June 22, 2015
The Grayson School/for PhillyVoice
The Pennsylvania Department of Education approved plans last week for the state's first private school for gifted children.
The Pennsylvania Department of Education approved plans for the state's first private school for intellectually gifted children.
The Grayson School, based in Broomall, is set to open this fall serving students in grades K to 6 with admission determined on a student-by-student basis based on current IQ scores, recommendations and work samples.
Its curriculum will be based on research of best practices in educating gifted students who are often left "unchallenged and unfulfilled" in public and private school settings, according to its website.
Applications are currently being accepted on a rolling admission basis and tuition is set at $21,800, on its website. The goal is to enroll 20-to-30 students this upcoming school year and to expand to grades 7-12 by 2017, Grayson's founder, Melissa Bilash, told Newsworks.
Prior to gaining approval from the state Department of Education
to open the school, Bilash said she first has to prove local families
are interested in sending their kids to Grayson, which she did by identifying
around 35,000 gifted students who fit the school's mold.
The number of interested and prospective student further verifies that Pennsylvania was in desperate need of a school dedicated to educating gifted students, Bilash said.
Read the full Newsworks article here.
