List of 13 frequently asked questions.

• Can you tell us a bit about the dorms at Linsly?

  There are four dormitories on campus; Yost Hall, Merriman Hall, Dicke Hall, and Weiss Hall. Merriman and Yost are our female dormitories with Merriman housing 15, 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th graders and Yost holds 30 girls in the 10th, 11th, and 12th grades. Weiss Hall is the high school boys' dormitory that has 30 single rooms and Dicke Hall is for the younger boys and can accomodate 30 students with two per room. Each dormitory has Resident Assistants assigned to each hall that help monitor and enforce the rules and act as sounding boards to help transition our new students to life at Linsly. Community bathrooms are located in each building and are overseen by our maintenance staff that cleans them every weekday.

• What are meals like at Linsly?

  Linsly is contracted with Aladdin Food Services to provide meals for our students three times a day during the week and two meals on the weekends. One of their major goals is to provide healthy options for our students while also trying to get them to enjoy new flavors and food options. For breakfast and brunch, there is always hot options such as eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, etc. There is always cereal and oatmeal available and also a wide array of fresh fruit. Lunch is provided for the entire student body and always consists of a pasta line, salad bar, deli bar, soup of the day, and a specialty item such as chicken patties, hamburgers, pierogies, french fries, green beans, etc. There is always fruit, dessert, and PB & J sandwiches available for a student on the go. Dinner is provided nightly at 6:00 pm and always consists of a hot meal and the option for the deli bar or salad bar. A typical dinner would be grilled chicken, green beans, mashed potatoes, and fettuccine alfredo. The cafeteria does not serve carbonated drinks and always has water available for students throughout the day. During the school year, you can find the menu updated weekly here.

• How Does Linsly Keep Track of Students?

  REACH is a computer program that was built specifically for boarding schools. It is a web-based software that allows our students to submit leave requests for weekends, change their location on campus, and sign out to their events and activities. On the back end, our on-campus faculty use REACH to document students comings and goings on and off campus and get approval from parents for their permission for weekend plans. Students and faculty can access REACH online and it also has apps for Apple and Android devices. In order for a student to leave campus with a friend, we MUST get approval from parents and hosts via an email that will come from REACH. This allows us to document that they have permission and also lets us know where our students are in real time.

• Where do Linsly teachers live?

  Linsly has 21 full-time faculty members who reside on campus. Each dormitory has anywhere from 2-4 faculty members that live attached to the dorm and are available at all times. In addition, our campus consists of 15 homes and apartments that house our faculty, administrators, and their families.

• How do you keep my child safe at Linsly?

  Student safety is our number one priority. Our dormitories all lock and students are given a fob that will allow them access into their dormitory, and only their dormitory. Outer doors are monitored by video cameras. Our campus is secured with a full-time night watchman who is vigilant throughout the night and weekend. Our REACH system allows us to document students locations and their permissions off campus. We are always in tune with what your son or daughter may be doing and where they are in real time.

• Can boarding school students drive/ride off campus during free time?

  Our domestic boarding students living on campus are permitted to have cars on campus, however, they cannot leave campus without checking out with a faculty member first. In order to ensure their safety, we do not let students get in their cars and leave without permission. We keep off campus adventures to a minimum during the week and only let them off campus on the weekends with parent permission. 

• Where do boarding school students do laundry?

  Every dorm is equipped with a washer(s) and dryer(s) in the building. Laundry is free for Linsly students, the only thing you will need is your own detergent and fabric softener!

• Do boarding school students have a roommate?

  Yost, Dicke, and Merriman Halls all have two or three students to a room. Weiss Hall, the dorm for 11th and 12th grade boys has single rooms. Returning boarding students complete a roommate request form and new students get placed with a student based off of who we think will connect together.

• Can parents visit boarding school students at school?

  Absolutely! We strongly encourage parents to come and visit the school and take their children out to dinner, shopping, etc. All we ask is that parents and students communicate with their children and the adults in their dormitory so we are aware they are not in the building.

• What if a boarding school student gets sick?

  The Linsly Health Office is staffed from 7:30 AM to 3:30 PM every school day by a licensed school nurse.  Students who are ill are asked to report to the health office for evaluation.  Over-the-counter (OTC) medications are available and administered to students as needed per standing physician orders and parent permission.  Should a student need more advanced care, parents will be notified and the student will be taken to one of our local care providers for further evaluation and treatment.  In the event that an illness occurs after hours, students are asked to report to their dorm parent on duty. The dorm parent can contact the school nurse or take the student to our local urgent care center or hospital if needed.

• Do boarding school students need a computer?

  Yes! All students are required to bring their own device to school each day; however, the device choice is a personal preference. Students may bring an iPad or laptop, but a phone is not permitted as an educational device. The type of device you choose depends primarily on personal preferences and how you intend to use it in and out of the classroom. All dormitories have wifi hotspots and students will be given their own personal login information for the student wifi system. Our recommendation? Google Chromebook! Linsly’s technology system is primarily Google so this would be perfect if you plan to use your laptop primarily for school work, streaming services, browsing the Internet, and checking email.

• Who is in charge of my students during the evenings and on weekends?

  Every hour of the day outside of school time is accounted for with a faculty member on duty. Every evening, there is a designated faculty member who attends dinner, monitors Study Hall, and does bedroom checks at 11:00 to ensure students are in the dorm and going to sleep. On the weekends, there is a team of 4-5 faculty members who are in charge for the weekend. They attend every meal, walk through the dormitories, chaperone trips, and drive students to their appointments and events

• What if a student wants to leave campus with a friend that they meet while at Linsly?

  Before we let a child leave campus with another student, we will always contact you, the parents, first. There are two ways we go about doing this. First, we will require a phone call from your child’s phone to hear from you directly that they have your permission. We will also contact the student and parents who are hosting them. For most weekend plans, we will also use our REACH system and contact you, the parent, and the host family, via email. We must get the approval from both families before the child will leave campus.