Steps for a Smooth Mid-Year Boarding School Transition

Transitioning to boarding school might not be easy for your student, but there are plenty of ways to make this process smoother. 

In this article we offer steps you can take with your student before heading off to school that will make the transition easier. And whether your student is transitioning now for a mid-year move or next fall, these tips will help regardless of the time of year! 

Make Their Space Their Own

When your student starts life at boarding school, it’s important for them to have the comforts of home in reach. We always encourage our students to bring pieces of home to their boarding school dorm!

While it's important for students to have pieces of their home life in their boarding school setting, make sure that when they do visit home such as on breaks or weekends, their bedroom isn't completely bare.

Work with your student to help them determine what’s comforting and important enough for  them to take to school. This may also be a good time for them to decide what items they would rather keep at home, as well as what items they might want to bring to school later.

Encourage your student not to overpack - remind your student that they can always adjust what they decide to bring to school. 

Find Your Family’s Heartbeat

When you know your student is off to boarding school it's important to set up a communication plan before they leave. This task sounds like something that’s easy to put off, but it will likely take ten minutes to determine.

We like to refer to these communication plans as your family heartbeats. This includes how often you're going to expect to stay in contact with one another.

Many families use a group chat or set up a guaranteed time that they'll video chat or do a phone call. Typically, this happens on the weekends. However, some students need more frequent communication and support than others. As your student gets into the swing of boarding school life, it’s normal for this need to change.

It's really important to have these conversations about communication expectations before your student is off to school. If you wait until after your student has settled in, it's likely that frustration will rise over trying to find a time to chat.

When you're creating this plan, make sure your expectations are realistic. It's unlikely that you'll both have time to chat every night or even every weekend. Keep this in mind as you're making your plan and remind your student that this schedule can change if they need it.

Pre-Make Care Packages

It might sound premature, but creating care packages ahead of time will lighten the load later on when you want to send mail to your student. You'd be surprised by how big of a difference these care packages can make for students. Sometimes there's nothing more exciting than going to the mail room and getting physical mail for a student!

We recommend filling these packages with your student’s favorite treats or anything that they might be missing from home. If you are planning these in advance, buying in bulk doesn't hurt either!

View the School’s Calendar

Before your student is off to boarding school, make sure you sit down with them to look at the school calendar. This will help you both know when you'll be able to come visit or when your student might want to plan a trip home.

Sometimes knowing the next time they'll see you can make a big difference in your students' attitude and approach to boarding school. We recommend making a note of long weekends or breaks and talking through all the options of when you might see each other next.

Never underestimate the power of a quick afternoon visit!

It's okay if your student doesn't seem interested in looking at a calendar to plan times to see you. But trust us when we say that so many students find peace of mind knowing when they’ll see their parents next. 

If you have a student heading off to boarding school in January, what questions do you have about how to prepare?