Aurora Quest K-8

My son is finishing up 8th grade now after having gone for the past 2 years (3 years once he finishes 8th). This school has been excellent for him. He has been able to really achieve advanced learning and make some great friends. In my experience all of the teachers are great. He is really into math and he got the opportunity to learn up to 10th grade math for this final year, which will allow him to excel in high school and he should slide right into AP. The rotating sports options were great for him, since he didn't really have a sports focus before, but if your child is really serious about sports I could see that being a downside. In any case, this was a night and day improvement for him compared to public school in Cherry Creek because the G&T focus and smaller class sizes, along with other kids who are into high achievement really helped my son a lot. I would highly recommend this school.

This is supposed to be a gifted and talented school. I have yet to see anyadvanced teaching going on.

Does not meet claims of gifted education. Nothing about the K-5 education is tailored to gifted learning models (can't speak to middle school).For twice-exceptional kids the school continually performs at a spirit-breaking level, the opposite of what we expected.The initial Kindergarten parent meeting began with the teacher sighing as she sat. That year our child said, "The teacher makes me feel like dirt."The principal doesn’t work well with gifted children, whose behavior is best addressed by positive reinforcement, and continually encouraged negative reinforcement.This school taught our child teachers can't be trusted, which has carried over to adults, and, to a certain degree, everyone.This principal is trying to get rid of any students who pose a challenge, i.e., gifted students, twice exceptional, etc. As evidence, we had multiple conversations throughout the school year about learning, medical issues, 504, etc. When our child spent the end of one semester and the beginning of the next with an undiagnosed illness that prevented focus and caused many early departures. Once diagnosed we explained treatment was ongoing, had certain requirements, and they wouldn't see immediate results. There was also a three-week absence due to pneumonia that included hospitalization for nine days and 4 days in intensive care. The principal "chose" to give our child an Unsatisfactory report card when having the option to use Medical Excuse. There was no prior communication about this and no academic history justified this. A teacher's notes even said that "there wasn't enough evidence to provide a grade," which was of course due to medical issues.With five years and many friends, we withdrew our child after a challenging multi-year decision to homeschool.When sending an e-mail to the principal, on a Sunday evening, that we have chosen to withdrawal our child from the school we immediately received a response from her saying, "Thank you. Have a great rest of your weekend."If you simply feel your child is smart and are proud of their behavior, then give Quest a shot. You won't gain much by doing so, but it should be fine.If you know that your child is brilliant but are at your wit's end regarding how to cope with your child's unrelenting energy and curiosity, then Quest will only complicate your life and stunt your gifted child's self-esteem.

Sending my son to Aurora Quest was by far the best decision I could have made. He loves school and is constantly challenged to do his best.

Big mistake! I wish I could pull my child out now.