What You Can Learn from a School Designed for Gifted Students
Qualia: The School for Deeper Learning offers an academic program that is tailored for gifted and highly curious students. As career educators and parents of gifted children, our founders were very familiar with the challenges of educating gifted individuals. These students are highly intelligent but can become frustrated with the standardized pace and conventional approach of a typical classroom. Qualia’s program offers a flexible, high-interest alternative.
The Right Classroom Approach Makes a Meaningful Difference
Qualia brings the Oxford seminar tradition to life in small, discussion-driven classes. With an average of only 7 students per class, every student has the opportunity to deepen the conversation by asking questions and offering unique perspectives. Longer class periods allow students to deep dive into subjects, share ideas, collaborate with others and propose topics for further exploration and discovery.
When highly curious kids aren’t challenged, the joy and excitement that came home with them during preschool and early elementary school have suddenly come to a halt. Our kids don’t like to solve redundant, unnecessary problems or be told that they ask too many questions. They’re blown away when they come to Qualia and discover they can actually learn without limits.” – Maggie Storm, Admissions Director and Alumni Parent.
The Qualia approach works for any student who is passionate about learning and enjoys deep thinking. No two Qualia students are the same, and everyone has unique interests. The school honors these interests by customizing assignments, prioritizing passion-driven projects and listening to student voices.
“Along with students who are highly or profoundly gifted we kids who are just excited to embrace their passions. While our school was developed with gifted students in mind, any student who enjoys exploring topics from multiple perspectives, debating a worthy topic, and exploring the “why” behind a topic will thrive with our approach”. – Jim Hahn, Founder and Head of School
Providing Access to Advanced Coursework is Critical
Students at Qualia are provided access to unlimited advanced coursework in any area in which they excel. The school believes that passionate students should be able to go as far and as fast as they want to go. If they have mastered everything that the curriculum has offered at a specific grade level and are hungry for more, the school works with them to create higher-level opportunities, including advanced independent study projects and mentorships. Qualia allows middle-school students to take high-school coursework, and any student can take college coursework from one of the unique higher education partnerships that the school offers.
The Right Leadership and Mentorship is Everything
Qualia’s faculty are subject-matter experts who lead dynamic, democratic classrooms where students weigh in on which aspects of a subject to explore more deeply. The polymathic faculty help learners to connect ideas across multiple disciplines, and are driven by their own curiosity as well as the joy of helping passionate students go deeper. This passion does not stop at the classroom level. The school’s two founders, who have a combined 60 years of experience in other private schools, also work closely with students, teaching advanced classes and providing specialized one-on-one college counseling.
Deep Dives Into Areas of Passion Lead to Excellent Outcomes
Because the Qualia students have tackled advanced coursework across multiple subjects, they look for college programs that specialize in their area of interest while offering the same opportunities for mentorship and individualized study they’ve enjoyed in middle and high school. 95% of graduating students get into their choice school. Students are well prepared to dive into their studies at top universities such as Brown, NYU, MIT, Vassar, Rhode Island School of Art and Design, UC Berkeley, UCLA and more.
“We had a senior who developed a passion for mycology communication. By the time she graduated from us with a robust senior thesis on the topic, she was accepted into Rice University, who cleared out a section of their science lab JUST for her to continue pursuing her love of mycology communication — a scientist from the start, not a lab assistant. We were able not only to help further her passion, but also direct her to a college that gave her a jump start in her area of passion. She is doing amazing things, and I don’t know if she would have discovered this passion without our senior thesis program.” – Jon Cassie, Cofounder
Academic Fit is a Key Factor in Student Success
Finding a school that has an academic approach that complements the way your child thinks and learns is key to student success. While traditional schools are best for some, and progressive education better for others, matching the school’s modality and pace with your child’s desire to learn is important. This becomes even more crucial if your child is very curious and highly intelligent. In this case, the standard classroom experience could feel slow and can even be unmotivating. Consider connecting with a gifted consultant, or reaching out to individual schools serving this population. Click to learn more about Qualia’s unique offerings for gifted and highly curious students: https://qualiaschool.org/admissions.
