Hi -
Does anyone have any info around this school?

http://www.indiansprings.org/

Ahhh..... just saw this post. Now I understand why you are looking at Indian Springs.

I don't know anything about the area and the school. The information I got is from web:

National Merit Recognitions:
Class of 2010 Finalists: 8 (13.3% of class)

AP Scholars: 9
AP Scholars with Honor: 2
AP Scholars with Distinction: 5

=============================================

The number of national merit finalists per year a school produces is pretty good indication of the quality of education there. In the case of ISS, it has 8 finalists. It is very impressive given the fact that it has only 70 students a year. National merit finalists usually end up in very good schools.

ISS has 5 AP scholars with distinction(5 or more AP classes) for 2010 seniors. These kids will be very competitive in terms of course rigor.

This year, ISS also has two candidates for presidential award program. Usually mean having 800/800 on critical reading/math of SAT.

So it is a pretty impressive school, but very expensive too. Grinity, have you considered Vestavia Hills high school?

Where did the other replies go?

Grinity posted same question on two different forums.

Just in case you want to compare schools, here is the complete list of national merit semi-finalists of Alabama. You just count the number of semi-finalists of each school and you get the school ranking.

https://docs.alsde.edu/documents/55/NewsReleases2009/10ALSemifinalistsNatlMeritProgram.pdf

I know it is a bit simplistic. But I think that it is as valid as US News & world report's high school ranking.

Thanks! I don't actually live in Alabama, I'm just looking for a great boarding school for DS where there are lots of gifted kids, and not such a grind of homework.

When I was in college, I knew plenty of kids who had been at private schools and found college 'really easy.'

I'm looking for an intellectually challenging school that slowly ramps up the product demands so that college looks 'a little hard, but not overwhelming.'

Does that make sense?
Thanks for all the responses!
Grinity

THE INSTRUCTORS HOLD ADVANCED DEGREES IN THE SUBJECTS THEY TEACH.

THAT WOULD BE A MAJOR SELLING POINT FOR US.

hi grinity,
though my kids are too young and we don't have personal experience with it, i have been intrigued with IB international baccauleareate (my kid could spell it!) schools. I have a friend-of-a-friend whose child goes to Atlantic College in Wales. There is one in Pennsylvania called the George School http://www.georgeschool.org/Academics.aspx
I like the international flair, very appealing in the "cookie cutter" world that education is around here. As far as academic rigor, they do have AP classes, and i read somewhere that an IB diploma is considered higher than an A-level in Europe. Happy hunting!
irene

Hi Grinity,

Boarding school is more an east-coast thing. In SF Bay area, there are very few boarding schools (Athenian school in Danville is one of them). I don't know anyone who actually sends kids there.

How far away are you willing to send your son away? You are already considering out of state, why stop there? Boston area has quite a few top private/boarding schools. Phillips Academy, Phillips Exeter Academy are among the well-known ones. These schools send more than their fair share of students to top colleges.

My first thought was about those 'top ten'type boarding schools, but I've heard that PG kids don't nescessarily feel like they fit in socially, and I've also heard that they are more for the kids with excellently tuned up organizational skills that can 'hit the ground running.'

I spoke to the admissions direction, and described my DS13 as a 'work in progress' on the study skills/stamina front. He patiently explained to me that the brightest kids don't have an opportunity to develop study skills in their neighborhood skills because they get used to coasting on their intelligence. He said that yes they get many kids who fit that description and who develop their skills over the years at the school until they are quite strong.

I restrained myself from giggling, but it was exactly what I wanted to hear.

We also talked some about the level of pressure applied to kids of this age group. I used to envy the kids who attended my college and felt that it was 'so much easier' than High School. Now I think about them as 'not having a chance to develop all of themselves.' I'd ideally like a school that provides tons of intellectual delights, and looks for enough product so that a top tier college is 'a little bit harder, but not overwhelming.'

That's what I'm looking for!

Grinity

Close to me and not too far from you we have Berkshire School and Salisbury. Salisbury is the better school in my book. Both are set on really beautiful campuses.

I am interested in good boarding schools for PG kids too. I agree with Grinity that perhaps the "top" schools may be well-suited for competitive overachievers who are not necessarily PG type. Wonder what is done for students who need college level work in, say, math. There are some need-based scholarships for some, a few merit scholarships, but otherwise it's like doubling the college savings plan. That seems a bit formidable to me, though some think a good high school is a better investment than a private college.

There was an interesting thread on this subject a few months ago.

http://giftedissues.davidsongifted.org/BB/ubbthreads.php/topics/59150/1.html

My impression is that boarding schools select for parents' socioeconomic status, not LOG of students. Of course, there are plenty of very gifted kids at those schools, but plenty of kids who aren't. So, going to an expensive boarding school is no guarantee that your kid will be surrounded by very gifted kids.

There are different types of expensive boarding schools for different students with different reasons to attend a boarding school. I attended an elite, academic boarding school. There were HG+ and PG kids that made it all seem so easy and kids subsequently went to elite universities, where it was easy for them, too. Not that they didn't have to do work, too. There is a certain amount of knowledge and production that must be obtained and completed in order to achieve and matriculate into elite universities. The top, academic boarding schools have significant financial aid packages and have easy-to-use financial aid estimators on their websites. At Exeter, it's free for those making $75,000 or less and families making under $200,000 qualifies for financial assistance. So, I wouldn't be overly constrained by finances nor would I be overly constrained about whether top boarding schools have enough HG and PG kids. They do. I would worry about whether your 14 year old kid can emotionally handle living away from home in an environment where they will not longer be the brightest fish in the sea. I saw lots of kids, particularly the 13 and 14 year olds, that just couldn't hack it.

Hi Grinity,

Any chance your child likes science and math? Not sure which state you live in, but there are many PUBLIC boarding high schools (either 10-12th or 11-12th grade) geared toward math and science (and some with arts too) students. As far as I know (the ones in NC, LA, and IL), the majority of students at these schools are often highly gifted. Many have won Westinghouse competitions, are national merit finalists and Presidential Scholars, etc.

The hard part is that you have to be a resident of that state. But as far as the tuition, it is a great deal! (Okay, coming from tax payers support.) For example, the one in North Carolina is 100% free. Some, like the one in Louisiana, you have to pay room and board, but the tuition is still free. And the one in NC, all teachers must have at least master's degree. I believe >40% are PhD's.

I will try to see if I can find the link to a list of schools.

Just a thought....
Mag

not in my state, sadly...great idea though

Sorry to hear that there is no Science & Math boarding schools in your state....

Good luck with search!

Mag

We have a public science/math boarding school in SC. All of the teachers have their masters degree and 80% have their doctorate.

http://www.scgssm.org/

Grinity,

Has your son already taken the SSAT? If not, are you planning for him to take it? A lot of the boarding schools require it (even if they have magnificent SAT or ACT scores).

I googled Boarding schools merit scholarships to get a list to work with. The list I got from www.boardingschoolreview.com gave a lot of info about each school (#students, %faculty with advanced degrees, SAT scores, etc.) They also had student reviews that I found really interesting.

Thanks for the link cym!

The schools he is looking at were fine with his SATs. If we continue to look in the 2011-12 cycle, I will definitely have him take them then.

Smiles,
Grinity

That fits my experience as well. <points to self-- scholarship kid, boarding school in metro Boston>

The absolutely most difficult thing was realizing I not only wasn't flavor of the week anymore, but was, in fact, slightly behind everybody else. Not because I wasn't smart enough, but because I hadn't had access to the sheer number of experiences that my classmates had. Reading about Indonesia and living there for a year because your Daddy is with the State Department are two entirely different animals.

The second was that I had no clue how to study, though I couldn't have expressed it as such. I'd simply never had to.

I've heard that it's one of the best private b boarding school for girl and boy in the south but they only accept students like about 60 percent of their applicants.

thanks Shantie! How did you find us? Welcome!
Grinity

this is all great information when considering a school. i'm looking into a private boarding school for my child as well. hearing it from people that have gone through it really reassure me in making this decision. thanks!

My DD will be attending Indian Springs as an incoming 10th grader fall of 2011. We looked at a lot of boarding schools this year, including those more famous names and found ISS to be best fit to her personality, desire for small classes and good rapport with teachers, high academics, and flexible administration. They are looking at having her take Japanese at the college level since not offered there, for example. They also have merit scholarships - check out the Malone Foundation for info on what they provide to select schools (ISS is one the recipients). Any questions, feel free to ask - this have been a long and thought-provoking journey!

I can't answer your question but have a related one. I went to public school and then a selective college, and I think I am knowledgable about colleges but know little about private schools. Are there books people recommend to learn about selective private schools?