All of your points are well taken. I just want to clarify my last rant, and then I'll lay off Mirman. But I have serious issues with the place and I don't want anyone feeling bad about not having a place like it around. First of all, it is expensive and elitist (take a look at their auction fund raiser to get a sense for what the parents have to give). It is true that they give financial aid, but like almost all private schools in LA, the admissions policies will vary depending on whether you can pony up the dough or not. This two-tiered admissions system disgusts me. Secondly, I know a few kids that go there whose parents are uberrich and I can tell you they are not HG or PG or any G. Mirman is a feeder school for Harvard Westlake (another tony LA school) and the prestige is what counts here (well, for some people anyway). I also know of more than one case of PG kids not getting into Mirman. This astounds me. I'm talking about super bright DYS kids who I would think could get in anywhere. No school for the gifted should reject a child for any reason, particularly economic ones. Because LA's public school system is such a mess, it's a mad scramble for kids to get into these private schools. So yes, DOK away, but I'm more concerned about that DYS kid that Mirman rejected and is now bored to tears in a public school with no gifted funding whatsoever. OK, I'll stop being a pain now.
