"The early academies were local ventures, and their purpose was to provide the curriculum that local merchants and business people, who could afford to pay, wanted for their children. " (Gaztambide- Fernandez, 2009, p. 12)

Students have lots of opportunities to explore various interests, take on unique pursuits, and find a niche in which to demonstrate their talents and passions.

“There should be no doubt that remarkable investments are made every year in the education of a few, while the large majority of students are drastically shortchanged in a public-school system that remains sorely underfunded.” (Gatztambide-Fernandez, 2009, p. 1117)

"Although trying to cover too many subjects was one of the reasons most early academies failed, it is one of the fundamental characteristics of elite boarding schools today, including a continued commitment to the classics." (Gaztambide- Fernandez, 2009, p. 12-13)

This quote is important because the author restates why elite schools should be researched more and should be brought to the attention of the public and back onto the radar of our public and scholarly radar. It also restates the importance of elite schools within social classes.

This conclusion brings the whole article full circle and relates it back to the beginning arguments.

• “The curriculum offered by elite boarding schools is not a response to state mandates or policies developed by economists or politicians. Rather, it is negotiated between the educators who deliver the curriculum, the expectations of parents who - pay the high tuition, the demands of students who take the courses, and of course the requirements of elite colleges and universities that expect to admit students with particular academic backgrounds (Perseli & Cookson, 1985; Stevens, 2007). Gaztambide-Fernández 2009, p 1102)

"Kane describes six basic characteristics along which independent schools can be defined: self-governance, self-support, self-defined curriculum, self-selected students, self-selected faculty, and small size." (Gaztambide- Fernandez, 2009, p. 12)

“The wide range of courses offered at elite boarding schools to some extent resolves the tensions between discipline-centered and student-centered approaches to subject matter that were at the heart of curriculum debates in the United States throughout the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s (Franklin & Johnson, 2008; J. D. Marshall, Sears, Schubert, Allen, & Roberts, 2006).” (Gaztambide-Fernández 2009, p 1102)

"Although some received government charters, the academies were not publicly funded and were therefore not accountable to the public."(Gaztambide- Fernandez, 2009, p. 12)

“The academic curriculum that elite boarding schools provide is not necessarily unusual, as many large comprehensive high schools, particularly suburban schools serving affluent communities, provide similar opportunities. More specific to elite boarding schools is how these academic opportunities are matched by equally expansive (and impressive) opportunities in the arts, athletics, and extracurricular activities.” (Gatztambide-Fernandez, 2009, p. 1113)

“Elite boarding schools, then, can be considered as a particular parenting strategy available to some families, bringing a new dimension to how family is theorized in relation to school experience.” (Gatztambide-Fernandez, 2009, p. 1113)

Majority of elite schools are located in the Northeast, particularly in New England.