<p>Hey guys, my son recently came out to me as gay and I and the rest of the family accepted this completely. He has always been in public schools but has recently been having a hard time at his current middle school and has been physically attacked, we're worried that transferring him to another public school in our school district will just result in the same. Unfortunately most of the private schools in Dallas are faith based which is out of the question, only greenhill is a fit and that is too expensive. My s is now keen on an oos boarding school but I don't know of any that would fit. Any advice or recommendations are greatly appreciated :)</p>
<p>Dallaslovingmom- most New England boarding schools are very accepting and have gay faculty members. How far are you willing to travel? What activities is your son interested in? There are lots of helpful people on this board who can give you suggestions.</p>
<p>Hey baystateresident, thanks for the reply, we’re willing to travel as far as nessecary to get him into a safe school environment. He is a very talented singer and theatre programs are ideal for him, he has a real passion for it 
Texas isn’t an accepting place for a vulnerable gay teenager and we’re freaking out about what we can do.</p>
<p>Just be aware that none of these schools is a panacea . . . and the smaller the student body, the more difficult it’s going to be for a “non-mainstream” student to fit in. So I’d suggest looking at larger school, if possible.</p>
<p>You may find [this</a> thread](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-admissions/1295496-what-kind-student-would-do-well-small-school.html]this”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-admissions/1295496-what-kind-student-would-do-well-small-school.html) about smaller schools and [this</a> thread](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-admissions/1288230-boarding-school-experience.html]this”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-admissions/1288230-boarding-school-experience.html) about “fitting in” at boarding school to be helpful.</p>
<p>Aha - just saw your second post about theatre programs! I’d suggest looking at the arts schools: Walnut Hill in Massachusetts, Interlochen in Michigan, and Idyllwild in California. Admission for this coming fall might still be a possibility at one if these schools, also - so I’d get in touch with them this week, if your son is interested.</p>
<p>I’ve always speculated about this! Anywhere you go, there’s going to be bias one way or another. I think the best way is to find schools that will suit him 1. have a GSA club 2. very diverse and 3. large student body. Let’s break this down; a Gay Straight Alliance Club will give him somewhere to go to talk to people who are also gay or who are straight but accepting and a place to get advice. Diversity is important because you have different types of people with different kinds of backgrounds and faiths, and a large student body (big school) helps making finding these people a lot easier. This is just IMO, but I hope I helped. :D</p>
<p>dallaslovingmom- a number of the schools have excellent musical theater programs, and at some you can even do it as your afternoon “sport.” Maybe you should ask students or parents to pm you their personal experiences with being gay at their schools…or, read their student newspapers online to see what you can find…</p>
<p>Our DD will be entering Interlochen as a junior Theater major this fall. She has several friends currently attending the school, and her impresssion is that the school and the students there are totally accepting of members of the LGBT community.</p>
<p>Academics at Interlochen are challenging, and the arts program is (in my opinion) one of the very best in the country. </p>
<p>Please feel free to PM me if I can assist at all!</p>
<p>I would say almost all of the New England boarding schools are going to provide a safe environment for your son. As Dodgersmom pointed out there is probably not a school where he will be completely safe from hearing gay jokes or other students using offensive terms; however, I doubt that they will every be used in a malicious way towards him or will your son every be on the receiving end of violence.</p>
<p>I hope this all works out for the best.</p>
<p>Have you thought about the Interlochen summer program? I’ve heard that it’s wonderful.</p>
<p>I am traveling, so I don’t have all my Interlochen materials at hand, but I know that a fairly large number of kids who graduate from Interlochen major in something that is not arts related in college (physics, math, history, English, etc) - maybe a bit more than 1/3 of the students? So, if theater is a passion, but not what your child wants to pursue as a career, Interlochen could still be a good fit.</p>
<p>Majors include: Music (strings, woodwinds, brass, vocal), Theater, Dance, Singer-Songwriter, Motion Picture Arts, Creative Writing, Motion Picture Arts, and the Comparative Arts major - concentration in multiple disciplines.</p>
<p>Whoops - repeated Motion Picture Arts, left out Visual Arts.</p>
<p>For theater and acceptance, I would add the George School in PA, and Putney in VT. Part of your list will be determined by how strong a student your son is.</p>
<p>Most if not all the schools have active LGBT populations and, in some cases, overt clubs and groups to support acceptance. That does not mean your son will be free from some of the pressures he faces in his current environment. BS have no tolerance for harassment but it’s still going to be a difficult journey, he’ll still face some resistance from pockets of students and he’ll still be in the minority, and it may still be uncomfortable to be “out” especially when dating and other issues arise.</p>
<p>Boarding school is extremely tough transition even for heterosexual students (socially and academically) - So tread carefully - coming to terms with gay sexuality while adjusting to this new foreign environment may be replacing one set of issues with harder ones. But in terms of physical safety - boarding school is probably a good option because physical violence is not tolerated. Might try a summer program as a test to see if he can adjust to the life and culture.</p>
<p>Here are other threads discussing this (one I started for a student who didn’t want to come out on the boards):</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-admissions/1186302-lgbt-friendly-schools.html?highlight=lgbt[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-admissions/1186302-lgbt-friendly-schools.html?highlight=lgbt</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-admissions/1092462-whats-lgbt-climate-boarding-schools.html?highlight=lgbt[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-admissions/1092462-whats-lgbt-climate-boarding-schools.html?highlight=lgbt</a></p>
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<p>Don’t know about Putney, but George has an excellent performing arts department!</p>
<p>Another link I found with parent/student suggestions about lgbt friendly boarding schools: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-cafe/1069345-everyone-bs-straight.html?highlight=lgbt[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-cafe/1069345-everyone-bs-straight.html?highlight=lgbt</a></p>
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<p>If you feel the Greenhill is too expensive, please know that boarding schools are almost twice as expensive. You would be relying heavily on their FA budgets, which then significantly decreases your chances of admission. Certainly, for next year. No harm in asking, though.</p>
<p>You should definitely look into Hotchkiss! For one thing, if you’re going to go to the hassle and expense of sending him to boarding school, might as well make it one of the best 
But more importantly - based on my experience while I was there - Hotchkiss is very accepting of the gay community. The gay-straight alliance is active, and the theatre program is of course very welcoming to gay students. There are several openly gay faculty members, some even living in the dorms, who serve as role models and a support network for gay students. I could go on… if you’re interested, I’d be more than happy to answer any questions!</p>
<p>By the way - it is so wonderful to see a family fully accepting and supporting their gay child. I wish more kids were lucky enough to have parents like you :)</p>
<p>Interlochen has very generous financial aid - based both on need and on merit. They have rolling admissions, and aid tends to be available later than at some other schools.</p>
<p>I know a rising senior who attended Interlochen Arts camp last summer, auditioned for the school in July, and was admitted in early August with more than 2/3 the tuition covered by financial aid and merit scholarships.</p>
<p>Dallaslovingmom- I don’t know how determined your son is, but I would definitely try Phillips Academy Andover. It’s a tough school to get in to, but they’re very accepting, and the arts program is great. They operate on a ‘no blind’ policy meaning that you don’t have to worry about financials unless he gets in. They also have one of the highest financial aid rates.
I would not send him to a very sports-oriented boarding schools. I used to go to one of the big all boys ISL sports schools. The boys there were not very accepting at all of a gay friend of mine, who actually was a fantastic singer…</p>
<p>If you are interested in a performing arts school Walnut Hill in MA might also be an option - even for next year. DD did the summer program for two years and had many friends admitted for the school year during the summer program - and offered FA. It is audition entry so you would need to put togehter an app for the summer program now. Not sure about deadlines for wchool year apps. It is a great performing arts school with decent if not stellar academics. Kids go on to conservatories and regular ordinary academic programs.</p>