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Talking with Boarding School Personnel

Below is a summary of the United States Diplomatic Service, their children and their education options, attributes of a Foreign Service child, and why some families choose the boarding school option.  Parents should also view FLO's How Boarding Schools Can Assist Foreign Service Students .

A popular Foreign Service "urban myth" is that children who grow up in the Foreign Service are able to fly before they can walk! Given the mobility these children have from a very early age, this saying is not too far from the truth. Children of American diplomats have unusual opportunities and challenges that are a result of growing up in an internationally mobile lifestyle. Included in those challenges are issues of educational continuity and cultural adjustments. As they enter adolescence, often a family will choose the boarding school option as a way to maximize educational opportunities for these children. In this document, we will discuss the Foreign Service, the Foreign Service child and the issues they face, ways that boarding schools can assist these children with their adjustment to the boarding school experience, and end with comments from FS students themselves as to how they view their own experiences.

The Foreign Service is the Department of State's professional corps of career diplomats serving in over 240 embassies, consulates, or other missions around the world. The U.S. Agency for International Development, the Foreign Agricultural Service, the Foreign Commercial Service, and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service are also U.S. government foreign affairs agencies. Additionally, representatives from 50 other USG agencies (Department of the Treasury, Customs, Drug Enforcement Agency, etc.) may be sent abroad to serve at a mission. The common purpose is to carry out American foreign policy, advance USG interests, and provide American Citizen Services abroad. Diplomacy is carried out through people; 65% of the Department of State's operating budget goes to salaries and related expenses. The Department of State receives less than 1% of the overall federal budget!

The words "diplomatic", "ambassadorial", and "embassy" often evoke images of glamour in foreign capitals. However, diplomatic work is also dangerous. In the last half century, more ambassadors than generals have been killed in the line of duty, and fifty-seven Department of State personnel have been killed in the line of duty in the last ten years. In the year 2001, Department of State personnel experienced sixteen terrorist-related incidents worldwide.

The increasingly dangerous world in which we live has also led to unprecedented numbers of evacuations from our missions abroad. At the time of this writing, there have been approximately 233 evacuations since 1988, and over 66 since 9/11, involving 35 countries and 4000 people. Some of these evacuations are considered "authorized departure" in which families and non-emergency personnel have the choice to leave, while others are "ordered departures" and are mandatory.

Evacuations are extremely difficult. The psychological effects may include a sense of loss without closure, feeling of uncertainty and loss of control, interrupted school years, fears for loved ones left behind, and more. It is a time of tremendous stress for families. It is quite possible that a boarding student at your school may have family members who are evacuated while the student is enrolled in school. An awareness of the family's situation during an evacuation will better enable you to assist and support the student (if an evacuation occurs after the beginning of the school year, the boarding school allowance will be paid through the end of the school year.)

The Foreign Service child sorts friends by continents, having made several international moves in a young lifetime. These children are often referred to as Third Culture Kids, or TCKs, because their cultural make-up is comprised of their home country, their adopted home countries, the internationally mobile community, and can even include a bi-cultural family with a parent from yet a different cultural background! Transitions are a way of life for these kids. David Pollack, renowned expert in the field of TCKs, likened their sense of belonging to that of an extended root system, rather than a taproot. Their roots may extend around the world, yet they may be missing the taproot of a single home community.

Currently, there are approximately 10,000 children overseas who are dependents of United States government employees serving at a mission overseas (this does not include military children posted at an overseas base). The approximate breakdown by age is:

          28% - Infants to pre-kindergarten age
          43% - Kindergarten through grade six
          11% - Grades 7 and 8
          18 % - Grades 9 - 12

Foreign Service families have a variety of education options available to them while posted overseas. The approximate breakdown of education options chosen by students is:

59% - attend American international schools abroad
34% - attend another international school at post
5% - attend boarding schools
2% - home schooled

Given that many of the Foreign Service students at boarding schools are products of American international schools, it is worthwhile to give a general overview of these schools. The Office of Overseas Schools in the Department of State sponsors and assists over 190 private, independent schools around the world. At the high school level, the majority of American international schools offer a U.S. college preparatory curriculum to a very international student body. Schools assisted by the Office of Overseas Schools are either fully accredited by American and/or European accreditation agencies, or are undergoing accreditation. The percentage of American administration and teaching staff recruited in the United States varies school by school. The size of these schools also varies, but a small community feeling is the norm. Many Foreign Service families feel that American international schools offer a school culture that values education and a multinational student body that is engaged in and highly values learning.

As the above figures attest, most Foreign Service children are able to remain with their families and attend schools at post. However, some families choose to exercise the boarding school option for a variety of reasons: there isn't an adequate school at post for a particular grade level; the student is seeking increased opportunities for advanced classes or extracurricular activities; special educational needs cannot be met at the school at post. Social and emotional growth of the student can also be a factor and families may decide it is time to repatriate their child to the home culture. In the Foreign Service the home/assignment/international situation can change rapidly and that may require families to change their previous plans. In these situations, families may come to recognize the benefits (including continuity) that the boarding school experience can provide.

Foreign Service children and other Third Culture Kids have often been described as resilient and flexible with a 3-dimensional world-view. They often tend to gravitate towards other international students, and are keenly interested in world events. For them, world events are personal, not abstract concepts, since they have either lived, traveled, or know someone in the places being described in the news. These students may also be more accepting of diversity, self-confident, mature, and have an active and curious mind. The vast majority of Foreign Service students are American citizens and native speakers of English. However, Foreign Service kids are known to glaze over when asked where "home" is and often wonder which rendition they should give, for it is a question with multiple correct answers! Often, they will just use their last posting as their reference for "home". Many of these kids are bilingual, or at least have an awareness of other languages, and thus understand the importance of non-verbal communication skills. There is a saying that a Third Culture Kid is able to explain the rules to more than one game by using hand gestures alone!

Despite the awareness of all the benefits that being raised overseas can bring, living an internationally mobile lifestyle is not always easy for young people. One of the biggest challenges they face is the return back to their home country. Many report feeling that they have grown and changed in ways that at times make it more difficult to relate to their peers who have never lived abroad. Eventually these students are able to readjust to their home culture, but there are concrete things that the adults in their lives can do to help make the adjustment easier.

• Parent Advocacy: Talking with School Personnel
• Talking with Teachers
• Talking with Boarding School Personnel
• How Boarding Schools Can Assist Foreign Service Students
• Talking Your School Global

Information provided by the Family Liaison Office
Contact the Family Liaison Office