The Quad Preparatory School

Yesterday, Dr. and Mrs. Yellin had the opportunity to visit Quad Prep - The Quad Preparatory School, located in lower Manhattan. Quad Prep was founded to serve "twice-exceptional" or "2-e" students - gifted children with learning differences.

It was actually a second visit to Quad Prep. Their first visit was shortly after the school was founded  by Dr. Kimberly Busi, a physician who is the parent of a 2-e child, who believes that parents should not have to choose between settings that foster gifted children's enormous academic potential and those that provide appropriate support for their areas of challenge, without sufficient academic stimulation. Dr. Busi took action to address these concerns and Quad Prep was founded with just a handful of students in an East Village location.

Now, only a few years later, the growth and development of the school is astonishing. The attractive and open physical space is on one large floor of an office tower, and has been designed to foster the individualized learning model that is fundamental to Quad Prep's approach. Classrooms have places for one-on-one instruction as well as group activities and there are numerous "nooks and crannies" where support services or individual or small group work can take place. Students range from kindergarten through 12th grade, divided into multi-age groups (within two years) of eight to ten children, based on the students' needs and abilities. Even this arrangement is individualized, so that a third grader with extra skills and interests in chemistry, for example, can work on that subject with a more advanced, older group.

The academic curriculum is rigorous, with emphasis on both STEM subjects and the arts. Upper school students take a foreign language, currently selecting from Latin and Arabic as well as more traditional choices.

However, academics are far from the whole story. Each classroom features a team of teachers, including both academic instructors and clinically trained psychosocial teachers who support the school-wide social-emotional curriculum and who act as liaisons with  the therapists and other specialists who work with each child. There are weekly phone conferences with parents and any outside providers, supplementing the individual instruction and support with a team approach to each student.

The students were saw were thoughtful and engaged in a wide array of challenging activities. As the school notes:
"...If you have met one twice exceptional child, you have met one twice exceptional child. No two Quad Prep students are the same and there is not a specific mold into which we expect or even hope our kids to fit.... We pride ourselves on how well we individualize attention: rather than expect a child to fit us, we truly fit ourselves around each of our students. In turn, each child is given the opportunity to capitalize on their strengths and further develop their passions, while also receiving empathic support and empowerment to cope with challenges."  

These are impressive goals and, for the right student, this is an impressive school.

Gifted Kids

It’s not easy to be the parent of kid who struggles in school. But parents of gifted kids have difficult decisions to make, too. Some moms and dads with exceptionally talented children have limited financial means for lessons and activities. Others live in areas with scarce resources. Many worry about balance: how to nurture a child’s proclivities but maintain a “normal” childhood experience? Here are some ideas and resources that can help gifted children and teenagers pursue their passions and improve their knowledge and skill set:

General Enrichment

Look into community groups where there is no age limit, like an astronomy group or chess club. Gifted young people often enjoy discussing their interests with, and learning from, like-minded adults. There may be local lectures in your area, too, and authors often visit bookstores to discuss their work.

Talk to your child’s teacher about special projects in school that will allow your child to pursue her affinity. She might like to "check in" with her classmates once week by talking to the class for five minutes or so to share her progress and ask for their feedback. And she should be invited to set up a display or do a presentation for the class when she is finished. Teaching others is one of the best ways to learn.

Consider finding a tutor. Children who don't need remediation can still benefit from a knowledgeable instructor who can provide him with the extra challenge and stimulation he likely craves.

Podcasts like This American Life (a grab-bag of general culture, math, science, psychology, current events, and more), RadioLab (science), The Naked Scientists (science and medicine), The New Yorker Fiction podcast (the writing craft), Intelligence Squared (current events, policy, and ethics), Planet Money and Freakanomics (economics and statistics) are all (free) goldmines for curious young people. Since all of these podcasts were created with adult listeners in mind, parents may want to preview them first.

The Great Courses – Purchase high-quality lecture series by eminent experts in just about every field imaginable. Here is a sampling of titles: “The Inexplicable Universe,” “Understanding the Inventions that Changed the World,” “Latin 101,” “Lost Worlds of South America,” “Masters of War: Histories Greatest Strategic Thinkers,” “King Arthur: History and Legend,” “How to Look at and Understand Great Art,” and “Shakespeare: The Word and the Action.”

STEM - Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math

The Art of Problem Solving – This site contains numerous math resources for students in 6th-12th grades, including book recommendations, online courses, and even an online community so students can connect with other math-lovers around the world.

Math Forum – Users can access a new math problem each week, play KenKen, connect with other young mathematicians by joining the Virtual Math Team, and more.

Tech Literacy – Visit our dedicated resource page for information about opportunities to learn coding, tinker with robotics, and more.

Writing

Stone Soup – Contributions to this international English literary magazine come from young writers and artists between the ages of 8 to 13. The magazine features stories, poems, illustrations, art, and book reviews.

New Moon Girls - New Moon Girls is an online community and print magazine where girls create and share poetry, artwork, videos, and more; chat together; and learn.

Teen Ink – This organization offers a national teen magazine, book series, and website devoted entirely to teenage writing, art, photos and forums. Students must be between the ages of 13 and 19 to participate, register, and/or submit work.

The Young Idealist – Everyone who writes for and runs this quarterly journal is under the age of 21. Content in The Young Idealist aims to encourage the next generation of thinkers, policymakers, and leaders through the peer review and publication of political, social, and environmental ideas. Essays proposing positive change are critiqued and developed by an editorial board and an active readership.

The Concord Review – This periodical publishes the academic research papers of students in the secondary grades.

Performing and Visual Arts

Look for local performance opportunities. Community theater companies and musical performance groups are great places for kids to gain experience. Those not yet in high school might be able to volunteer to work behind the scenes in high school or college productions, giving them valuable experience about the world of theater. Try taking kids to open mic nights at venues that allow all ages; even those not yet ready to perform in public will learn from watching other performers.

Young Composers - Upload compositions of all genres for feedback from forum participants, or simply read and learn from reading discussion threads and listening to others’ work.

Composition Competitions – This compilation of competitions around the country may inspire young composers to develop and polish a piece they can enter.

Online Course: Photography for Kids - For serious young photographers, consider an online, project-based course from the online learning marketplace Udemy. The course, which consists of 20 video lectures, teaches kids the basics of photography and gets them thinking as they work through assignments. First-time Udemy users will pay only $24 for access to the series.

Photography Competitions – High school students may want to enter their own best shots in some of the competitions listed here, and they can learn a lot from looking at winning images, too.

Film Competitions – Those interested in film can submit their work to The All American High School Film Festival, and filmmakers seeking to spread a social message should investigate the Teen Truth competition. The National Film Festival for Talented Youth accepts both film and screenplay submissions.

One more quick, but important, note: Remember that even the brightest kids need time to be kids. Be sure that their after-school agenda is composed mostly of activities they've chosen, and give them plenty of free, unstructured time to spend letting their imaginations run wild.