Twice-exceptional students embody an unexpected combination. They’re intellectually gifted but have learning challenges, such as dyslexia, autism and ADHD.
Here’s what you need to know about this population — and what a classroom that serves them could look like.
What is a twice-exceptional learner?
Twice-exceptional learners make up an estimated 6% of all students with special needs, according to the National Association for Gifted Children.
Even if parents know their child is twice-exceptional, they may struggle to find a suitable learning environment. Parents frequently have to decide whether to enroll their child in a gifted program or special education one.
What kind of classroom can serve twice-exceptional students?
Only a handful of schools are dedicated to serving twice-exceptional students. For example, there’s Bridges Academy in Southern California. Started in 1994, it has grown to 200 students — with a campus, an online school, a research center, media site and more.
Several North Texas districts — including Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD and Arlington ISD — offer universal screening. Universal screening can help better identify twice-exceptional learners, because all students are tested — not just those referred by a teacher.
What does the Sage School want to do?
The Sage School, which opened last year, aims to provide a rigorous curriculum to match a child’s academic talents and socioemotional support to build interpersonal skills.
Students also take lessons on how to interact with others. They think through communication strategies, role play tricky social situations, and consider ways to apply the instruction to their real lives.
How many students and teachers does the Sage School have?
When it opened last year, the school had four students. Now, there are 11 students, four full-time teachers and one part-time teacher. The accredited school serves fifth through 12th grades.
Students must apply to gain admission, and school leaders consider cognitive assessments, academic records, parent reports, interviews and visits. The tuition is $35,000. The school does not offer financial aid yet but hopes to accept school voucher funds down the line.
While the credential is generally a requirement for public schools, private schools, like Sage School, don’t require it. School leaders said they prioritize experts in subject matter and expressed confidence in their candidate screening process.
The DMN Education Lab deepens the coverage and conversation about urgent education issues critical to the future of North Texas.
The DMN Education Lab is a community-funded journalism initiative, with support from Bobby and Lottye Lyle, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, Garrett and Cecilia Boone, Judy and Jim Gibbs, The Meadows Foundation, The Murrell Foundation, Ron Steinhart, Solutions Journalism Network, Southern Methodist University, Sydney Smith Hicks, and the University of Texas at Dallas. The Dallas Morning News retains full editorial control of the Education Lab’s journalism.
Jessica Ma covers education for The Dallas Morning News. She previously had reporting stints at The Boston Globe, The Chicago Sun-Times and The Sacramento Bee. She is a recent graduate of Northwestern University, where she studied journalism, American studies and political science.
A Dallas private school wants to serve twice-exceptional learners