Page 15 - Demo

Special Advertising Section | Sunday, September 28, 2025 15The common area of The King%u2019s School features an entertainment room with cozy couches and a TV. (Courtesy of The King%u2019s School)Annie Wright School, founded in 1884, offers both five- and seven-day boarding. (Courtesy of Annie Wright Schools)boarding, $54,000 for seven-day and $59,000 for international students to cover English as a Second Language and visa support.Boys and girls live on separate floors, with a single house parent supervisor per floor. Meals are made by the house parents and served communally. %u201cIt%u2019s a family-like atmosphere,%u201d Maguire says. %u201cIt%u2019s more like a home than an institution.%u201dThe Northwest School is located in the heart of downtown Seattle. Halladay says boarding for a full week there costs an additional $26,000. Tuition itself ranges from $45,000 to $50,000, depending on the school year. Five-day boarding is around $24,000. This covers most clubs and activities, but some optional outdoor trips are extra. The boarding program and its resident advisers also have their own budget and programs throughout the city.About 10% of the school%u2019s enrollment chooses boarding %u2014 40 to 50 students in a given year %u2014 with about 95% of those coming from international locations. To the dismay of some seniors who desire solo living accommodations, all students are required to share a room. %u201cThey%u2019ll have to in college anyway,%u201d says Halladay.Annie Wright School is the oldest of the area boarding schools, founded in 1884. It offers both five- and seven-day boarding, with costs between $35,000 and $48,000, depending on programming and living quarters. Tuition is an additional $23,000. Only high school students have the option to board. Last year, there were 33 students enrolled in five-day boarding and 99 in full week. The shorter stay students are permitted to remain on campus one weekend per month in order to participate in extracurricular activities. There is room for 132 boarders on campus, and their care is managed by eight full-time house parents.King%u2019s School is one of two Christianfocused institutions that offer boarding. The boarding program has returned this year after a decades-long hiatus, says head of school Jordan Gage. They have 10 boarders, with the majority coming from outside the country. Boarding is available for high school students, with both single and double rooms. A full week runs $39,000. Tuition is an additional $25,000 for high school students. International students pay $31,000.Before reopening boarding, Gage says international and out-of-area students needed to arrange home stays. With students on site 24 hours a day, the school can help them focus. The distractions of home and family will no longer be a factor. %u201cThis is a better way to control for success,%u201d he says.The Auburn Adventist Academy, established in 1919, has a lower price point than most boarding schools. It%u2019s $22,000 for full-week boarding and $21,000 for five-day boarding. This includes tuition just under $13,000. There is also a class fee of $125 for freshmen and sophomores, $150 for juniors and $200 for seniors.About half of the students live on campus, and there is room for up to 120 in the dorm facilities.A path forwardFor a subset of students, boarding can be a chance to experiment with adulthood %u2014 managing time and learning to live with others, for example %u2014 while still having some guardrails. For the independent-minded student and the parent willing to cede daily control, boarding school can be a path to an elite university and beyond.%u201cI think what made it successful was the confidence my parents instilled in me,%u201d Kettrell says. %u201cI was open to being part of the community and participate in activities. You have to be willing to take some risks.%u201d