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Lee Academy for Gifted Education (Tampa, FL)

• Website

  https://leegiftedacademy.com/

• Topics

  • Educational Options: Day Schools

Comments

Parent on 11/20/2012

Unfortunately, this is a for-profit institution that may have started out well-intentioned but my family did not have a good experience with this school. I wish there were other opportunities in the Tampa area.

Parent on 9/16/2012

Lee Academy is a fantastic school and has been a great fit for our younger gifted learner. With so few resources in the public school system for gifted (especially young) learners, we feel fortunate to have found Lee Academy. The teachers are supportive and have a great understanding of the challenges that gifted learners and their families face. They encourage problems solving and creativitiy in addition to core cirriculum. They have wonderful enrichment programs like their community garden and yoga classes. One of the best aspect of this school is the amazing community of teachers, parents and children. I can't say enough good things about this school!

Student on 12/23/2007

From my four years attending the school - I cannot say that I would have had a better experience anywhere else. The relationships I have with my teachers are priceless and unmatchable, and considering the opportunity given to me to partake in University of South Florida classes - they have been the best college prep I have ever received. If you live in the Tampa Bay area, please visit the school! It is a very special learning environment, located on a beautiful campus.

Student on 9/1/2007

I am a student at Lee academy and I believe that sometimes you can be intimidated by other students. However, I ended up doing better than I would have if there was no intimidation (note that the intimidation was not intended by the other student)

Parent on 8/19/2007

As a parent of a child who attends Lee Academy, I'd like to respond to some of the points made by others, as well as offer my two cents worth. Firstly, regarding testing at Lee Academy, it should be noted that children entering at the pre-primary level can be quite young. Observing these children in a learning environment may not produce an objective score, or an IQ score, but it yields, to a perceptive educator, a wealth of information regarding gifted qualities. I have to agree with one of the students who questions the needs for a parent to "quantify" her child's giftedness. My husband and I have never questioned our child's abilities, but have never asked for a certificate of proof. The priority for us is the flexibility of the school in addressing giftedness in their curriculum, and the availability of counseling services and social intervention as it is deemed needed due to multi-age peers, socialization issues and asynchronous development. As far as the school accepting children whom, by a parent's assessment in another comment, are not gifted- one must bear in mind that giftedness is more than an IQ score. Children can be academically, emotionally, artistically gifted. Children can be functioning academically a year to four years above his or her age-based grade level. With this in mind, it should be expected that there will be multiple ages represented in one classroom. We have experienced the "resentment from older peers" issues with our own child, and it has been devastating, at times. However, at a public school, he would be accelerated beyond his grade level at Lee, with the likelihood of "fitting in" being less still. The comment regarding Lee starting as a Daycare, only shows a lack of insight into how the birth of a dream evolves into something phenomenal. My working career started out much in the same way, and I hope that my successes would not be judged by the fact that my first job was as a donut maker. Lee Academy is, in my humble judegement, Tampa's best solution for the ever-controversial but inspiring challenge of giftedness. And, just in case this holds any weight in the eyes of skeptical parents, the atmosphere at Lee is one of genuine love for the students, and one of family. They may not offer up an IQ score, but they hug our children and hold their hands as they navigate life with tremendous intensity. I think that's worth something.

Student on 8/8/2007

I have just read some comments given by former students' parents, discussing how they had to pull their kids out due in part to the fact that their child was never "tested" for Giftedness. Regarding the particular comment on how Lee students are not tested for giftedness, why do you need to have an authority figure tell you your child is Gifted? Trust me, it doesn't take much to know if your child is gifted. Where do these people get off telling a parent where to send their child to school when Florida schools in general have the lowest (and continual lowering I might add) scores on the FCAT in many subjects? I have heard of statistics regarding something about how 6th graders cannot read at the 6th grade level anymore... I'm sorry, but I went to Lee Academy my whole life and learned to read at a level much higher than my own at a very young age, along with reading Latin and French at an age much younger than Public schools even begin teaching their students these foreign languages. It takes one to know one. If you are a parent considering sending your child to Lee, definitely go with what you feel is right, but don't let the fact that they don't test children for Giftedness bog your judgment. Honestly, they never tested Giftedness by anyone's standards except for the teachers', who happen to spend the most time with your child anyway. And just because Lee started as a day care doesn't make it any less of a school.

Educator on 7/11/2007

I disagree with many of the comments from parents about this school. I think the comments from the students themselves that attended Lee speak for the great service that this specialized school for gifted education has given to the "behind-the-times" Tampa Bay area!

Student on 10/31/2004

I was a student at Lee Academy for the entirety of my education prior to College. Out of curiosity, I did a search for my old school on the Internet and came across this site. I read over the comments about this excellent school. I feel as though I have to defend Lee Academy. My mother was very close to the administration and therefore I always had more information available to me than others on the inner workings of the school. I want to first say that the idea behind the school is amazing. The main idea that I took away from the curriculum was that the student learned at his/her own pace. That meant as fast as you could or as slow as you needed. The key was that your own abilities to learn dictated your curriculum as best as possible. This worked especially well at Lee because you could be someone who excelled in math but not in history. Therefore, you may be placed in one class for math and another for history. To address the complaints of the parents on this web page I want to point out that over the period of time that I was at Lee there were always parents who complained about something or another. The problem is that these parents are hung up on how “gifted” their children are. To them it was some sort of competition. First, why do you need a test to prove how well someone can learn? To me being “gifted,” a word that I hate and have never used to describe myself, is tied to being smart, not intelligent. A smart person is good at learning and applying new things. An intellegent person just knows a lot of stuff. You can spend hours and hours memorizing facts to pass a test but for a smart person the learning comes naturally. I don’t remember if Lee Academy tests incoming students, but to me it makes no difference, I know that they observe the student in a learning environment and make decisions based on that. So what would happen is that a teacher would place a student below the level that the parents thought their child should be placed.

Educator on 9/20/2004

I am an educator in the area who works with gifted children in the public school system. From what I understand, this school evolved out of a day-care type business to serve the parents of children who believe their kids are gifted. Many of the parents are surprised to find that their children are not gifted when they are later tested for the county AGP system. Parents please do your research.

Student on 8/15/2004

Lee Academy is a great school, though it is not for everyone. The school has gotten better over the years and is a great place for those willing to work, especially at a high school level. For older students, the mixture of honors, AP, and dual enrollment at USF are particularly enlightening. Give Lee Academy a chance. It's a great place to learn and caters to students from above average to exceptionally gifted.

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