Does anyone have any experience with the Sage School or any other schools with gifted experience in the MA area? Looking for a kindergarten program for our highly gifted 4 year old.
Thank you!
I am a long time Sage Parent. Two of my children have graduated from the school and my youngest is still a student. Although he is no longer in Kindergarten I am very familiar with the school and its philosophy.
I would say, please visit. There is nothing like a tour and some conversation with faculty to give you a sense of the place.
Sage is a school for gifted learners, but as you probably are already aware of, even within this group, there is a range of abilities. My experience has been that there are at least a few (often more) HG/PG students in each class. Your 4 year old would definitely have peers. The small class size, especially in the younger grades, makes it easy for the teachers to reach the students at the appropriate level.
I know in Kindergarten, where students come in at all different levels academically, the teachers take each individual student as far that student can go in their reading and writing. Math at the younger grades, although accelerated, is a bit more rigid and structured. However, by the time they reach middle school they are about three years ahead of what you would find in most schools.
It is definitely a school that tries to develop not just intellectual skills, but also social and emotional ones. This is especially true in Kindergarten.
I have been extremely satisfied with the education that my children have received here. But again you really need to come and check out the place and decide for yourself. Feel free to email me if you have any other questions.
Our son is in his third year at Sage, and although he started in first (not K) I can say that he has had a wonderful experience. As a parent it was greatly heartening to see him surrounded by other childrens with high curiousity, imagination and drive to learn. The classes are very small, the teachers all possess Masters Degrees and all teachers understand and value working with gifted children. The kids end up with a wonderful education that prevents them from becoming too narrowly focused on single areas of interest and expands their knowledge base into new areas of learning.
I echo the other comment -- go and visit. You can only learn about a place from actually experiencing it.
Thank you so much for your responses! It's so great to hear such positive comments about the school. We have visited a few times now and applied to start in September. We are still waiting to hear, but the school seems fantastic and we think it would be a great fit for our child. However, we are struggling with the location, as it would be at least a 35 min drive for us. I know there is a bus that picks up near our house, but we are still having a hard time letting him head to school so far away on a bus. I do think it would be worth it though, I just wish we lived closer! Have you dealt with the commute or are you local? Thank you again for your responses!
I just wish we lived closer! Have you dealt with the commute or are you local? Thank you again for your responses!
Give the school a try - if it's as good as you hope, maybe you'll move. If there is a bus stop near you then there are probably other families who live near you who go to the school - that's important for playdates, future carpools etc. Give it a try. See if you can transfer him in for the end of this year, and then you can try before you make a big commitment. Just a thought.
Grinity
For a list of MA gifted schools, see
http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/schools.htmI would encourage you to look into and/or visit as many schools that meet you and your child's needs.