Des Plaines - Science and Arts Academy (Arlington Heights, Buffalo Grove: house, school districts)

[gr8going]

Folks

Does anyone have any experience with this school? This is a private school that we are considering for our child. If not, anyone aware of a better private schools ( or excellent public schools) in Northwest suburbs.

We are prepared to move for the excellent school.


//THanks,

[AuDiBelle]

One of my best friends sends her son there. He's now in 2nd grade, but has been there since pre-school so this is his 4th year there. There is a lot of politics with the administration that has left a sour taste in her mouth. There are many very bright children there, but many that are somewhat 'unbalanced'. We were comparing the MAP test scores from SAA to those in my district, and they were very similar. For example, their average 2nd grade Reading RIT was 199 and ours was 199 too. Their Math RIT was 203 and ours was 199. National average for both reading and math is 186 to give some perspective. **Dislaimer* - I am NOT saying that MAP test scores are the end all, be all of how good an education a school provides.

I think you can get an equally good education without going to the expense of a private school. By the way, my friend just put an offer on a house in my district and will be pulling her son out of SAA at the end of this year. We don't live in the Northwest Suburbs though, although there are many very good districts in those areas I would investigate.

[gr8going]

@whatyousay.. Thank you for your feedback. We toured the school today and were really impressed with their philosophy. I am really surprised to hear the test results were very similar with the public school. The reason being this school has an entry criteria.. So supposedly brighter students can only get in. Still the results are similar.. That doesn't speak very well of the school's education. It almost sounds like students have taken two steps back.

I heard some great things about Elmhurst. So will research about the schools there.

[AuDiBelle]

I, too, like their philosophy of teaching students at their level as opposed to age/grade levels. You are correct that they do have admission criteria and are fairly strict. My friend's son had to have testing to be admitted past the kindergarten year (pre-school and kindergarten don't require specific IQ criteria). I don't know what the threshold is for admission, but his IQ score was 132 I believe?

The point I was trying to make in my previous post was not that they aren't providing a good education, but that you can find comparable public schools where you won't have to pay their $15K/year tuition. The national RIT averages were 186, so obviously their kids are performing well above the national average. But, so are a few public school districts as well. You will need to do a lot of research to seek out the best of the best public schools, but they do exist.

If you can, request the MAP RIT averages for all grades at SAA and compare those to whatever district you are considering to give you an idea. I wouldn't use this as the only criteria though.

Just be forewarned, there is a definite 'culture' at SAA. They expect a LOT of parental volunteerism (which is a good thing to be involved in your child's school) and a lot of $$ donations too. Some of the kids are freakishly smart and have related behavioral/emotional/social issues that go along with some sects of the gifted/talented population.

I do like their new school building, it's very nice. The class sizes also tend to be smaller. Check out their summer camp offerings and try one of those courses to get a feel for the school. Many of the regular teachers also teach their summer classes, but they don't limit their summer camps to only gifted kids.

[cubssoxfan]

Northwest Suburbs with very good to excellent schools?
Towns listed followed by district or school name:
-Arlington Heights: Dist 25 and 23, Hersey & Prospect HS, possibly Rolling Meadows and Buffalo Grove HS's
-Prospect Heights: Dist 23, Hersey HS, possibly Wheeling HS
-Mt. Prospect: Dist 57, Prospect HS
Farther out, Lake Zurich and Barrington are worth a close look as well.

As an aside, it is not unusual for a gifted child to have some behavioral and/or learning challenges. The brain is very highly developed in certain or many areas but will have areas that are underdeveloped. A learning environment that is familiar with this can truly help a gifted child.