Loudoun School for Advanced Studies - Ashburn, Virginia

L H

In contrast to our experience in a Fairfax county public school, the small school environment at LSG seems to be the right fit for my child, both academically and (surprisingly) socially. The staff is dedicated, encouraging and responsive. Course selection has been remarkably broad, including cooking, coding, and social entrepreneurship. Students are challenged to think both critically and creatively. And the students seem to be genuinely supportive of each other, resulting in a positive and cooperative learning environment (and one that - thankfully - lacks the usual drama found in most larger high schools). Overall, I've found LSG to be an outstanding school, and it has far exceeded my expectations!

Porter S

My son is a 9th grader there and loves the holistic experience. We looked here after his 3rd re-zoning in public school and a month spent wasted on preparing for SOL tests that benefit the school but not the student. From after school clubs to trips abroad this experience for him as a student I would liken to being part of an energetic start up company as an adult. The key is inspiration. Every day is like a new challenge designed to bring out the best in your student.

This school is likely not for everyone. I would recommend it for anyone who would choose academics over athletics, whose bright child may be languishing in public schools as they focus on teaching to the middle, or who might question whether their current school's focus is more about what is right for the school than the student.

Suzanne G.

We are parents that are so grateful to have found such a progressive and practical school! We have a student in the middle school, which closely emulates the high school experience - this is a project-based learning school where the environment is supportive, helpful and extremely encouraging. Teachers are engaged with the students and work closely with them so that learning takes place at the individual's pace. Students describe their interests are and staff work to apply those interests to the subjects to be learned, which in turn grabs their interest from the outset. Practical and useful skills are also taught. We have been to private and public schools in Fairfax County and there is nothing like this available at other schools. If you have a child that is self-motivated, curious and would prefer a smaller class setting, you cannot do better.

Fran Peckham

How can you compare a public high school with a population of 3200 children with a school population of 28 children at LSG...the list is endless..it's amazing..the individualized course study, the personal attention, the guidance based on your child's interests, the caring, family atmosphere. This school believes in the whole child, and the growth of their students. The switch from public school to LSG has been the best decision in my son's school career.
Signed,
A Proud Parent!

Michael Oberschneider

I first met Dr. Deep Sran, the Founder of Loudoun School for the gifted, several years ago and before the opening of his school. Dr. Sran requested a meeting with me to discuss the vision of his school, and I believe he met with many other professionals in the area for their input. It was a pleasure to listen to Dr. Sran passionately describe the sort of school he wanted to open and run; a school for gifted and talented students where creativity, critical thinking, amazing field trips, autonomous and socratic style instruction, and overall academic excellence are all given great importance. Dr. Sran's careful planning, creative and innovative style and diligence paid off in the form of Loudoun School for the Gifted (formerly, The Ideal Schools). As a child psychologist, I have been recommended this school to families since its inception, and I continue to endorse it as one of the area's top private school, specifically, for gifted and talented children and teens. If you are considering a school change for your child, Loudoun School for the Gifted is well worth a visit! Keep up the great work Deep and Susan!!!

Michael Oberschneider, Psy.D
Founder and Director
Ashburn Psychological and Psychiatric Services

Denise Wetzel

There's no other middle/high school like this in the NOVA area - believe me, we've looked! Class sizes are very small (3-8 students) and faculty are enthusiastic, engaged, and seem to truly *like* the students. The course offerings are determined by the students (within certain limits) which means that the students are not only engaged and interested, but in control of their learning. While a freshman, my daughter took a cognition course which sparked her interest in neuroscience; a study of China based on Kissinger's book, and international economics. A year later she is still reading The Economist! I love that the kids can study a topic *deeply* instead of the same old surface treatment year after year. One caution - don't be fooled by the name. This isn't just a school for the academically gifted - this is a school for the curious, the quirky, the talented, the artistic, the thinkers, the non-conformists, and the hard workers who don't want to be distracted by all the drama at a typical high school. And it's a financial bargain to boot!

Alexander Bates

Having now spent a year in college, after graduating from LSG, it is safe for me to say that this school has had a profound impact on my life. At the time of my enrollment, LSG had been open for less than a year, so, while it did evolve greatly during my attendance, it was always moving in a positive direction and while they were, at the time, unable to offer a wide selection of advanced placement courses, they were able to offer something, in my opinion, much more valuable: wisdom. The friends I have who attended public high school came out the other end of this machine having progressed in no terribly meaningful way; they will undoubtably go on to thrive in the jungles of corporate America, but what they ultimately lack, a key element that LSG has a knack in nurturing, is any remote sense of ambition. These two elements, wisdom and ambition, are the most powerful things you could ever hope to teach to a developing mind, and if, as a student, you are willing to throw yourself into the whole experience with reckless abandon, you will see yourself grow in unimaginable ways. While your goals as a naive teenager may seem outlandish, the staff at LSG will embrace your unique ideas with as much enthusiasm as you are willing to put in, and while you will certainly fail, time-and-time-again, you will learn, rather than to accept defeat, to stand up once more and push forever forward. There is, however, a catch to all this: you have to want it. If fail to grasp the meanings behind the school's foreign trips, fairly unorthodox classes, and guest-speaker presentations, the system, at least while I was attending, will seem merciless and unrelenting; although, for those not striving towards greater heights, of course this would be the case. At any rate, this institution has a rather miraculous ability to forge teenagers into leaders and if ever I have a chance to send my child to this school, I would do it in a heartbeat.

On the rather lofty point of "building leaders," I would like to give a brief example from my own life. LSG helped broaden my view of the world in such a way that, rather than taking some idea and thinking, "That seems impossible, there's no point..." I look at the same thought and say to myself, "That seems impossible. I wonder how I can make it an everyday thing..." Because of this, I have been taking steps to launch my own small business, I already have a handful of people interested in working with me, and I am meeting someone in the very near future who has experience in the industry to help get everything on its legs. My product utilizes emerging technology, primarily the Oculus Rift and its ability to augment and emulate reality, and while my goals seem absurd at times, I know that if I fail, it will only serve as an opportunity for growth. With the aforementioned in mind, I was in a store talking to a manager about his work-life and things were going as smalltalk generally goes. However, he, for whatever reason, asked me if I was pursuing a degree in business. So we started talking about my own life in college and aspirations thereafter in no great detail, and after a while, I left the store. About thirty seconds later, the same man from the store chased me down, handed me the store's card with his name and number scribbled on the back, and told me, "I don't know what it is you're doing but I want to be a part of it. There's something about you–there's something in your eyes... I think you're going to achieve something great. Please give me a call.“

LSG helped mold me into the person I am today and for that, they have my eternal gratitude; I would not be where I am today if it was not for that school and their extraordinary staff. I hope, if you are a parent and are deciding whether or not to send your child/children to this school, you come to the right and obvious decision.

earl kindly

Very rude staff!