A lot of these gifted schools seem to want the same type of student - high achieving, high output, and with a high IQ as a measure of intelligence. This would include Sage, Acera/Anova, and other schools like perhaps BBN.
The 'other' gifted schools seem to do a better job at catering to kids with ADHD, SPD, dyslexia, Asperger's, etc. -- who are operating a grade or two above their chronological peers. These schools (Sudbury, Phoenix, Clark and others - maybe Odyssey too) fall more under this category.
BUT the numbers of gifted kids who meet these guidelines and have parents willing to pay the tuition isn't probably high - especially within certain geographical locations. That's been my experience; my ds has been in two g/t schools here.
That's why a number of the g/t schools will accept kids who are not g/t or 2e regardless. There's just not enough of larger pool of students to draw from unless they're centrally located or positioned to draw from a larger population based or population base who has the money to pay for the tuition. With increasing fees and tuition, many families are seeing un/homeschooling as a viable alternative.
