http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudbury_school

I learned about this school in an educational theory course and I've always been fascinated by it. In a nutshell, it's a school where kids go to deschool, then unschool. It was presented to us as originally a school for "problem children" who would then flourish after their deschooling period.

It seems to me that something like this would be the perfect solution for a lot of gifted kids. They could direct their own learning, at the level they need to be at, but still be around other kids rather than being isolated.

I've thought about maybe trying to start such a school when my kids get a little older.

Anyone have thoughts?

I in fact helped start something very similar with a group of other homeschoolers. We have now been in existence for six years, and it is working very well. There is a large cohort of gifted kids that use our programs, though the program is not exclusively for gifted. Our website is talkingsticklearningcenter dot org.

Awesome! I love your concept and am bookmarking the site. I might put out some feelers in the local homeschooling community as I get more acquainted with them.

Feel free to pm me for more info, etc.

I just read the book, Free to Learn, where the author touts the Sudbury Valley School in MA. I live in MA but we live too far from this school so it's not an option for us.

I have heard a bunch of homeschooling parents who created the Macomber Center (http://macombercenter.wordpress.com/) near it - partially in response to the Sudbury Valley and (I think the tuition charged at SVS). I do know there is a gifted homeschooling co-op near it too (http://www.voyagersinc.org/wiki/bin/view/Public/WebHome) - which I have tried out with my 2e/pg ds7.

On paper or digitally the Sudbury Valley School looks receptive to gifted kids, but I think it really depends on the child, their age (maturity/social/emotional state here), what their needs are, how they learn, the other kids, etc. I'm not sure it would work for ds7 if we lived closer and it was feasible since he seems to need to delve deeper in content in some subjects than this school could possibly offer.

From what I understand and have heard about the SVS, it's particularly good for bright kids (probably mg) and might have ADHD symptoms and can't get their needs met at the public schools.

Hmmm... very interesting. I found this list and discovered that there is a school about a half hour away. Very interesting...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Sudbury_schools#United_States

I am now wondering if maybe - just maybe - once we get DD up to speed on the LD challenges something like this could work for her. The one near us offers a full time and a part time option so it could be part of a homeschooling curriculum. I wonder if it could be combined with a "homebound tutoring" model so that DD could get OT and spec ed services via the school district but do her actual learning with this type of school. And the tuition is *very* reasonable (i.e. 10% of the tuition for the 2E school we are looking at...)

Yes, very interesting indeed. Thanks!

Those are interesting links. Our experience here is that talking stick is for social learning and group creative experiences while hardcore academics happen at home.

LD or 2e issues may or may not be met at Sudbury-type schools. A lot depends on the staff and how they address it (or don't). Do they have OT to address pencil grip issues for instance or are trained in it?

I know my 2e ds7 was told to wear velcro shoes at the Montessori-type gifted school for kindy. They wanted ds7 to be more independent and didn't want to deal with the hassle of shoelaces. Well, this is fine and dandy except ds7 is hypotonish (low muscle tone) and has dyspraxia (motor planning) and fine motor delays. Yes, he could spend learn how to tie his shoelaces at home, but I do think the peer pressure would have been more of an incentive to learn.

Before you shell out money, I would ask a ton of questions. For a start, I would find out how much money would be refunded if the school doesn't work out. What happens if it's not a good fit?