What Do Urban Residential Schools Afford Us?

Abstract

Children in urban neighborhoods all over the country struggle with challenges in their communities. For some time, the solution has been wrap-around services and increased support for communities who need it most. In contrast, a new trend arising is that which focuses not on community revitalization but instead on removing children with the highest need and placing them in urban boarding schools. In theory, these schools replicate successful traditional boarding models and help students not only prepare for life in college but also to develop the skills they need in leadership and career readiness. This capstone looks first at the traditional boarding school model and examines the four principles of successful elite boarding schools in student preparation: global academic curriculum, connection to higher learning, perpetuation of a status-culture model with an emphasis on tradition and soft skill development. It then considers specific challenges that urban learners face and barriers often encountered by students. Continuing from there, I examine how urban boarding schools such as the SEED schools merge high-needs urban learners with traditional boarding school methods and conclude with recommendations for further implementation.