Anonymous
Post 12/01/2025 20:05     Subject: Need advice about serious issues in a private boarding school (New York). We are new to the US and don’t know what to do

OP, your English seems excellent, including contractions and idioms, which often trip up non-native speakers. Why is your son’s grasp of English so bad?

This whole thread is starting to smell fishy to me.
Anonymous
Post 12/01/2025 17:08     Subject: Need advice about serious issues in a private boarding school (New York). We are new to the US and don’t know what to do

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:OP, one thing to keep in mind is that public schools are more highly regulated than private. Have you considered public school in a community that is expat-heavy? For instance, Scarsdale, NY attracts a lot of expat families including foreign exec on temporary assignments. The public schools there are just as good as any private school.


We need to live in that area. And it’s not so easy to find a house.. now we don’t have any good public schools nearby


Even a less-than-great public school should have a decent English Learners program, which sounds better than the current situation.
Anonymous
Post 12/01/2025 17:05     Subject: Need advice about serious issues in a private boarding school (New York). We are new to the US and don’t know what to do

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Lina2025 wrote:Thank you everyone for your comments.
I truly appreciate those who offered helpful and constructive advice — I will definitely take it into account. It is unfortunate that many replies were negative, because this is our first year in the U.S., and I was simply hoping to get support and understand how things work here. For example, when I asked about resources for school ratings, I was told that the site I mentioned is a “joke,” but no one explained where to actually check reliable ratings. As a newcomer, how could I know that?

And just to clarify something for those who assumed that we sent our son to boarding school because he is a “problem child,” or even questioned whether I am his mother — this is completely untrue and absurd. Our son is a normal, kind, smart boy, and we were trying to do the best for him. When we chose the school, I spent a lot of time and effort researching options. We were advised that boarding would help him integrate faster, improve his English, and make friends. We intentionally placed him with an American roommate for that reason.

We planned to move to the area as soon as we could find a house, but there are very few homes available there. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out as expected, and now we are transferring him. But academically the school is excellent — his Duolingo score improved from 70 to 105 in less than three months, and we are proud of his progress. He wanted to go to this school and was excited about the experience.

After receiving the audio transcript I was emotional, and maybe it sounded more dramatic than the real situation. In reality, things are not as terrible as some people think. His roommate annoys him, but it’s more irritation than bullying — he can stand up for himself.

Regarding the medical issue: we already resolved it. We took him to a podiatrist on a weekday and surgery was done. Before that, he had already seen a doctor several times — for those who assumed we ignored the problem. The concern about negligence was related to the school nurse refusing to do basic bandaging and suggesting sending him home for an indefinite period, even though he has upcoming performances and mid-term tests.

We have now found another school and are planning to move to that district. However, if the previous rating site is unreliable, I still don’t know where to read real reviews — and I would genuinely appreciate recommendations.

Once again, to everyone who criticized us for choosing boarding school: we made this decision for his well-being. We believed it would help him learn English faster, adapt culturally, make friends, and work toward his goals. He was not forced — he was interested and wanted to try something new.

Thank you again to those who responded with kindness and practical advice.



You should just admit to making some bad decisions rather than say it is unfortunate you received a negative response. You want people to point out your mistakes, which were massive. If you are evaluating schools, you need to look into their course curriculum, test scores, college placement, and all the other things that matter to you. There is no legitimate ranking for private schools and especially at middle school grades. You need to use your own brain to make decisions. Finally, these schools do not replace parents. They are just schools and if your child has an urgent medical issue you need to address it yourself. This board is full of a lot of helpful info and I suggest you take the negative feedback you received as helpful. You come across as completely out of touch with how to raise your kid.


I don’t need any advice from you — such a rude and mean person. Go *uck yourself with your stupid comment. And go say nasty things to someone else.



It is clear that OP is the problem.


Yeah, just because I don't let any as*holes throw mud at me. Good bye and please NEVER come back



Glad you are leaving that school. You are what is known as a difficult family.
Anonymous
Post 12/01/2025 16:51     Subject: Need advice about serious issues in a private boarding school (New York). We are new to the US and don’t know what to do

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Lina2025 wrote:Thank you everyone for your comments.
I truly appreciate those who offered helpful and constructive advice — I will definitely take it into account. It is unfortunate that many replies were negative, because this is our first year in the U.S., and I was simply hoping to get support and understand how things work here. For example, when I asked about resources for school ratings, I was told that the site I mentioned is a “joke,” but no one explained where to actually check reliable ratings. As a newcomer, how could I know that?

And just to clarify something for those who assumed that we sent our son to boarding school because he is a “problem child,” or even questioned whether I am his mother — this is completely untrue and absurd. Our son is a normal, kind, smart boy, and we were trying to do the best for him. When we chose the school, I spent a lot of time and effort researching options. We were advised that boarding would help him integrate faster, improve his English, and make friends. We intentionally placed him with an American roommate for that reason.

We planned to move to the area as soon as we could find a house, but there are very few homes available there. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out as expected, and now we are transferring him. But academically the school is excellent — his Duolingo score improved from 70 to 105 in less than three months, and we are proud of his progress. He wanted to go to this school and was excited about the experience.

After receiving the audio transcript I was emotional, and maybe it sounded more dramatic than the real situation. In reality, things are not as terrible as some people think. His roommate annoys him, but it’s more irritation than bullying — he can stand up for himself.

Regarding the medical issue: we already resolved it. We took him to a podiatrist on a weekday and surgery was done. Before that, he had already seen a doctor several times — for those who assumed we ignored the problem. The concern about negligence was related to the school nurse refusing to do basic bandaging and suggesting sending him home for an indefinite period, even though he has upcoming performances and mid-term tests.

We have now found another school and are planning to move to that district. However, if the previous rating site is unreliable, I still don’t know where to read real reviews — and I would genuinely appreciate recommendations.

Once again, to everyone who criticized us for choosing boarding school: we made this decision for his well-being. We believed it would help him learn English faster, adapt culturally, make friends, and work toward his goals. He was not forced — he was interested and wanted to try something new.

Thank you again to those who responded with kindness and practical advice.



You should just admit to making some bad decisions rather than say it is unfortunate you received a negative response. You want people to point out your mistakes, which were massive. If you are evaluating schools, you need to look into their course curriculum, test scores, college placement, and all the other things that matter to you. There is no legitimate ranking for private schools and especially at middle school grades. You need to use your own brain to make decisions. Finally, these schools do not replace parents. They are just schools and if your child has an urgent medical issue you need to address it yourself. This board is full of a lot of helpful info and I suggest you take the negative feedback you received as helpful. You come across as completely out of touch with how to raise your kid.


I don’t need any advice from you — such a rude and mean person. Go *uck yourself with your stupid comment. And go say nasty things to someone else.



It is clear that OP is the problem.


Yeah, just because I don't let any as*holes throw mud at me. Good bye and please NEVER come back
Anonymous
Post 12/01/2025 16:47     Subject: Need advice about serious issues in a private boarding school (New York). We are new to the US and don’t know what to do

Anonymous wrote:The boarding school community is small. I'm sure that other schools know that your school is bad school and do their recommendation isn't needed. Use recommendations from previous school.


Our current school is actually one of the best.. that’s a problem. With A+ rating and very well known