Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every school year, these Feynman people start a new thread.

I know... it is like clockwork! I imagine that they have some kind of outlook calendar with a regular alert to do their DCUrban Moms posting!

NP here. Assuming this is true, so what? They are a small school trying to grow their interesting program. What's the difference if they start a thread or not? It seems like there are a couple of DCUM posters who respond with a certain degree of vitriol towards the school. It makes me wonder whether their kid was rejected or something. (FWIW, we considered the school but decided it wasn't right for us, so I don't really have a dog in this fight.)

Anonymous wrote:we visited Feynman a few months ago. i would give it a 7 out of 10. it all felt like owners were trying to hype it up.

08:15 here. While my impression of the school was more positive, I definitely felt a similar vibe -- there was a little too much "Hey, look at all the really impressive things these kids are doing" as opposed to "here's why our teaching methods are right for you." This didn't necessarily mean that the school wasn't good, but I wasn't looking for a school that would enable my child to impress the neighbors with party tricks; the sales pitch was off for what we were looking for.

Wasn't the school started for the owners kids?

Anonymous wrote:Every school year, these Feynman people start a new thread.

I know... it is like clockwork! I imagine that they have some kind of outlook calendar with a regular alert to do their DCUrban Moms posting!

Anonymous wrote:... We did not like that the school was mainly focused on one kid (the owners daughter). it felt like she was getting a super treatment and best teachers (several) were allocated for her. it kind of felt that the rest of the school was there as a framework to support her education. ...

I had the same impression when I looked at the school about 4-5 years ago.

we visited Feynman a few months ago. i would give it a 7 out of 10. it all felt like owners were trying to hype it up.

i believe admission requirement was IQ of 130+ and some interview that they would not detail (i think they did not want the kid to be prepped)

We have two kids that are normal-smart not omg-super-smart-doing-algebra-in-KG and we felt that they would fit in just fine...

We did not like that the school was mainly focused on one kid (the owners daughter). it felt like she was getting a super treatment and best teachers (several) were allocated for her. it kind of felt that the rest of the school was there as a framework to support her education.

at that time, our DC was in KG, going to a local Montessori school that had really good teachers and really good teacher student ratio. We were looking at Feynman for 1st grade and up. During the visit we felt that Feynman was very comparable to our KG. Maybe if we came from public or from some home day care we would have felt differently. basically we were expecting that we would be blown away and we were not (not even close).

In the end we chose to go to another Montessori in MoCo that has good elementary program. teachers work with each kid in a very individualized way.

we also work on academic things at home, kumon, Singapore math, ixl.com, we read lot so books..

I know a child who is there. I know her from an activity she participates in with other neighborhood kids. Her writing is many levels ahead of the other kids. No idea what her IQ is though.

Every school year, these Feynman people start a new thread.

Anonymous wrote:Is it a for profit school?

990 submissions are here -
http://990s.foundationcenter.org/990_pdf_archive/300/300526593/300526593_201306_990.pdf
http://990s.foundationcenter.org/990_pdf_archive/300/300526593/300526593_201206_990.pdf
http://990s.foundationcenter.org/990_pdf_archive/300/300526593/300526593_201106_990.pdf

Is it a for profit school?

I was more interested in the entrance criteria, not where the kids are working. Many kids are capable of working at a higher level.

Anonymous wrote:What's the criteria at MCPS HGC? I'm not from MC but was impressed by what I saw at Feynman. What I saw was kids working a couple grade levels ahead, don't know how that compares. IQ range on private school tests is probably about 130++.

I observed a Feynman class last year. The kids struck me as especially advanced with respect to scientific reasoning, problem solving, understanding physical mechanics and the like. They might have had a range when it comes to language issues or social thinking or the arts but they generally seemed quite strong on the scientific side. My sense was that this is really a function of where your kid's strengths and interests are. If you had a child who was really advanced in the arts but not especially so in the sciences, they might struggle to keep up and not be stimulated where they want to be. But if you had a child who really liked figuring out how physical concepts work and how things fit together mechanically and scientifically, it could be a dream.

What's the criteria at MCPS HGC? I'm not from MC but was impressed by what I saw at Feynman. What I saw was kids working a couple grade levels ahead, don't know how that compares. IQ range on private school tests is probably about 130++.

This is probably a hard comparison to make - HGC is 4-5th grade and application is at 3rd grade. 4th grade is the oldest cohort currently at Feynman, with their initial year being 2014. Presumably those kids applied at ages that were younger than HGC applicants.

We considered Feynman but in the end didn't visit because it was just too new and small for my comfort level (our child is entering 4th - we didn't want to be in that ground breaking class). Plus - at the time it was further away from our home. But I wished it were more established at the time. From what I can tell - up to this point - Feynman was the almost the only "gifted" option for kids before 4th grade in MoCo (other than TPES tiny magnet)

How "gifted" are the kids there really? The website is kind of wishy washy on the entrance criteria. Harder to get into than the MCPS HGC or less? Just wondering.