Harry Potter goes to one. And it’s featured on Nick at Nite’s reruns of “The Facts of Life.” But what’s it really like for the 100,000 kids who go to the 300 or so boarding schools (now called residential schools) around the country?
KidNews Scoop Trooper Chevy I., 14, attends the Illinois Math and Science Academy in Aurora, a public residential school for sophomores, juniors and seniors. Like a nosy little brother, KidNews recently followed him around for a day.
About 600 guys and girls go to IMSA. Most of them had to score pretty high on tests to get in, but they’re still your basic kids. Like all kids, they want to fit in and be accepted. And friendships are pretty easy to make at a boarding school, Chevy says.
“It is like having everyone you know living less than a 5-minute walk from you,” he says. “I have heard from total introverts, people who had one or two friends at their old schools, who now have a huge web of friends they can count on.”
Those bonds are built in the classroom too. On our day at IMSA, Chevy was part of a seminar on diversity. The kids took turns role-playing as they learned to build bridges with all people, even those who called them names like “nerd,” geek” and “F.O.B.” (fresh off the boat).
Yes, they do get homesick. At least half the kids live close enough to go home every weekend like Chevy. And about every six weeks, IMSA has an extended weekend, meaning most kids go home on Thursday afternoon and come back on Sunday. Chevy says he doesn’t get homesick much anymore. “When I do, I try to think of something positive about the school. It’s like a home away from home.”
IMSA has one large, open school building that’s split into classrooms with partial walls. There’s a chessboard with pieces as big as a kid. The science wing’s pet iguana can be carried around to the various hangout places in the building to be petted. And there are certain lounge areas for seniors only, according to the unwritten rules. “Sophomores can get in a lot of trouble if they sit there,” says Chevy, who’s a sophomore.
The school has seven dorms (one is coed, but has separate wings for boys and girls). There are two students to each room, and the kids get to pick their roomies. The school has inspections for cleanliness about every other week. The dorms are just like at college. OK, a high-tech college. Each student has separate lines for phone and high-speed Internet connections. “There’s a TV lounge, but only seniors can have a TV in their rooms, and only in the last semester,” Chevy says.
Each student can have a member of the opposite sex in his or her room for two hours a week. IMSA calls it “intervisitation,” Chevy says. “The door to your room must be fully open at all times, and there must be no ‘horizontalness’ in the room.”
Yes, there’s dating. And kids know where the security cameras are, Chevy says.
Here’s Chevy’s typical schedule: Classes from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m, with a break for lunch. Studying from 4 to 9 p.m. with a break for dinner. Hanging out with friends from 9 to 10 p.m. Computer games till midnight or later. Then a few hours’ sleep — emphasis on few. “Most people at IMSA don’t get a lot of sleep,” Chevy says.
CHEVY’S INSIDE SCOOP ON SCHOOL
CARE PACKAGES FROM HOME: “A good care package consists of frozen pizza, snack foods like potato chips and pretzels, and Coke or something to drink.”
TV TASTES: “The most popular show is ‘The Simpsons.’ A lot of us just download it on our computers. We watch sports on TV, too, especially University of Illinois games.”
OFF-CAMPUS DESTINATIONS: “The school is across the street from a grocery store, so we go there a lot! The adult residential counselors who live in the dorms plan weekend trips, usually to malls and movies.”
