Boarding school for HS aged kids?

Nope, but I am dreading the day my oldest moves out. I don't want to rush it.

I think it depends.

Does the school offer something I can't provide with the resources I have locally?

I'm inclined to say no. But I went to Governors School three summers in a row for academic enrichment and was several hundred miles from home. So there is a circumstance where it could be beneficial.

My son was too easy a teenager to send to boarding school. The early years were so difficult but boarding school wasn't needed. I would miss him too much. He moved away at age 19 to go to college and I missed him terribly but he moved back as he wants to stay on the Island. I am happy he is back here. I don't know how long he will be at home. I suspect he will want to move out on his own in the next year or two. He likes the food at home and he has no obligations at home so life is good for him here. He helps with dishes, he does his own laundry now so he is pretty self-sufficient.

The only reason I can fathom it is for behavioral issues, can't find that quality locally or both parents have high-paying stressful jobs and can't do the routine school parenting thing.

For our family situation, no. I enjoy having my kids around and wouldn't have wanted to send them away any sooner than we did for college.

But dd has a friend from the neighborhood whose dad is in the Foreign Service. The friend asked to go to boarding school rather than start high school in another country knowing she'd have to leave there before she could finish (given the nature of FS assignments she knew her dad wouldn't be staying for her entire high school time). Her parents said yes to that, although they didn't allow their middle schooler to do that even though she asked too. For her they knew she'd be coming back here for 10th-12the grades, and they thought she was too young.

If my child wanted to I definitely would. There are some great boarding schools that we've lived near so I've had a chance to see what a great opportunity they offer. I would only do so if I could afford to also pay their college tuition and room and board of course, I wouldn't sacrifice the college fund for high school.

Mine joined the Army the day after their 17th birthdays... so I guess the answer would be "yes"
THey both had finished high school at 16 and was ready for the next phase of life. I might not let a 15-16 year old go, but 17-18, probably if I felt what they could get out of the experience was greater than what could be offered at home.

My son was in danger of dropping out of school in the public school system. He is lucky because he is bright and athletic and got a scholarship to our local private school, which is 2/3rds borders. I won't even tell you how much it is for borders, but it eclipses all you've mentioned here. I would mortgage my future to continue sending him there. It has changed his entire life. It has been an outstanding experience.

So a few years ago I would have been like you and been leery, and quite frankly I am still not certain I could do it now, but I now understand why people do. I love this school with all my heart and I honestly believe it saved my child.

We couldn't have afforded it so it wasn't on our radar as an option. But I don't have an issue with the concept. That may be due to familiarity though.

My older sister went to boarding school starting as a child (not teen) back in the 50s/60s in England. Her parents were divorced and Dad (UK military - posted overseas) had custody and the military paid for her schooling (her mum got her on holidays - I don't think our dad saw much of her at all ). I think it was a good experience for her overall. I think the UK is more pro-boarding school than most of the US is though.

I do know that boarding school was one of the reasons my family moved to the States when Dad retired - he had been offered a civilian job in Cyprus but the British schools there only went to age 13, I think, at the time, and my mum was against the idea of sending me and my younger sister to boarding school in the UK. As miserable as Jr high and high school were - I often dreamed of going to boarding school. It sounded so fun in all the books I read as a young child (Mallory Towers, St Clares, Chalet School)

The area we lived in when we came to the States had boarding schools (New England) but they were for the upper classes (which we weren't) and while some of my classmates went there as day-students as high schoolers, it was never something my family considered.

The kids have friends attending the state college/ highschool STEM program. It's an honor Id have a hard time accepting unless my kids were miserable at local school. Not only do I want them to have family time, I think the basic, mundane high school activities like choir, gov, sports are part of learning too.

Our neighbor is at military school for the usual reasons, and a college friend has his at Boarding School. The latter is a bit of a social climber, his motives might not be academic. Maybe I've know the parent too long to be open minded.

I have a friend whose husband died when her youngest DS was very young. When he was in middle school he started hanging out with kids who turned out to be a bad influence and he had no father figure. She ended up sending him to a school in New England and, although she said it killed her to see him go, it was the best decision she's ever made. (She had the resources to pay for it with no problem.) ETA: She is originally from New England and has family there so that helped in her decision.

My mom went to boarding school in the UK from age 12 and I loved her stories. She was from a small village and there were limited education options. Her parents were pretty progressive to sent her away at that time.

Several friends went to boarding schools for high school. One's dad was working in the UAE, a couple had parents in foreign service and I know several that were sent for better education opportunities than their small towns could offer. One sister actually made the choice to move to a bigger city rather than send her kids away for high school as most of the other professionals in her town were doing.

Thankfully we have lots of choices in schools here, but if we didn't I would look at boarding as an option. 

My nephew went to a boarding school on the US (Middlesex in Massachusetts) on a hockey scholarship for grades 9 - 12. He was also extremely bright and graduated valedictorian of his class. He had opportunities there that he wouldn't have had in his small town in Nova Scotia.