About Boarding School Rocks

I'm Michael Janzen, and I work in enrollment at a boarding school, the same one where I spent three years as a student before graduating in 1986. Being back on campus feels like coming home. This site is a personal project, written outside work, to set the record straight about what boarding school is and isn't.

Why I write it

I talk with families every week, and some common misconceptions come up: boarding school as a place for troubled kids, as something only the very rich do, or as parents sending a child away. Some of that was true once, and some of it is still true somewhere. But for many teenagers, a good boarding school is something else: more adults who know them, more structure, and practice at independence while help is close by, at an age when that matters.

So this site takes those misconceptions one at a time. Each article sorts what is true from what isn't, with sources, and shows what boarding school can offer the teenagers it suits.

Where I work, and how I keep this honest

I went to Verde Valley School in Sedona, Arizona, and, as I mentioned, work there now. I never name or promote my school, or any other, in my articles. A few rules keep the advocacy honest:

The true part comes first. When a misconception has something real behind it, the article says so before explaining what is different today.
Claims stay inside the evidence. Facts are sourced and dated. Where the research is thin or industry-funded, the article says so.
Every article names a trade-off. Boarding is the wrong choice for some students, and the articles say when.

A companion site

I also write azschoolenrollment.com, a neutral guide to every kind of school in Arizona, including how to pay for private school there.

Get in touch

Questions, corrections, and misconceptions you'd like me to take on are welcome on the contact page.

Frequently asked questions

Is this site run by a school?

No. It is a personal project. I work at a boarding school, but the school does not publish, fund, or review this site.

What is this site trying to do?

Set the record straight about what boarding school is and isn't, and help families see its value for the teenagers it suits, with sources and honest trade-offs.

No. It explains what boarding school can offer and how to judge whether one fits. Visiting and asking hard questions is how you choose a school.

Last reviewed October 18, 2026.