When we were looking into boarding schools, there were several that caught my interest or one of the DS's interest, in addition to the "big names" (Exeter, Andover, Choate):
St Andrews Sewanee School (TN)
Episcopal High School (VA)
Portsmouth Abbey School (Rhode Island)
Middlesex (Concord, MA)
St Paul's (Concord, NH)
St Andrews were the nicest.
For DS11, I've actually thought about getting a place in Reno so he could attend Davidson Academy. Cost for place and frequent airfares home are probably still less than boarding school costs (many at $45K).
Other ideas included day school at great private academies in cities where relatives live and could "host" (temp guardian). We'll have to go through the whole process of selecting a school again next year when DS 11 is an 8th grader.
