Great Minds Learning Community: Nurturing Neurodiverse Thinkers
Great Minds Learning Community (GMLC), located in Pflugerville, Texas, offers a unique educational environment tailored to gifted and twice-exceptional (2e) learners in grades 5-12. Serving students in Austin, Pflugerville, Round Rock, and surrounding areas, GMLC distinguishes itself through its commitment to fostering intellectual curiosity, social-emotional growth, and a strong sense of community. The school's philosophy centers on providing a balance of structure and freedom, enabling students to thrive academically and personally.
A Haven for Neurodiverse Learners
GMLC caters specifically to neurodiverse thinkers who are gifted or twice-exceptional. These students often possess exceptional intellectual abilities coupled with learning differences, challenges, or disabilities such as dysgraphia, dyslexia, dyscalculia, ADD/ADHD, sensory processing challenges, Asperger's/High Functioning Autism, anxiety, depression, or social difficulties.
The school recognizes that 2e students may face unique challenges in traditional educational settings. All too commonly, twice-exceptional kids are either viewed as not needing accommodations because they are gifted (and the learning difference, challenge, or disability is not addressed), or they are treated solely for the disability/challenge without nurturing the tremendous intellectual potential of their giftedness. GMLC addresses both the intellectual strengths and learning differences of its students, creating a supportive and inclusive environment where they can flourish.
GMLC students are bright, quirky, creative individuals seeking a smaller group, sensory support, intellectual freedom, and a built-in small tribe of like-minded thinkers that "get" them and give them wings to thrive.
Personalized Learning and a Strengths-Based Approach
Great Minds Learning Community is strengths-based, focusing on the 21st-Century skills of critical thinking, communication, creativity, and collaboration through real-world, project-based learning. The school's academic program is academically strong and emphasizes 21st-century skills through real-world, project-based learning.
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Student-driven learning is a core tenet of GMLC's educational philosophy. There is tailored to meet the needs of gifted and twice-exceptional (2e) neurodiverse young people and the intense, challenging, and exhilarating facets that being gifted or 2e brings to your child's educational experience-intellectually, socially, and emotionally. Student-driven with lots of voice and choice, combined with guided supports and a framework to create a balanced approach.
GMLC balances lots of student voice and choice, student agency and discovery-based learning activities with teacher guidance with teacher-led mini-lessons, processes, and routines to foster success and executive functioning. The way that students present mastery of material is strengths-based with learner voice and choice, unless we are intentionally practicing a lagging skill, in which case we still focus on coming at that from a passions-based approach. Students vote on student-offered topics for their project-based learning and have voice and choice in their other classes as well. We balance voice and choice with teacher guidance and structure, leaving lots of room for student passions.
GMLC nurtures and supports each student within their “stretch zone” to gradually and consistently grow through their relationship-based approach, small class sizes, and 7:1 student-teacher ratio. The school boasts a small class size and a maximum 7:1 student-teacher ratio, ensuring individualized attention and support for each student. This low ratio enables GMLC to best tailor learning to students’ specific needs and passions.
Fostering Social-Emotional Growth
In addition to academic excellence, GMLC places a strong emphasis on social-emotional learning (SEL). Recognizing that students’ social and emotional well-being is intimately connected to their academic success, the school integrates SEL into its curriculum and daily activities.
GMLC has specific social-emotional learning activities every week to learn and practice skills. In addition, they provide real-time social-emotional learning as an integral part of their daily learning activities to nurture the whole child. During class meetings, students integrate social-emotional learning. They also facilitate daily centering activities to increase self-awareness and coping strategies.
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Great Minds Learning Community offers gifted and twice-exceptional learners a student-driven, personalized, part-time educational alternative that cultivates curious, resilient, and flexible critical thinkers; a love of learning; and emotionally connected citizens contributing their unique gifts to the betterment of their community and our world.
A Close-Knit and Caring Community
GMLC fosters a close-knit, caring community where students feel accepted, supported, and understood. The school actively cultivates a welcoming environment where students can connect with like-minded peers and build meaningful relationships.
We celebrate neurodiversity and each student’s unique self within an environment of acceptance, encouragement, and social connection.
Addressing Learning Differences
GMLC embraces neurodiversity and provides accommodations to support students with various learning differences. The school recognizes that traditional methods may not always be effective for 2e learners and offers alternative approaches to assessment and instruction.
The school welcomes twice-exceptional learners who need minor support for learning challenges - for example, dysgraphia or dyslexia (e.g. students with dysgraphia can show mastery through typed answers on the computer or through hands-on project portfolios instead of handwritten answers); sensory processing challenges (e.g. can wear headsets during online learning time; go to a quiet room if it gets too loud; natural light and LED lights in our school instead of fluorescent lighting); dyscalculia (improvement through dycalculia-specific games and strategies, not “drill and kill” worksheets); students with chemical sensitivities (we have filtered water, air, and no perfumes or air fresheners to minimize chemical sensitivity); hypermobile/ADHD (e.g. we have body breaks to move bodies; executive functioning development strategies); students with high-functioning autism (Asperger’s) or mild social challenges (e.g. small class sizes enhance peer interaction and support; improvisational theater strategies to develop social skills; actively use non-violent communications strategies to explore feelings and solve conflicting needs).
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Curriculum and Schedule
The curriculum at GMLC is designed to be engaging, challenging, and relevant to the real world. Students participate in core classes such as math, ELA, science, and project-based learning, with student-voted topics and social-emotional wellness activities integrated into the program.
The school operates on a part-time schedule, typically Tuesday through Thursday from 9am-3pm, August-May, with short breaks throughout the year. An optional Monday program is also available.
Tuition and Enrollment
Tuition for the core program is $16,200 per year, with a $650 supply fee. The optional 4th day (Monday) program is $2300. A 20% sibling discount is offered.
GMLC has limited spots available, emphasizing its commitment to maintaining a low student-teacher ratio and personalized learning environment.
Parent and Student Voice
Here at Great Minds we co-create the school together. The three components of the learning triad are the student, the parents, and the teacher. We value all feedback. Parents and students receive weekly surveys with their feedback and ideas on what worked well, what not so well, and how to make the learning experience even better. This process fosters student and family engagement and a sense of ownership of the learning experience because each student and each family’s voice is heard as a valuable part of the community. The feedback system helps us to effectively meet your child’s needs in real-time, and we get some really helpful ideas!
High School and College Preparation
GMLC provides a high school diploma and supports students in their college preparation journey. The school offers guidance counseling, assistance with college applications, and opportunities for dual enrollment with Austin Community College (ACC).
In addition to providing transcripts and a diploma, attending a small school with a strong teacher-student relationship focus like ours facilitates providing teacher recommendations for college because we know your child’s strengths and accomplishments well. We have internships starting in eighth grade, which provide hands-on opportunities that can be valuable for college applications. We also assist students in creating a portfolio of work showcasing their unique strengths. Portfolios can help an applicant stand out in a college application process.
Great Minds Learning: A Community of Innovation
Great Minds Learning Community is part of a broader movement to provide innovative and effective educational options for all students. As a private school located in Pflugerville, TX, serving 19 students in grades 5 through 12, they are contributing to a growing emphasis on private education.
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