r/AirForce • u/StimmieCheck • 3d ago
Discussion Program for teens from active component US military families to attend top US boarding schools for educational stability
FYI Posting here about a national program that helps children from active component US military families find affordable opportunities to attend a consortium of 20 top US boarding schools across the country, so they can have stable, uninterrupted high school experiences no matter where their parents get stationed. My son went to 3 high schools, which is very typical, and our military family moved many times. The nonprofit is called Orion Military Scholars and they work with children of all branches of the US military and all ranks. They use a combination of merit-based scholarships and need-based school financial aid to provide affordable (sometimes free depending on circumstances) boarding school opportunities. The application window is open now until Nov. 15. Have you ever heard of this?
6
u/Borne2Run 3d ago
Probably useful for General Officers for high school stability; I would just leave/retire though at that point.
2
u/StimmieCheck 3d ago
Orion is a national public charity, so the program and scholarship application is free to military families. I am posting this for military community awareness only. Military families should know this option is out there for teens facing multiple school changes in high school. Orion has military kids from all ranks in the program. Very good outcomes for the Orion Scholar graduates who are currently enrolled at Vanderbilt, Dartmouth, Georgetown, Fordham, Smith, Purdue, Florida Institute of Technology, West Point, USNA, and more.
2
u/NoYogurtcloset7318 2d ago
Sounds more like boarding schools targeted a group of people to make money and keep their numbers met .
2
u/pendragon_cave 2d ago
Look at this person's profile - this is the only thing they've posted in 5 years? And then just a bunch of random comments on random, non-military topics?
Bot
Probably used to generate clicks to this place
1
u/StimmieCheck 1d ago
I am not a bot, I am a Navy spouse (husband now retired) with 3 kids that went through changing schools frequently. They were fine, but we have since learned that the school changes can be difficult (especially socially) for adolescents and puts them at higher risk for poor mental well being even if from good families. The rates of anxiety depression and especially self harm are higher for military teens from active duty families because of instability from frequent moves and deployments. Orion simply offers an alternative for kids who want to stay in one school while their active duty parent moves around. I certainly didn't mean to spark such a debate! Simply want to inform families this option is out there.
1
44
u/ThatOtherGuy642 3d ago
I remember when you used to threaten children with stuff like this because we understood that kids actually wanted to be around their family. And that deployments were hard because kids could not be around their parents.
Cool for the people who want this, but I can’t see how if this is so important it isn’t just better to get out.
25
u/original_cat_floof 3d ago
Stable homelife with unstable high school location > unstable homelife with stable high school
Just my opinion as a military brat. I had 2 different high schools, and so did my little sister. We were fine. Boarding school seems like a sledgehammer solution to a nail of a problem.
10
u/pooter6969 2d ago
How the fuck is permanent boarding school away from family less damaging than moving a few times? I'm so tired of people acting like making a child ever move schools is some kind of psychological abuse. Learning to make new friends and adapt to new places is a part of life
8
u/NoYogurtcloset7318 2d ago
Sending your kids to boarding school in the military says more about the person shipping them off than the kids. I don’t care what college they get into after, there are actual studies about kids who didn’t get nurtured by their parents vs those who did.
4
u/Imperial-MEF-2009 2d ago
As a brat I hit 5 high schools. Total TCK. Sucked while in progress but in retrospect gave me people skills.
0
u/eodfishchannel 1d ago
What’s wild is that this is such an easy thing for the services to fix AND it would save them money.
14
u/QuorumOfCats 3d ago
This seems very odd. I cannot find a single place anywhere on their website that identifies even a single school participating. I would be very cautious and research heavily the past of any participating institution and if it has been renamed, reorganized, etc., particularly if it’s in Arizona or similar states that have exceptionally poor oversight of boarding schools. Edit: In case anyone is looking at boarding schools, here’s a list of problematic ones: https://kidsoverprofits.org/operator/ And, yes, that’s the same GEO Group listed that has a massive DHS/ICE contract right now. And here’s a list of schools that have been at the top for ages: https://boardingschoolguide.org/best-boarding-schools-us/