Welcome to Our Nysmith School for the Gifted website.  We hope that this site will introduce you to our exciting educational philosophy and encourage you to come and tour our beautiful facility. 

Many people are unsure about giftedness and are not comfortable applying this term to themselves or their children.  Negative stereotypes prevail in our culture about those who are academically talented and their parents!  If you would like to compare your child’s behaviors to a checklist of behaviors and characteristics associated with gifted children, please click this link.  Few children demonstrate all of these characteristics; most gifted children demonstrate many of them.  If you find that a majority apply to your child, don’t panic!  Yes, you will experience some challenges raising a gifted child, but we can help.  Nysmith School for the Gifted provides an academic environment that is specifically designed to meet the unique educational, social, and emotional needs of gifted learners.

Parents are the keenest observers of their children and usually know if their child is being challenged to rise to his or her potential.  Being gifted means having unusual potential, but potential needs to be developed.  Nysmith can help you develop your child’s academic promise and encourage a life-long love of learning.  We firmly believe that learning is exciting, rewarding, and fun.  Over the past twenty-one years, we have created a program that challenges gifted learners and nurtures their personal interests while widening their horizons.  Academically, we provide innumerable activities that foster high-level thinking, encouraging students to go far beyond factual material, encouraging them to think outside of the box, synthesizing and evaluating divergent materials. We are committed to maximizing individual development and minimizing boredom.  Socially, we offer a rare environment where students are with intellectual peers who are also curious about virtually everything.  In addition, students will find many clubs and activities during and after school that nurture leadership qualities and give them opportunities to interact with peers.  Nysmith School for the Gifted recognizes that gifted students need emotional support as they learn how to realize their potential.  We have created a one semester communications class designed to foster students’ awareness of themselves and others.  This class is conducted by school counselors and administrators and seeks to help students develop the strategies they will need to respond to the emotional challenges they face from themselves and others.