Open Window School

My Son’s experience at Open Window was exceptional. If we (or our son) had to remake the decision today, we would without question pick Open Window again. What an exceptional program that I wish every child could benefit from. The teachers set a fast pace which our son loved. He recently graduated and was accepted to many top high schools including his top pick, Seattle Academy. Students from OWS are sought out by top local high schools because they succeed at a high level. My son’s preparation for High School was excellent and I believe that OWS has set the stage for a successful college experience as well. Some other thoughts — If you want your child to be grilled and drilled to the extreme, this is not the school. My son gets top grades, top assessment scores, and has only increased his love of learning. His intellectual and social /​emotional maturity have grown in tandem at OWS. When your child graduates from OWS, they will likely be more mature than their peers. Also, my son would point out that you generally have to do your sports /​extra curricular activities outside of OWS — the limitations of a smaller, private school. The teachers are brilliant and talented educators that really inspire. They are there because they want to be and it shows. I know most of the parents from his OWS class. From all discussions I have had, they felt very lucky to have their child attend OWS. I was surprised by those that posted on Unilocal about aggressive fundraising, I never saw that in any measure and our son was there for nine years. Those people who posted may simply not be used to private organizations that do rely on additional support and have annual fundraising events. In time, talent or treasure, there are lots of ways to support your school, public or private. If your child qualifies for OWS, I would encourage you to evaluate the school. Ask to speak to eighth grade parents as well as parents whose kids are near to the grade your child will enter at. My belief is that my comments here will be echoed and expanded on.

My son is a recent graduate from OWS. I’m very surprised to read couple of negative reviews here. We were transferred to OWS from the east coast. During the application/​interviewing process, my son just fell in love with the school. Luckily, he was accepted to attend.
The OWS curriculum isn’t for everyone. It’s designed to be more vigorous than the public school system. The teachers we had were extremely caring in the children’s development. They were definitely way beyond my expectations. The emphasis on time management has made a huge difference in high school. Now my son is at Lakeside High School. The experience at OWS has better prepared him for another challenging school than his peers. I’m not a big donor. In fact, I’ve never attended the annual auction event! I don’t understand the statement regarding the monetary importance. Yes, it’s a private school that requires tuition. But I truly believe that teachers are extremely caring regardless.
If you are looking for a private school for your child, schedule a visit with the school and see for yourself. There is a right school for your child and hopefully this is the right one for you. It sure was for my son!

The school has been a life-​saver for my two boys who are gifted. My eldest son started at a public school for Kdg. which was a terrible fit. His giftedness was an inconvenience since he did not fit the mold of a typical Kindergartener. Then he was at his first private school for 1^st & 2^nd grade. They could not challenge him enough and did not know how to accommodate his social/​emotional challenges. We moved him to OWS in 3^rd grade & he stayed until graduation (8^th grade). The staff appreciated not just my son’s giftedness, but his quirkiness & creativity. My second son has been at OWS 1^st-​8^th grade. Though he has a very different personality from his older brother, we’ve been just as pleased with his time at OWS. Both of my boys have thrived in this setting. I only wished I had found OWS earlier and would highly recommend it to any parents seeking an appropriate, warm, & challenging setting for their child who is gifted.

If you are reading this review of Open Window School (OWS), then I can assume that you, as a parent, are currently and actively searching for an educational option that embraces the challenge of instructing and guiding children who are considered «Gifted” — or more accurately: «Highly Intellectually Capable».
As a parent of a «Highly Capable» child, we recognized very early on (age 2) that ours was a little different from his playground buddies. As our full-​throttle-​every-​day child grew to the age of 4 and we were contemplating educational options for Kindergarten, we toured the local public schools as well as several local Eastside and Seattle area private schools. Our Preschool Teacher mentioned that she thought that Open Window School might be a really good fit for our son. For our needs (and most importantly, the needs of our child), OWS simply offered the best fit academically, socially, physically and philosophically.
The bottom line is that my ever-​energetic, ever-​curious, ever-​positive and ever-​challenging (in ways both good and bad) child LOVES to go to school at OWS every single day – asks the carpool driver to arrive to school early (!!), please. His friends are there, he feels supported and appreciated by the teachers and support staff… he loves the campus and the variety and quality of the learning materials – technological, artistic, scientific, and otherwise.
He has never loved homework, but as a fifth grader in the first year of Middle School (Vista) at Open Window School, he has finally embraced the responsibility and reality of its place in the learning process. He is being encouraged to be more independent (by us and the school), and is well aware that there are boundaries – necessary and purposeful – to help him know when his choices and behaviors are appropriate and helpful to his (and his fellow students) development, and when they are not.
When we started at OWS – six year ago – I was thankful that this school existed and that we made it through the rigorous entrance dance (this school has many more applicants than spaces available each year, for each grade level… and strives for gender balance as well as cultural diversity) and we continue to be grateful for the commitment that OWS has to our child (and the other 300+ fellow students) each and every day he attends.
For our family, Open Window School is simply the best educational option available to keep our child’s «Love of Learning» vital and whole, while we – as a team: school and parents – prepare him for High School, College and adult life beyond.

We are in our 6^th year as OWS parents with two kids at the school. It’s a terrific environment and top-​notch education for our daughters.
We won’t forget the first day we walked in the classroom. It’s a fascinating combination of high expectations and a nurturing, loving energy that allows kids to stretch and even fail gracefully. We have witnessed first-​hand the impact of individualized learning, inspired teaching, and excellent support for social emotional development of our kids. Our experience has not wavered since that first day. Perhaps the best possible review is that our kids love school. They literally bounce into the classroom each day.
We both had first-​class eductions from private K-​12 to Ivy League schools and we feel that some of the best teachers we’ve encountered are at OWS. Further, the administration has been extremely responsive to classroom social issues. We have even received personal calls at home from the head of school to check on issues that were reported the same day.
We feel grateful to be part of the OWS community of teachers and parents and would recommend it to anyone looking for a place to love and challenge their kids.

The campus is beautiful and there iis a tag line of understanding giftedness and social emotional needs. However, we found this not the be the case. My son was in public school before Open Window and is now in public school after Open Window. At both of these public schools, the teachers understood him better and he thrived socially better. At Open Window, there was a lot of pressure to be perfect and not be kids. Kids cut in line, kids will get in word fights, it happens. But at Open Window, kids must walk the line and, if not, are shamed. It was not a good experience and we withdrew after a year. I was also surprised at how little time the teachers put in compared to public school. I honestly think the public school teachers we have had work harded, stay later, etc. There was an extreme amount of pressure of money as well, but this is to be expected from a private school. The head is school was behind the money and teachers, did not listen to parent concerns by numerous parents.

I’m surprised to see the negative feedback posted for OWS. My child is thriving there and his teachers are very engaged with him and certainly address his gifted needs. They focus on a holistic approach to the child. They not only look to his educational needs and encourage him to move to the next level but also focus on helping him relate to the world when his intellectual understanding of it exceeds his ability to emotionally process what has occurred.