Feynman School Closing

[Anonymous]

Are there links to these documents? How do you find them?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are there links to these documents? How do you find them?

https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/300526593

[Anonymous]

I'm not seeing Schedule J to the school's 990s.

[Anonymous]

Adding another small school for quirky kids that I haven’t seen on thus thread. Friends Meeting School in Ijamsville. Not positive they take mid year transfers but may be worth looking at.

[Anonymous]

Springwell is another possibility for transfers. It’s also small and quirky and founder led.

[Anonymous]

One other school option is Friends Community School in College Park. Hope these families find somewhere for their students to land!

[Anonymous]

Hit send but meant to add that FCS may have openings, according to their website:

“FCS continues to accept applications for select grades as space is available.”

https://www.friendscommunityschool.org/admissions/apply-to-fcs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not seeing Schedule J to the school's 990s.

Not seeing it either. I just looked at the last 10 years and none of them have a Schedule J. However, that tracks, as no one was compensated in such a way to trigger needing to fill out Schedule J.

[Anonymous]

Do you want to try Fusion? My son looked at Feynman last year but after he made a mid year switch for 5th to go to Fusion, we opted to keep him there for 6th (this year)

We’re in DC and like that campus in particular. Not a lot of other middle schoolers but plenty of cross grade socialization. We affiliate with some home school groups for gifted kids and have some other activities for social activities. It’s been great. A godsend really.

We are sending him back for 7th. It can get pricey the more subjects you add. You can save money by doing the basics academics for credit and the specials like art or music or even foreign language for not credit (the instruction is totally the same). I can go back to work with confidence that he’s well cared for and learning and no drama - so it’s more than worth the money for us. I think we can get you a discount - dm me if you’re interested /or just want to explore.

It will reopen on Jan 6th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not seeing Schedule J to the school's 990s.

Not seeing it either. I just looked at the last 10 years and none of them have a Schedule J. However, that tracks, as no one was compensated in such a way to trigger needing to fill out Schedule J.

This is what I got out of Chat GPT:
The Feynman School, located in Rockville, Maryland, is a tax-exempt organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. As part of its annual reporting, the school files Form 990 with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Schedule J of Form 990 provides detailed information about compensation for certain officers, directors, trustees, key employees, and highest compensated employees.

According to the Feynman School’s Form 990 for the fiscal year ending June 2023, the following compensation was reported:
• Susan A. Gold (Head of School): $91,726 in reportable compensation, with additional compensation of $13,900.
• Robert M. Gold (Executive Director): $11,762 in reportable compensation, with additional compensation of $8,428.

These figures are detailed in the school’s Form 990, which is publicly accessible through ProPublica’s Nonprofit Explorer. 

For more information on the requirements and instructions for Schedule J of Form 990, you can refer to the IRS guidelines. 

Please note that compensation figures can vary annually based on organizational policies, performance, and other factors. For the most current information, it’s advisable to review the latest Form 990 filings available through official sources or directly from the organization.

[Anonymous]

The River School new disastrous upper
Elementary (grades 4-5) did something similar when it cancelled the planned 6th grade - in mid December.

They didn’t help at all with placement but they sent out transcripts and thin recommendation letters in January.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

You need a base number of students to run the school. The number of gifted kids with parents who want them in that environment and can afford it was never going to be enough to make ends meet

Honestly, the number of really "gifted kids" is really small. Sorry, all you doting parents. That doesn't mean your DSs/DDs aren't smart for their age. But "gifted"? Unlikely.

Whatever. There is a clear definition. Mine had obviously met it by age 2. It comes with massive downsides, which is why Feynman was so important. Picture a 5 year old describing Planck length to their Kindergarten class. It does not go well. At Feynman, no one would blink an eye (at least 5-10 years ago). That’s why we overlooked all of the red flags. Snarkiness is not helpful or welcome here.

[Anonymous]

Agreed. We have a 2E and we’re desperate for a place that would look at strengths as well as deficits. It’s pretty hard to find.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Former Feynman teacher here. 90% of the students were not gifted. Not even close. These kids had some sort of behavioral or social problems. It was clear to the teachers that any student can enroll as long as the parents can pay and it was frustrating. This caused families with actual gifted kids to leave over the past few years. The school lost excellent teachers due to the administrations dishonesty and lack of communication. So much potential, just the wrong administration. I feel sorry for the teachers and families and hope that at the very least everyone gets reimbursed.

Not surprised. Looked at this for my kid over 10 years ago. Huge red flag was their soft definition of giftedness.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I'm not a Feynman parent, but our 3 kids have attended a variety of private schools over the past 15 years.

We always paid for tuition insurance. I was told by top admin at one of the very well-established schools in the DC area that parents should always buy tuition insurance. We buy it even now for our kids in college.

Schools that are not well established or well financed cannot get tuition insurance programs.