My mentor and inspiration recently made a post to LinkedIn that perfectly summarizes where the kids and families are coming from when they find us. "...kids are gifted, athletes, musicians, artists, neurodivergent, low-income, high-income, and everything in between." The path to finding us, is often different and winding depending on the reason people are looking.
To most familiar with public education in Massachusetts, they know the following truths:
Standardized test scores consistently rank among or at the best in the nation
Graduation rates are excellent with just 2% of students dropping out
Massachusetts is often recognized as the "most-educated" state in the country
What you may not know, unless you have to go looking is that:
There is no mandate to identify OR serve gifted kids
Teacher licensure for a specialization in Gifted Ed has been eliminated
These truths leave many families with issues that play out as problems rather than "gifts". We saw this in when one our kids came to us having been the target of merciless bullying for being different, a know-it-all, and teachers pet. We see this when kids are bored and their untapped brain power gets them into trouble trying to come up with ways to fill their time that are labeled "disruptive", "disrespectful", and "behavior problems". We see this when kids do everything right and time-strapped teachers use them as classroom aides or tutors for other lower performing kids in a classroom. Families and kids suffer when all of these scenarios play out.
While we cringe and gnash our teeth hearing these stories, the best part of our day is meeting these kids and families. We get to share what's "normal" for us at Kalexedy and share our own truths:
No child here needs to have a minimum test or IQ score to attend
Our personalized academic plans allow kids to move as fast as they want, but also to expand beyond typically offered subjects
We have a mixed age classroom. This means that there are MORE opportunities to have someone working at the same level to collaborate with
We are connected with organizations like MAGE (Massachusetts Association for Gifted Education) and Dual-Enrollment coordinators all over the state, to continuing offering advancement opportunities beyond the classroom
We have experienced and trained staff that understand the unique needs and challenges, along with research-backed success strategies
There is no "normal" for a gifted kid at Kalexedy Learning Center because there is no "normal" in personalized education. Recognizing the needs of each individual means that the commonality to their stories is happiness, success, and feeling accepted. We cannot address the issues with the public system, but we can be an affordable and welcoming place for the families that find themselves with exceptional kids.
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