We recommend professionals in the fields of psychology, psychiatry, and educational testing to determine if a child would benefit from the school's gifted program. We maintain a list of professionals who can administer IQ and learning style assessments. In general, we are looking for children who fall in the top five percent of national norms, although we carefully consider other factors (e.g. educational history, learning disabilities, and actual school performance) when evaluating a child's application.
We do not require IQ assessments for children under six. IQ test results may be less reliable if your child is very young, not reading yet, and unused to a testing or school environment. All students who are six years of age and older are required to have a cognitive evaluation. This instrument provides staff with information about your child’s cognitive abilities and learning style.
Enrollment Process
The process begins with referral meeting with the Head of School in which the parents share the needs of their child and perspectives regarding an optimal educational environment. The Head of School then provides a detailed overview of the vision and philosophy of the school. If the parents’ perspective regarding education is compatible with the educational philosophy of the school, the admission process moves to the next step. The Head of School then would evaluate test results or other indicators of giftedness and answer questions about the program. Following the referral meeting, a class visit would be scheduled. The length of the visit varies by class. This visit allows our teachers to conduct an assessment and for the children to provide feedback about our environment. Parents also are given an application form to complete and return to the school. After the class visit, an admission team comprised of the Head of School and the teaching staff would review all prior records, the application, and assess performance during the class visit and then make appropriate recommendations regarding admission. When deciding which class to place a child, we look at a number of factors that include: the age of the child; emotional, social and physical development; academic levels; previous academic experience; placement of siblings; and particular needs of the child or family.
Wait List
Among the factors the faculty considers are test results, performance in school, teacher recommendation, class visit at the school, and most especially, the level of need of a student to be in a gifted setting. The faculty re-evaluates students on our waiting list when an opening occurs.
Non-Discrimination Policy
Mackintosh Academy does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, gender, sexual orientation, color, national or ethnic origin in the administration of its educational policies, admission policies, scholarships or any other programs administered by the school.
Behavior Standards
We require our students to meet high standards of academic performance and behavior. Our school is not suited for a child with significant behavior problems. While we recognize all students are children and act accordingly, we expect our students will progress appropriately in academic studies, exhibit respectful behavior, and become independent self-motivated learners who will take responsibility for their own education.
