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The child is not a vessel into which facts and figures are to be poured, but a voyager, an explorer, a seeker of knowledge.

Baywood Learning Center is designed to serve the special educational and emotional needs of gifted children; to help them understand the world they live in, become contributing members of our society, learn how to connect and cooperate with others and to understand their own strengths and challenges. Each student is supported to define, pursue and fulfill their goals towards achieving a lifetime of success and happiness.

Gifted children have an intense need to understand subjects of study at a deeper level and to find personal meaning in their academic endeavors. These children are often overwhelmed by emotional and physical sensitivity. Some psychological risks for gifted students can include, “dumbing down” to try to be more “normal”, developing symptoms related to emotional stress, underachieving and/or refusing to do school work and being paralyzed by perfectionism.

At Baywood Learning Center, we understand the role of the emotions in achievement and we guide our students towards academic excellence while striving to maintain emotional well-being. Intellectual performance is encouraged, not pressured and can not be treated separately from emotional factors. Our priority is to focus on individual development and the learning process, rather than on what the individual can do. Students participate in determining the course of their curriculum with the guidance provided by the learning team.

This is a school in which the child’s interests, abilities, learning styles and emotional needs drive the learning process. Children's individual learning plans are overseen by caring mentors whose role it is to help encourage and direct the student on their path of discovery. In the process, the child retains their natural passion for learning and is an active participant in the learning process. The gifted child thrives in this environment and is able to accelerate quickly to academic levels according to his or her ability regardless of chronological age.

Program Features:

Children's individual education plans are designed by the Educational Planning Team. This team is comprised of the child, the parents, the child's assigned Mentor and the BLC Director. Working together, the team members outline the general education expectations. Every effort is made to align educational goals with the child's learning level, interests and emotional ability to handle specific academic challenges. Adjustments can be made during the year as needed.

Each child is assigned a Mentor who oversees the implementation of the child's learning plan. The Mentor assists the child on a day to day basis and is a partner in the learning process. Additional teaching is offered on a daily basis by dozens of specialists and experts, in the fields of science, history, art, math, music and language.

Through this model we are able to offer highly advanced academic material in an emotionally safe environment.

Program Highlights:

· 8 to 1 student teacher ratio

· Field trips

· Community Resources

· In-depth studies of personal interest

· Appropriate Acceleration

· Social Skills, Verbal Communication skills

· Creative Writing, Literature, Composition

· Individualized math programs

· Sciences: Biology, Chemistry, Environmental, Astronomy

· Nutrition, health, organic gardening, cooking

· Hands-on projects

· Visual Arts: painting, printmaking, drawing, sculpture, crafts

· History

· Computer Lab

· Physical Fitness: hiking, swimming, free play, gardening, trail blazing, martial arts, fitness, balance and core strength building

· Discussion groups; group and individual projects

· Child-Based, authentic learning

Baywood Learning Center; Serving the Educational and Emotional Needs of Gifted Children