The Gow School

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    Life at a Boarding School

    Teachers who live down the hall, evenings with support built in, and day students who share in everything. This is home at Gow.

    Boarding at Gow

    More than 80% of our students live on campus, with teachers and their families just down the hall. The support doesn't stop when the school day ends.

    For a bright child with dyslexia, the hours after class matter as much as the class itself. Boarding gives your child the same caring adults, the same routines, and the same expectations from breakfast to lights out.

    4
    Dormitories in use
    100%
    Of boarders take part in the residence life curriculum
    Up to 5
    Weekend trips to East Aurora and Buffalo
    125
    Acres of campus in South Wales, New York

    Why Boarding Works

    Consistent Support

    Over 80% of Gow students are boarders. Living on campus means help with homework, organization, and routines is always close by, every day of the week.

    Mentors, Not Just Chaperones

    Our dorm parents are the same teachers and coaches your child sees in class and on the field. They live on campus and know each student well.

    Building Skills for Life

    Students learn to manage their time, their belongings, and their responsibilities with steady guidance, the skills they will need in college and beyond.

    A United Family

    Students and faculty eat together, study together, and spend weekends together. Many families tell us this is where their child first felt they truly belonged.

    The Evening Schedule

    Evenings follow a predictable rhythm, so students always know what comes next.

    TimeWhat Happens
    4:00 to 5:15 p.m.Athletics
    5:50 to 6:25 p.m.Dinner
    6:30 to 8:00 or 8:30 p.m.Study hall. Grades 5 to 8 finish at 8:00 and grades 9 to 12 at 8:30; Honor Scroll students may study in their dorm.
    8:30 to 9:30 p.m.Down time: Little Seniors snack, air hockey, the Gow Center, the firepit, or a movie
    10:00 p.m.Lights out, grades 5 to 8
    10:30 p.m.Lights out, grades 9 and 10
    11:00 p.m.Lights out, grades 11 and 12

    Residence Halls

    Boarders live in four dorms, with faculty families in or beside every dorm.

    • Whitcomb Dorm: boys in grades 9 to 12.
    • Templeton Dorm: girls in grades 9 through the post-graduate year, in single rooms, with a designated floor for all-gender students.
    • Rogers-Ivie Dorm: girls in grades 5 to 12.
    • Warner Dorm: boys in grades 5 to 8.

    Questions About Dorm Life?

    See It for Yourself

    Tour the dorms, meet dorm parents, and stay for a meal with students.

    Inquire (opens in a new tab)

    Our Residential Curriculum

    Life in the dorm is part of a Gow education. Every boarder takes part in a year-long residential curriculum built around four modules.

    1. Building a United FamilyDaily routines, roommate agreements, and getting to know the community.
    2. Mastering IndependenceBudgeting, asking for help, doing laundry, and managing stress.
    3. Collaborative Conflict ResolutionTypes of conflict, setting boundaries, having difficult conversations, and keeping a healthy digital balance.
    4. Future and TransitionsGrowth mindset, leadership applications, healthy relationships, and substance abuse awareness.

    The curriculum draws on a survey by TABS (The Association of Boarding Schools) and CAIS of more than 9,500 students and about 1,500 alumni about what makes boarding school valuable.

    A Day at GowThe full daily schedule, from alarms to lights out. Weekends and TraditionsTrips, Winter Carnival, and the year's big days. Admissions FAQsAnswers to the questions parents ask most.

    Day Students

    Families from the Buffalo area can have the full Gow experience and still come home at night.

    About 10% of Gow students are day students, most from the Buffalo area. They follow the same schedule as boarders and are full members of the Gow family.

    Our day students are woven into every part of campus life, in class, on teams, and around the dinner table.

    A Day Student's Day

    • About 7:45 a.m.Arrive in time for breakfast
    • Morning and afternoonClasses on the same schedule as boarders
    • 4:00 p.m.Athletics with their teams
    • EveningDinner with faculty and classmates
    • Until 8:30 p.m.Study hall, then home

    Most day students stay for athletics, dinner, and study hall until 8:30 p.m., so homework is done before they leave. Day students also have rooms available in the dorms for a place to relax and store belongings between schedule transitions.

    Part of Everything

    • Lockers in the Gow Center for books and gear.
    • Saturday classes, just like boarders.
    • Optional weekend trips with the boarding community.
    • A Day Student Representative on Student Council.

    Dorm leadership roles, such as Resident Assistant, are tied to life in the residence halls, so day students are not eligible for those positions.

    A Day at GowThe full daily schedule. Student LeadershipStudent Council and other roles. Tuition and Financial AidDay and boarding tuition.

    Day Student Contact

    Thinking About Day Enrollment?

    Talk with our enrollment team at 716.687.2001 or [email protected].

    Inquire (opens in a new tab)

    Privacy Policy

    Use of Personal Information

    We do not collect any personal information unless you voluntarily provide it by sending us e-mail, participating in a survey, or completing an on-line form. Personal information submitted will not be transferred to any non-affiliated third parties unless otherwise stated at the time of collection. When a user submits personally identifiable information it is used only for the purpose stated at the time of collection.

    Consent

    Where consent for the use and disclosure of personal information is required, the school will seek consent from the appropriate person. In the case of a student’s personal information, the school will seek the consent from the student and/ or parent depending on the circumstances and the student’s mental ability and maturity to understand the consequences of the proposed use and disclosure.

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    Log Files

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    Links

    This website may contain links to other sites. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our site and to read the privacy statements of each and every Web site that collects personally identifiable information. This privacy statement applies solely to information collected by this website.

    Security

    This website takes every precaution to protect our users' personal information. Whenever users submit personal information (such as contact info or credit card info) via online forms, registration, or online purchase, upon submission that information is encrypted via the highest level of SSL (Secured Sockets Layer) available. Servers that store personally identifiable information are in a secure environment. Under no circumstances are credit card numbers permanently stored on our website servers.

    Non-Secured Communications

    Posts to discussion forums, discussion boards, comments to blogs, and Alumni Class Notes are viewable by other users. When these areas are not in a password protected area, they may be viewable by the general public. Please be aware of this when posting personal information in these areas.

    Contact Information

    If users have any questions or suggestions regarding our privacy policy, please contact us.

    Non-Discrimination Policy

    The Gow School admits students of any race/color, ancestry/national origin, religion/creed, and sexual orientation to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race/color, ancestry/national origin, religion/creed, and sexual orientation in the administration of its educational policies, admission policies, scholarship and loan programs, athletic, and other school-administered programs.

    The Gow School is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race/color, ancestry/national origin, religion/creed, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, age, or disability. The Gow School complies with Federal and State Laws regarding nondiscrimination and preference.

    Land Acknowledgement Statement

    The Gow School acknowledges that our campus is situated on the land once belonging to the Haudenosaunee people and we pledge to honor their enduring presence.