Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Any experiences with Friends schools and HG kids?

In our ongoing quest, we've learned that there is a tiny, new Friends School here. Other than remembering that Chelsea Clinton went to one in DC, we don't know much more about them. Our reading makes it look perfect for HG kids - multi-age groupings, all about depth in subjects with no "teaching to the test," tons of experiential learning, casual classrooms that respect various learning styles, etc. Anyone had a child in one of these schools and experienced it firsthand? Or know someone who has? The price tag is outrageous, so we'd really need to feel good about it before taking a chance on this one!

We looked at our local Friends school this year. All of the above were very positive and impressive. I liked it. However, DS couldn't "place out of" 3rd grade math. He'd have to do what everyone else does before he could attack all the extra problems. No different than public school, so we passed. You'll have to ask. Each school is different.

Ahhhhhhh, there is often just a tiny old man behind the curtain.

We strongly considered our local friends school. And looking more in depth, it looks ideal for a MG child that would do well in a small school environment. But it wouldn't be great for DS for more than a year. It is also very expensive.

The work the kids did there was quite amazing and they did so many great hands on science and comunity involvement type activities. The also did music, science, and spanish. If I had MG kids and could choose any school, it would be this school. I had no idea Chelsea Clinton went to a Friends school. Interesting.

My only advice is asking a lot of very specific questions and see if you can talk to any other GT families that have choosen the school. Spending a day (or more) in the school is a great idea.

Interesting...anyone here from the greater Philadelphia area? The school here is brand new, but the new Headmaster was the Headmaster of a school in the Philly area for many years...I'd love to know it's reputation for HG kids (I imagine he'd try to create the same culture here...)...PM me if you are from that area so I can get your thoughts on the specific school!

Can you say more about what you thought he would outgrow? Did the curriculum top out somehow? DS is definitely more than MG, so I'm concerned about what would have concerned you for later years! The "burning platform" is for this coming year, but I do want to look farther out too.

They seemed to shy away from discussing acceleration and/or grade skips and didn't have anything in place to do differentiation. For the money I really wanted them to answer - yes, HG+ children can thrive here (preferably at grade level than through multiple skips). Instead of the blank stare and the "we have lots of kids like yours here" with no specific examples of how they deal with the situation

But this may be very school/administration specific. I also think it is possible to make a good decision for one year and need to reassess every year for what needs to happen.

Hi Newtothis,

I grew up in the greater Phila area. My sister is still there and sends her daughters to small (very expensive) Friends school. Several kids in the neighborhood were fortunate enough to attend that friends school. I was definitely a wannabe in high school years. My HS was gifted magnate all girls public school but the caliber of the HS students at the friends school was fantastic. My best friend received a scholarship to the friends school, so I was invited to a few parties. The kids would be engaged in brilliant philosophical discussions or literature analysis. They went on to the best (biggest name) universities/colleges (some of the public school kids did, too). That was 25 years ago, but my sister might know more current data. You can PM me to see if it's the same school and I can solicit her opinions of current school.