that an investment in children is the most uncertain of all – you never know what will come of it. In the case of going to school out of the country, we are talking about a long-term investment that consumes significant resources. However, there are methods to see if this solution is right for our child.
I, for those families who still have time to do this, that is, come to me a few years before they plan to start studying abroad, so at least a year and a half before, suggest that the child go to summer school, that is, a summer course on the campus of a foreign school. During such a course, the student lives on campus, sees what it’s like to live in such a larger community, have rules and regulations to abide by, and see if it’s really for him or her, if he or she will feel comfortable, and if he or she wants to go to such a place for the long term -.Barbara Salamon explains and adds: The second option is to attend the event Boarding School Expo – conference and fair, which will be held on September 28 in Warsaw at the Belotto Hotel. During this event, there will be a conference where boarding school graduates will speak, some who graduated this year, but also some who are already mature people, and they will talk about the motivations that led them to choose a school, their beginnings at these schools, and how staying at a boarding school has affected their lives. There will also be an interview with a family that has a child in a boarding school, as well as talks about what types of schools there are, how to choose a school and how education differs from one country to another.
There is no doubt that boarding school education is a sizable investment, unattainable for most Polish families. For example, for a graduate of the eighth grade of elementary school, that is, for a student who goes to high school, the average amount is about 250-300 thousand zlotys for a year of education. The lowest cost will be, for example, in Spain and Portugal, where good schools can be had for as little as 40 some thousand euros. Those most popular boarding schools in the UK usually cost so from 200-300 thousand zlotys, depending on the location, campus, etc. Similar prices, a little higher are in North America. On the other hand, the most expensive schools, those of the highest end, are located in Switzerland, where you need to invest from 0.5 million to even 800 thousand zlotys in a child’s annual stay.– Barbara Salamon describes.
These amounts may seem large, but Barbara Salamon emphasizes:It is worth remembering that the tuition fee includes tuition, housing with food, access to full sports facilities, i.e. swimming pools, sometimes a stud farm, playing fields, gyms, everything a particular school has to offer. An additional cost besides tuition is visas and possible insurance, if one is required for a particular visa and the one offered by the school is not accepted. Another addition is pocket money, but these are symbolic sums, as they are amounts of tens of euros or pounds per week. And this pocket money is only needed for the kids to go out to Starbucks or McDonald’s and that sort of thing – everything is provided for them on campus. Even between meals there is always fruit, some snacks and drinks. The last additional cost is airline tickets. If your child attends a boarding school in Europe or the UK, they will fly home for the holidays a few times a year – the schools divide the year into 3 trimesters. If, on the other hand, the child will be in North America and it doesn’t make sense for them to fly in for all the holidays, firstly because of ticket prices and secondly because of the fatigue of intercontinental travel, then if the child stays on campus for the holidays, you have to pay extra for each such time of around $700-800.
Emphasis on individual development key to success
We have a very talented child, and as a result, we set the bar even higher. What was of great value during our son’s conversations with the representative, or my questions, was the issue of diversity of educational offerings, but also the level of education. Because our son, even though he followed the path of private schools in Poland, for him the school was “too tight”, in the sense that he would have to follow an individual course in many subjects. He was very quick to acquire knowledge in various fields. What was insanely important for our son about education in the States is that he is the one who creates his own schedule of lessons during the year. He can choose classes that are his forte, for example, science, but at the same time, he can develop from history or geopolitics, which is not available at all in Poland, but which he also loves. At the same time, the sports offerings are nicely developed, as our son has been involved in various sports for many, many years– note the parents of the 14-year-old, then add:The second important thing is, you can choose these subjects at the same time at your educational level. As if our son went to school in Poland, he would either be in a class with extended math and physics, or computer science, and he would absolutely not then have his history, geopolitics, other things that interest him. He would have to go at the same time with all subjects at the level of the 1st grade of high school, because that’s the system we have, and he’s already in several subjects in Honors, or extended status classes, and he’s learning these subjects with students from older grades.
In the U.S., the subjects he has chosen for himself are, for example, math at the level of our third grade high school class. He also goes straight into American literature classes, rather than English classes for foreigners, because he has strong English.He now has Western Civilization classes. It’s not typical history, just selected areas of history that interest him. There is no math there just like that either, there is algebra I and II, geometry and so on. The level is matched to the child’s abilities and the student develops at the level he is actually at. He has a variety of classes with students from different grades. He is not assigned to a class of 30, but the program is tailored to his educational level and he wanders between classes. He meets other interesting people who also want to develop in a particular area. Multiculturalism is also an incredible value.
Practice first
It’s not theory, it’s not lectures. There are a lot of practical classes, biology is very practical, they work in a lab, physics is very practical. A lot of classes are practical, they have labs prepared for specific subjects, they have robotics, where they just create robots, that is a lot of classes like that, which in Poland he just wouldn’t be able to experience -.concludes the mother of one of the students Fryeburg Academy, after which he adds: Today, after a month at the school, the son is simply delighted. He calls us almost every day and keeps saying that it was a great choice, he really enjoys the classes, he has great teachers. So this is a huge value for him as well. He really wanted to get into a foreign school, and even though he knew it was a huge amount of money, and we are not one of those people who made this financial decision easily, today we know that it was worth it. A foreign school has the potential to be a school for every child.
School in the US doesn’t have to be a dream
I’ll say openly,” stresses the 14-year-old’s mother, “I talk to friends, I’m an ‘ambassador’ for foreign education, and I know that none of us in Poland think this way, and we think it’s so far away and impossible, financially inaccessible to most families in Poland. I thought so too, but there are all sorts of scholarships available for exceptionally talented students, in content or sports. Of course you have to have your resources, and this is a huge investment, but I can openly say that we will do our best to make our child go with foreign education, because we see really great value, his development, not only intellectual, but also such maturity in life. And it really is worth all the money. It’s such a multi-faceted development that when I look at my child after a month in this school, I’m very impressed not only with his development, but also with his enjoyment of school, and that’s insanely important. He likes the place, he likes going there, he likes discussing with teachers, other students. And this is such a huge satisfaction for us. My husband always says, listening to a child of his own and seeing these good emotions, that this is worth all the money. For my part, I can only add that it is worth trusting professionals, and such is undoubtedly Ms. Basia -.he concludes.
