The Grayson School: Pennyslvania's First School for Gifted Learners
Broomall, PA (PRWEB) July 02, 2015 -- The Grayson School is the first school in the state of Pennsylvania specifically designed to meet the unique needs of gifted children and their families. Opening in September 2015, it will be centrally located for the 5-county area at 35 N. Malin Rd., Broomall.
There are approximately 32,000 identified gifted students in metropolitan Philadelphia. Of these students, many sit in their classrooms unchallenged. Research presented before the U.S. Senate found that “Academically talented students already know 40-50% of traditional course content at the beginning of the year” (From “Leaving Talent on the Table: How the United States Leaves High-Ability Students Behind,” testimony before the U.S. Senate by Dr. Sally Reis, Ph.D., Principal Researcher at the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented, available at http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/inside-school-research/Talent%20Act%20presentation.ppt).
While the Main Line and Philadelphia areas have many excellent private and high-performing public schools, these environments are not designed specifically to meet all of the needs that gifted children present. Additionally, ZERO dollars from the state are allocated specifically for gifted education in PA. What this means is that too often in typical classrooms, gifted students are deprived of opportunities to learn new material and feel the success born of true effort. Further, there are societal ramifications of not creating an environment that allows these children to be supported and to grow, with “Researchers estimat[ing] that 18-25% of gifted students drop out of school,” according to the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC).
As an educational advocate, Melissa Bilash realized that gifted children and their families were struggling to find a place that was both developmentally and academically appropriate for their unique children. The educational needs of these children were going unmet. What became apparent was the glaring need for providing these gifted students with specifically tailored educational experiences. “Gifted students need and deserve a challenging education that helps them rise to their potential, just like all students,” said Melissa Bilash, Founder of The Grayson School.
Thus, The Grayson School was born. The program is based on current research in gifted education, and will aim to meet the individual needs of students at their ability in each core content area.
Amy Stoios, the Director of Education, is directly responsible for coordinating all educational efforts at the school, including curriculum design and assessing student progress. Amy's educational philosophy is that, “each student should have the opportunity to develop his or her unique potential through access to a quality educational program in a supportive learning environment.” This approach is the hallmark of The Grayson School, which intends to challenge gifted students at their level to allow them to progress at their own accelerated rate.
The Grayson School is currently accepting applications for selective grades for the 2015-2016 school year. For more information, please look for the article about The Grayson School in the Philadelphia Inquirer-(http://www.philly.com/philly/education/20150615_Pa__to_get_its_first_private_school_for_gifted_students.html) , or visit our website at http://www.TheGraysonSchool.org.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Aviva B. Moore
amoore(at)thegraysonschool(dot)org
610-909-5172
Aviva Moore, The Grayson School, http://www.thegraysonschool.org, +1 610-909-5172, [email protected]
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