Great Minds Learning Community is an intellectually rich private school for neurodiverse thinkers who are gifted or twice-exceptional. Our students are intellectually gifted and also generally have learning differences/challenges/disabilities, such as dysgraphia, dyslexia, dyscalculia, ADD/ADHD, sensory processing challenges, chemical sensitivity, allergies, Asperger’s/High Functioning Autism, anxiety, depression, other health conditions, or social difficulties.
Our students are bright, quirky, creative individuals who seek an alternative learning environment that brings their own selves to the table. They are seeking a smaller group, sensory supports, freedom, creativity, intellectual freedom, and a built-in small tribe of like-minded thinkers that “get” them and give them wings to thrive. We balance structure (with guided support for lagging skills) and intellectual and personal freedom to give students the space to thrive. We celebrate neurodiversity and each student’s unique self within an environment of acceptance, encouragement, and social connection. Having a balance between work and play helps our academic productivity and emotional wellness, so we have several break times a day to enjoy our five-acre space, exercise room, and craft/maker space.
We are strengths-based, focusing on the 21st-Century skills of critical thinking, communication, creativity, and collaboration through real-world, project-based learning. We nurture and support each student within their “stretch zone” to gradually and consistently grow through our relationship-based approach, small class sizes, and 7:1 student-teacher ratio. In addition to focusing on solid academic growth, we are a whole-person school focusing on nurturing social, emotional, and executive functioning skills. We foster a growth mindset within a close-knit, caring community.
Tuesdays through Thursdays: Core classes in math, ELA, science, project-based learning, and social-emotional wellness. Student-driven topics and student voice and choice through voting on their passion-based topics are vital to our process.
Mondays: Our optional Monday program includes science with lab, history, and student-voted electives.
Low Student to Teacher Ratios
We have very limited spots available on-site with a student-teacher ratio max of 7:1. A low student to teacher ratio optimizes meeting each student’s intellectual, social, and emotional needs.
What Parents Are Saying:
What Students Are Saying:
Key Facts
- Hands-on learning is the focus!
- Project-based learning – intellectual “deep dives” for curious thinkers. Projects that are real-world and multi-disciplinary, focusing on student-led discovery and critical thinking skills.
- Online differentiated, personalized learning in math and language arts, as well as hands-on activities, games, manipulatives, and short bursts of targeted instruction in these and other areas.
- STEM – STEM challenges, science experiments, and technology to foster 21st-century skills
- Student-chosen project-based learning in blocks of 7-10 weeks each, focused on process (learning how to learn), critical thinking, problem-solving, and creativity.
- Multi-sensory approach – seeing, feeling, making, doing, touching
- Experiential approach – learning by doing and exploring
- Social-Emotional Learning and tribe-building to enhance social skills, relationships, emotional regulation/resilience, executive functioning skills, and self-awareness
- Discovery and exploration
- Strengths-based – focusing on strengths, while providing guided support for lagging skills
- “Small chunk” focus for presenting new information to keep novelty and attention high
- Creativity, imagination, and innovation
- Focus on learning how to learn – no homework, grades, or required standardized tests (although we can help you in creating a transcript for grades 6+ if desired)
- Environment of acceptance, understanding, celebration of your child, sense of community, and collaboration
- Body breaks, recess, and free time
- Individualized to meet the needs of each student
- Sensory-friendly and allergy-friendly learning environment
- Research-driven tools and individualized support to help learners with learning differences thrive
- Student-chosen project-based learning in blocks of 5-8 weeks each, focused on process (learning how to learn), critical thinking, problem-solving, and creativity
- Sensory-friendly chairs, headsets, hands-on play (e.g. Kinetic sand, Orbeez), balance boards, fidgets, tents for sensory breaks
- Class meetings, in which students are empowered to share their voice, and tribe-building activities
- Daily outdoor play in 5-acre yard with lots of room to explore
IF YOU BELIEVE IN…
- Passion-based learning that ignites the mind
- Intellectual deep dives emphasizing 21st-Century success skills of critical thinking, communication, creativity, and collaboration
- Meet the student where he/she is at with personalized learning goals customized to each student’s passions and potholes
- Project-based learning makes learning stick more than lectures
- Balance of a guided support framework with student-driven voice and choice
- Whole-person learning environment with social-emotional activities, body and sensory breaks, and intellectual depth.
- Learn in the way that matches your child’s learning style with multi-sensory ways to cement learning and show mastery
- Strengths-based approach
- Education is more than test scores
- Build lifelong skills through real-world activities
- Each child has a unique purpose and can change the world by being his/her unique self
- Nurturing, tribal community that builds friendships and self-esteem
Then come check us out and learn how we can help your child thrive!
