U.S. public education is designed to offer instruction for all children of U.S. residents, regardless of race, gender, religion, handicaps, or family income. U.S. private schools offer a variety of additional choices, from religious instruction to environments that focus specifically on collegiate preparation, building self-discipline, providing support to children with learning disabilities, or other special goals.

U.S. elementary and secondary education can have much to offer young international students, whether they are coming to the United States with their families or seeking an independent educational experience at a boarding school.

School Organization and Instruction

In the United States, children start their formal education around the age of six. (They may prepare for this beginning, the first grade, by attending a kindergarten program at age five or a nursery school program even earlier.) Twelve years of instruction follow, with the student typically completing grades one through twelve and graduating at age eighteen to go on to college or employment. All U.S. states require that children attend school until at least age sixteen.

School years most commonly run from September to June, though an increasing number of U.S. schools are now holding classes year-round with several short breaks rather than the traditional long summer vacation. Instruction generally begins with elementary or primary school (grades one through six or one through eight), followed by secondary or high school (most commonly including grades nine through twelve), with a middle or junior high school (which might include grades six through eight or seven through nine) sometimes taking up the in-between years. Exactly which grades are included in which school level varies from one school to another.

The elementary grades include instruction in fundamentals: arithmetic, reading, writing, and usually also art, social studies, science, and athletics. By middle school, curriculum broadens to include such subjects as foreign languages, and in high school students can often choose among a wide range of electives including such nonacademic options as driver's education or typing.

U.S. public schools aim to prepare all types of students for all aspects of life as productive citizens, family members, and workers. A "general" or "comprehensive" curriculum is often offered that enrolls individuals with different educational goals—the college-bound student and the one preparing for a trade add on different courses to prepare themselves for their own career paths. However, public secondary schools may be also be wholly college preparatory or vocational-technical and almost all "track" students to some extent, dividing them into different levels based on their ability and knowledge in the particular subject.

No national examination is required in the United States for secondary school completion. (Many individual states do have tests, however, and an increasing number require passage of these tests to graduate.) Students must generally earn a given number of credits and successfully complete particular courses to satisfy school graduation requirements. Requirements vary from state to state and school to school.

School Types, Finances, and Control

A large majority of U.S. elementary and secondary students (88.3 percent in 2007) attend public schools. The U.S. Congress has since 1876 required all states to provide such public school systems for their residents. Policies for these schools are set by the individual state legislatures, with policy details and overall school management generally left to local government, that is, to an elected local school board and a district school superintendent that each board appoints. Day-to-day management of schools is handled by the principal, or administrative head, of each school.

Funding for public schools comes primarily from the state (and the taxes of state residents) with some funding from local government. The federal government provides much smaller amounts of money, generally dedicated to construction, transportation, or similar noncurricular purposes. State residents can send their children to these schools at no cost (though they must generally use an assigned school within their own district or pay tuition fees.)

Approximately 11 percent of U.S. secondary and elementary students attend private schools. The majority of these schools (about three-quarters) are religiously affiliated, though for the most part they welcome students of other faiths. Almost one-half of the religious schools are Catholic; however, any organization or individual may establish a school for any educational purpose (so long as state regulations are obeyed), and private schools represent a wide range of backgrounds and philosophies.

Private schools must rely on tuition for a large part of their support, though they may receive funds from their church, donations, or other sources. The average tuition for a private school in the United States in 2003, according to a Cato Institute study, was $4,689. The average private elementary school tuition was less than $3,500, and the average secondary school tuition was $6,052. Church-affiliated schools tended to be less expensive and boarding schools, which provide their students with housing and meals, may charge $20,000 or even considerably more.

Accreditation

While the voluntary peer review process of accreditation is considered very important in the United States in maintaining program quality at the postsecondary level, accreditation is less considered and less universal at the elementary and secondary levels. This difference is probably because at these levels the public schools (which most students attend) are reviewed and regulated by the states in the same areas that accreditors would oversee (facilities, staff background, curriculum, computer and library resources, and so forth). Indeed, some states refer to their review process as "accreditation" (a more common, synonymous term is "approval"). It is rare for U.S. public schools to seek review by a private accrediting body—it would for the most part duplicate work being done with the state, at additional cost.

The state also has some regulatory powers over private schools. These are often minimal and may be limited to ensuring that schools do not break health and safety regulations, engage in false advertising, and so forth, but they may also establish some minimums for teacher preparation, curriculum offerings, funding, and other more substantive areas. Private schools may be reviewed in greater depth by church bodies, or they may turn to a professional association or accrediting body to help them maintain quality standards. A number of these groups exist, including the regional accrediting bodies active in postsecondary education, the National Association of Independent Schools, other member associations of the Council on American Private Education, the American Association of Christian Schools, and the Association of Christian Schools International.

While many private schools become accredited, others do not, often for reasons unrelated to program quality. International parents, however, should verify what their country's rules are on recognition of U.S. elementary and secondary credentials and be sure that their child's schooling will be recognized on return home.

The International Student and U.S. Schools

Choosing a School

With approximately 119,000 secondary- and primary-level schools in the United States, the choices can seem vast, but students are likely to be limited from the start by where their parents or relatives are living or by their need for boarding facilities (an option offered by "only" perhaps four hundred schools.) Students attending public school most commonly are assigned to a school in their district.

Many resources exist that profile U.S. schools in detail, particularly private and boarding schools. State departments of education can provide some background on public school districts—contact information as well as some basic data for comparison such as teacher-student ratio, expense per pupil, enrollment, and average daily attendance. Web sites such as the search tool sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education at http://nces.ed.gov/globallocator/ can also provide a great deal of information.

Writing directly to schools is of course also important—in addition to requesting answers to specific questions, general information, application materials (from private schools), and registration dates (for public schools), parents might ask for such materials as the school handbook, their disciplinary policy, and back issues of school newsletters, to get a better idea of daily life at the school. Visits to the school and discussions with teachers, students, and other parents can be very helpful if it is possible to arrange such a trip.

Some factors that students and parents will want to consider in selecting a school are listed below. Families planning to choose a public school should make their comparisons before they decide on a house or apartment because of the assignment of schools by neighborhood.

• Boarding facilities. Public schools do not offer boarding facilities (except in a few special cases, such as schools for delinquent youths or residential facilities for children with severe mental or physical disabilities). Some private schools do. Check whether housing is available over summer break and vacations. Can arrangements be made for special dietary needs?
  
  
• Cost. In the case of public schools, students who have moved to the United States with their parents may be able to attend public elementary or secondary schools in the district where they are living without charge. Students living with their parents who want to attend a public school in another school district must generally pay nonresident fees, which vary and are set by individual school districts. Students planning to travel on their own and stay with other relatives, family friends, and so forth while they attend public school are required to reimburse the full cost of their tuition (and such attendance is very restricted under U.S. visa regulations; see discussion under “Arranging Admission” below).
  
  
• Private and boarding school costs can vary greatly from school to school. Financial aid is not usually available to international students. In calculating costs, parents should not forget additional expenses such as health insurance, books, and tutoring or ESL costs.
  
  
• Experience with international students. Does the school have an ESL program, or can a tutoring or other arrangement be made for students not proficient in English? How many international students are enrolled, and what percentage of enrollment are they? Is there an international student adviser?
  
  
• Home country requirements. Has the ministry of education in the country where the student will continue his or her education or seek employment set requirements for recognition of U.S. school credentials (for example, that the school be accredited)? Are specific courses required to continue on to the level at which the student will be studying?
  
  
• Admission requirements. While most public schools are open to all, private schools can be very selective. How does the student match with the class profile? Are grades, test scores, and English proficiency at an appropriate level?
  
  
• Curriculum. Particularly at the secondary level, what courses are available in the student's areas of interest? Is there opportunity for advanced-level work, or remedial work, where desired? Some public and private schools focus on particular areas of study, for instance foreign languages or the performing arts.
  
  
• School philosophy. Private schools, in particular, often follow a particular philosophy of learning that influences how students are taught, discipline, and other aspects of school life. How does a particular philosophy match the child's needs? Will the child do well in a competitive, highly structured environment or would an atmosphere that emphasizes cooperation and self-exploration be better?
  
  
• Coed or single sex. All public schools are coeducational. Many private schools are all boys or all girls.
  
  
• Graduation requirements. Will a secondary-level student be able to earn a diploma or only a certificate of attendance?
  
  
• Student-teacher ratio. The ideal is 15:1, though numbers are usually a bit higher.
  
  
• Resources. How many books are in the library? How well are computer and science laboratories supplied? How many books are there per student? How many students per computer?
  
  
• Counseling and college placement services. What types of student support services are available? How does this match student needs? Where have graduates gone on to college?
  
  
• Extracurricular activities. Does the school offer a drama club, debate team, soccer team, or other activities of interest?

Arranging Admission

Students should begin the admissions process to a selective private school one year or more in advance. At a public school it is common to register a few weeks or even days before classes start, but international families will do well to start the process farther in advance and write to schools to check their requirements and registration procedures.

All schools normally require the following materials for admission:

• Results of a full physical examination done within the last year and records of complete and current immunizations against diphtheria, measles (rubella and rubeola), pertussis, polio, and tetanus. Some schools also require tests for tuberculosis. Check with the school on the specific health records they require.
  
  
• Transcripts of academic work, usually for the last three years, with certified translations if the transcripts are not in English. These will be used to help determine placement at the appropriate grade level and also as an admission factor in the case of selective schools.
  
  
• A birth certificate is generally shown at registration, if available.
  
  
• In the case of an international student from a non-English-speaking country, some information on English proficiency level will generally sought, again for placement and in some cases admission purposes. The information may include past academic work in English, performance on a standardized test such as the TOEFL or SLEP, an interview, or other methods.

Students who are not traveling with their parents must fulfill certain other requirements for visa purposes:

• Attendance at a school authorized to enroll foreign students and issue I-20 forms. No list of authorized schools exists but any school may petition the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) for such authorization. Schools need to contact the INS office for their district and request initial application forms I-17 and I-17A.
  
  
• Affidavit of sufficient finances to cover school and living expenses.
  
  
• Affidavit of health insurance coverage.
  
  
• Attendance at public schools for students traveling on their own is quite difficult. Since 1996, under U.S. visa regulations, students traveling on their own can attend public schools only beginning at the secondary level (they may not attend public elementary or middle schools). Secondary level students traveling on their own or with an exchange program are limited to one year of attendance at public schools and they must reimburse the public school district for their tuition expenses. (These rules regarding public school attendance do not apply to international students attending private schools. Nor do they apply to international students traveling with their parents as dependents.)

Selective schools generally have additional admission requirements for applicants. These might include recommendations from teachers or others familiar with the student (three to five recommendations is a common number), essays or writing samples, a statement from parents on applicants' strengths and needs, or an entrance examination.

Especially in the case of the student traveling alone to the U.S. school, it is important to make plans for possible problem situations and to leave time for adjustment. The extent of responsibility the student's school or other responsible party in the United States can take on should be made clear. Parents may want to appoint a legal guardian for the time in the United States in case of emergency, as a parent or legal guardian must give permission for hospitalization medical procedures.

A more common difficulty is simple homesickness, mixed with the shock of a strange culture. Students may want to take some foods from home to eat if dormitory fare seems too strange. It may be helpful to read about cultural differences between the United States and the home country. Letters and telephone calls help sustain communication and offer support as the student adjusts to life at a U.S. school.