Anonymous wrote:By the sounds of it the Ryken program is for 'avarage' studens who would not otherwise be admitted.
To be willing to pay the tuition you would want something more than what is available in the public school.
So you have to meet with them, prep yourself and your kid for the 'job interview'. Pay the tuition and hope you have not made a mistake

I realize that this is an old post, but I feel like I need to say this anyway:

What was described (co-teacher, additional time, smaller classes, keyboard accommodation) is not what is offered to the average student in public school. Those are all accommodations provided to students in special education. I hope that the PP didn't ward off any one whose DC would have benefited from this program.

I have no affiliation with GC, but I am a public school teacher who has cotaught for over a decade.

Thanks for the PP. Can you tell us what other schools you considered and how they compared? We live in suburban MD and prefer not to travel into DC for school. thanks!

My DC was just accepted at GC. Our local public school was out of the question - not safe nor academically challenging. GC was my DC's first choice school - applied and was accepted at 2 others. For many of us located in the DC 'burbs, the Big 3 are economically not feasible and too far of a commute. My DC had top level HSPT / CSQ scores, excellent 7th/8th grade grades and a full and well rounded set of extracurriculars as well as the necessary recommendations. We believe he could have been accepted at a Big 3 school, but we simply could not afford the tuition. GC offered him several generous merit scholarships so that the tuition is less than half now and not a hardship. DC shadowed at 5 schools, in Baltimore, DC and in between, and GC had the most appeal. Beautiful facility, plenty of AP/IB selections, STEM program, huge amount of extracurriculars and a strong theatre program. He did not know a single student there when he shadowed, but found the kids very welcoming and friendly, and the classes interesting and challenging. When we visited, we found the faculty also welcoming and very forthcoming in answering all our questions. I'm sure the Big 3 and other more expensive private schools are wonderful places, but they were simply out of our price range and knowing we would not get financial aid, we didn't pursue them. It will be a bit of a commute for DC next year, but the bus service is reasonable and we are hoping that he will have a good experience at GC.