Could a Boarding School Experience Help Kids Living in Poverty? A Dallas Businessman Says Yes

Help with homework, having someone teach you how to take notes and even just a full night’s sleep are often privileges that kids in poverty don’t have. So what if there was a way to mimic such a home life that’s usually organic in middle class and affluent families?Dallas businessman Randy Bowman says he knows how to do that -- by creating an urban boarding experience that’s similar to those at private elite boarding schools. Children would still attend their local schools but spend the week living in communal residence halls with structured support to help them grow academically and socially.The idea may seem extreme at first. But after Bowman spent a year researching urban education and the challenges students face, over and over again, it boiled down to one thing: poverty.Children living in the poverty -- which is nearly one out of three kids in Dallas -- have to overcome trauma that can include homelessness, hunger, illnesses and even violence. Those are challenges not easily dealt with during regular school hours.“The 71 percent of the day that you spend at home overwhelms the 29 percent that you spend at school,” Bowman said. “Our premise is that home is not a problem. The home is simply under resourced. We just want these kids to have a fair shot at reaching the highest level of potential.”  Continue reading...