It is hard to put a price tag on the benefits of living with others who have had significantly different primary-school educations, who eat different foods, who value goods differently. At Thomas Jefferson (TJ), boarding students from all over the U.S. and all over the world will form lasting friendships with their local peers. Likewise, day students will share space in the dorms and learn how to manage living with others – great practice for college. If you are an American student, perhaps a classmate will invite you abroad, or if you are an international student, maybe you’ll be invited to spend part of a school vacation here in the heart of the United States. You will explain English or Chinese or Polish expressions to them, and they will give you a richer perspective on current events. Our little twenty-acre grove of academe turns out to be a cosmopolitan place.
The rooms at TJ, situated in cottages with their own outside doors and private baths (but with teachers around the corner) promote structured independence. You will have to learn to organize your things in community; get along with roommates – with whom you will have to negotiate practical issues, such as cleaning routines or listening to music; remember your key; take care of your laundry. Thus, when you face these matters in college, you will be an old pro at dealing with them.
Boarding life makes TJ look more like a relaxed liberal-arts college than a regimented
American high school. After the business-and-dress-code part of the day (the mornings with the academic solids), the casually attired afternoon schedule includes labs, sports, extracurricular activities, study halls (for younger students and students in grade trouble), and some more unscheduled time that you get to manage on your own.
In the evenings and on weekends, a teacher or a resident assistant circulates on campus with a cell phone to help students focus on homework, enforce in-room times, and provide an adult presence. If you get into grade trouble, your adviser (a teacher) will quickly intervene to put you in study hall or to develop a personal schedule for you or to make you seek out tutoring. If you’re in good academic standing, however, you have learned to manage your time well – which is exactly what college requires.