Private schools have a long and cherished history here in New England. New England private boarding schools offer a wide range of pre-college learning possibilities.
There are several different types of private schools here including military schools (some of which are privately operated), religious schools, and some of America's finest college prep schools. Some schools focus on a certain vocation or trades such as pre-professional art schools, the majority have the expressed purpose of preparing students for college.
New England Boarding Schools
There are several types of boarding schools.
- An all-boarding school means that all of the students live on campus.
- At a boarding-day school most students live on campus and some commute.
- At a 5-day boarding school the students live on campus during the week and go home on the weekends.
- Junior boarding schools are for grades 1 -8 but are more often grades 6 - 8.
Early New England Education
In the early days of education in the United States schools were not standardized. In rural areas schooling was done when the children were not needed in the fields for planting, harvesting, or other farm related tasks. These schools tended to teach students what they would use in real life.
Latin Grammar Schools eventually emerged, sometimes through state legislation. These schools focused on classical literature and preparing students for life as a member of the clergy or teaching profession. Latin Grammar Schools also prepared students for college.
Gradually the one teacher schools, or English Grammar Schools, popped up mostly in places where the population was adequate to support it with one person as headmaster, teacher, and trustee. These grammar schools were a balance between the farm and Latin schools. They taught a broader range than that of the farm schools. The curriculum combined teaching everyday useful topics with math, geography, languages, art, and more.
Eventually academies arose, some to prepared students for continuing on to college while others were known as trade schools for students who planned on entering the workforce.
Many of the early private schools in New England also serve as local public schools. St. Johnsbury Academy, Lyndon Academy and others have a student population that includes both local residence and dorm students.
Find more information about the wonderful private schools available in northern New England by visiting the links below.
