Boarding schools

• Bloomability by Sharon Creech. The setting for the boarding school is Lugano, Switzerland. The students come from different parts of the world; the female protagonist has been "kidnapped" (with parental blessings) by her aunt and uncle who are going to be associated with the school--Uncle Max is the new headmaster; when Dinnie (the protagonist) posts a sign in her bedroom window advising the Italian-speaking community of her abduction, her aunt presents her with a newly purchased Italian-American dictionary, just in case Dinnie wants the folks outside to be able to read the sign. Other language/people adventures follow. The book is a delight to read and may appeal to a wide audience: those who have lived abroad or would like to, foreign language-learners, boarding school students, kids who have moved around a lot and had to start new schools on a regular basis...
• Forty Acres and Maybe a Mule, by Harriette Gillem Robinet prominently focuses on the two courageous school teachers who further a young boy's education during the wild days of Reconstruction in America's post-Civil War South.
• The Pirate's Son by G. McCaughrean. A very graphic portrayal of a dreadful boarding school for boys.
• Harry Potter books are such great stories that both adults and children are invited to glimpse a very unconventional boarding school.
• The Robber and Me (J. Holub), portrays a teacher (not a nice man)in 1867ish Germany
• Secret Letters From 0 to 10 by Susie Morgenstern, looks at a teacher and principal in a French school setting (quite hilarious)