What private HS would be good for this kid?
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Anonymous
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My son is “highly gifted” but with severe ADHD. Historically he has underperformed in school, only turning in some assignments but doing well and winning awards at others. He is a prolific reader and has a broad base of knowledge. He is moderately athletic (fast, strong and good natural instincts but no desire to comment to a competitive travel team, meaning that he’s now kind of average because he doesn’t practice skills). He’s been a big (but good) public schools in MoCo. He is very social and has started hanging out with kids that are not very academic and might be kind of jerks (hard to say). I’m wondering if a private school with smaller classes where he felt more invested in the classes would help turn this around. Historically, if he likes the teacher and is engaged in the class, he does much better. He’ll do well on the testing, but will probably not have great recommendations (given his lack of engagement in recent years) and also may not interview well if he is irritated at me for pulling him away from these new friends.
Is there a school for this? |
Anonymous
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I would look at Landon. They have a variety of boys from highly gifted to average. The smaller teacher ratios are good for boys who struggle to be engaged with material. The required sports are a great for kids who are athletic but not on life-long travel teams (whereas in public you often have to have played travel sports for 10 years to make a high school team).
My son is actually at STA which is similar except in our experience has little support (and is not a good fit) for boys who struggle with executive function--it's a school for high flyers who have their sh$%t together when they arrive (and most likely would not be admitted unless they did). In the anonymity of this board, I can say that sometimes I wish we had chosen Landon. It seems like a gentler place. |
Anonymous
| I think Edmund Burke would be a great fit. It’s a great school. |
Anonymous
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New School in Fairfax may work for him as it’s smaller and teachers are committed.
The academic pressure cooker schools are not a good fit for a kid who struggles with organization unfortunately. |
Anonymous
| I would look at Field and Burke. They both have different feels but both could accommodate and support this profile. |
Anonymous
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From MoCo there are many schools that might be a fit.
What grade is he in? |
Anonymous
Sorry - I see from the title that you are looking for HS. Start now signing up for open houses. There could be a fit at St. Johns, McLean, Bullis or St. Andrews as well as others that had already been mentioned. I am adding St. John's to the list as it is 1/2 the price of some of the others in the case that finances are a consideration. |
Anonymous
Mclean is not a school for a highly gifted child. Great supports but not able to enrich to that level. |
Anonymous
| My daughter is a good bit like this and is at Field, but she does not hang out with jerks, but with kids who are academic and some who are less academically inclined who she encourages in academics. |
Anonymous
| St Andrew’s might be a really good option for a bright ADHD kiddo. They have a program for students with executive functioning deficits. |
Anonymous
| GT/LD program at MCPS |
Anonymous
| commonwealth academy. I sent my ADHD gifted DD there. They gave her the tools to succeed in college |
Anonymous
| I’ll echo that Burke, Field and St. Andrews might be worth a look. |
Anonymous
Does SAES have enough supports in place for a student with “severe” ADHD? Other threads have said no directly from parents. Curious. |
Anonymous
| Our GT/LD teen has done well in MCPS (severe inattentive ADHD, low processing speed), in the GT/LD program at Walter Johnson HS. MCPS is a great system when you know how to use it. |