Bridges Academy Seattle: Up & Coming

Dear Families,

The admissions season is rapidly approaching! I want to thank those of you who have begun sending in information and having meetings with Doug and Kayla. These early discussions will help enormously when the time comes to finalize the enrollment process. Here is some information that will help guide the process:

Bridges has a “rolling admissions” policy. However, we are a smaller school by design (108 students grades 4-8) and we may have limited capacity in the inaugural class.

Special note to High School Families: H.S. families will be invited to attend a special H.S. meeting in mid-November. We will send the date to you soon, after which the admissions schedule will follow roughly the same format as below.

We know that decision making is in part dependent on the announcement of our new site. As you know, the building inventory in Seattle for schools is limited to non-existent. However, the site committee has submitted formal letters of inquiry/offers on three properties so far, and will continue to search until a deal closes. Current plans are to announce our site on or before November 15.

Read below for information about the early admissions process, and all of the exciting events taking place.

Best,

Carl Sabatino

Head of Schools

Bridges Education Group

Early Admissions Schedule

The admissions process for the early admissions students will follow a flexible schedule:

September - November

Call Doug or Kayla about programs, philosophy and current plans
Send in the application
Application fee is waived for applications received through December
Send in supporting documents (testing, portfolios, share stories, etc.)
You will be notified if we believe our program is the best fit for your child
If appropriate, schedule online visits for your child with Doug or Kayla

January

Arrange in-person visit with the Head of School, 1/27 through 2/11
Location for meeting in Seattle to be advised
Plan 45 minutes for the Head / Parent meeting
Plan 20-30 minutes for your child to meet with the Head of School.
Schedule meeting when convenient, including weekends, 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

February

Notification of early admissions decisions between 2/16 - 2/18
Information needed to finalize enrollment and get you started will be sent

March

Contracts due the week of March 7 to ensure Early Decision placement
Regular decision applicants: notified on rolling basis beginning March 15

We look forward to discussing our programs and current plans, and walking you through the admissions process. We will remind you of these important dates as we get further into the Fall.

Signed,

Doug & Kayla

Professional Luncheon

On Thursday, September 30, Bridges Academy Seattle will be hosting a Professional Luncheon for educational therapists, psychologists, legal advocates, and relocation specialists in the greater Seattle area. This will be an opportunity for us to meet and confer with professionals involved with the 2e world as we begin building a community that will best support our students.

If you know a professional who might be interested in attending, please email Brian Chu at [email protected], with their name and contact information.

Upcoming Parent Panel

In response to all of the inquires we've received from families looking to connect with our parent community here in Los Angeles, we're pleased to announce our upcoming Bridges Parent Panel Discussion. The event will take place on Tuesday, September 21 at 6 p.m. Click here to RSVP.

The panel will feature a mix of Phoenix, middle school, high school and alumni parents. The discussion, which will be immediately followed by a live Q/A session, will offer prospective parents an opportunity to ask questions firsthand from other 2e parents who have gone through similar experiences and challenges.

Meet the Parents

Adriana Roze

Child: Sebastian (Phoenix)

After graduating from the University of New Mexico, Adriana Roze moved to New York City to pursue an acting career where she acted professionally in theatres throughout the country.

Now a resident of Los Angeles, she works as a Research Lead for Research Lead at Special X, a startup aiming to fill the massive gap in servicing families raising kids with disabilities. Her responsibilities include assisting families of kids with disabilities with resources for medical care, schooling, and much more.

Anahid Koumriqian

Child: Cayl, Class of '27 (Middle School)

Anahid is the mother of three highly creative children who’ve taught her to view parenting and education through a unique lens. She holds a California Multi Subject Teaching Credential and a B.A. in political science. She is currently enrolled in the M. Ed. program in Twice Exceptional Education at the Bridges Graduate School of Cognitive Diversity in Education.

Anahid gives back to her community through the arts and arts education as a board member of Glendale Arts and the Alex Theatre. In the future she hopes to pursue special education reform at the state and federal levels and provide professional development in 2e within the educational and corporate arenas.

Sharon Rosas

Child: Seth, Class of '25 (High School)

After learning of Bridges Academy through a neuropsychologist, Sharon and her husband enrolled their son, Seth, in August of 2018 as a sixth grader. This Fall he entered the high school program as a ninth grader. Sharon is an active member of the Bridges community. She has been a Grade Level Parent, Bridges Ambassador and a member of the Holiday Giving Committee for three years. She has also been on the Lost and Found Committee and a member of the Bridges Middle School Parent Book Club for one year.

Heather David

Child: Cameron, Class of '24 (High School)

Heather David currently is in her second year as Parent Association Co-President. She has been a member of the Bridges community for six years.

Her son, Cameron entered Bridges as a fourth grader and is now a 10th grader in the high school program. Heather has gained confidence, leadership, and understanding while on her journey as a mom at Bridges. She is passionate about sharing 2e resources and understanding with other parents.

Eileen Brennan

Child: Griffin, Class of '08 (Alumni)

Eileen has been a member of the Bridges community for nearly 20 years. Her son, Griffin Dean, enrolled at Bridges Academy in the sixth grade and graduated from the high school in 2008. A proud Alumni of Bridges, Griffin now works as Senior Game Designer at Respawn Entertainment, a major video game development studio based in Los Angeles.

Eileen sat on the school's Board of Trustees from 2002-2009 and currently sits on the Board of Trustees for Bridges Graduate School of Cognitive Diversity. Her previous professional background includes working as an intensive care charge nurse for 12 years and as an attorney specializing in the healthcare industry.

Curriculum Corner

In 2019, Dr. Sally Reis was inducted into the 2e Hall of Fame at the Bridges 2e Center for Research and Professional Development.

Sally M. Reis, PhD, holds the Letitia Neag Morgan Chair in Educational Psychology and is a Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor at the University of Connecticut.

Dr. Reis sat down with Tom Ropelewski to discuss what makes a good teacher of twice-exceptional students. Click here for the video.

2e Identification in Females

Historically, we have seen fewer females in 2e environments than males. While there is ample evidence to support the view that genetics play the largest role, and that it is likely that there will always be a greater number of males, those of us in the 2e world also see the evidence that suggests that females are under observed, under evaluated and under identified as 2e.

The prevailing explanations are that 2e girls tend to “fly under the 2e radar,” internalizing their emotions, masking their symptoms, and doing well enough not to rise to the level of teacher or school concern.

Currently, Bridges enrollment mirrors the statistical male/female ratio of 4:1. However, we are seeing an upward trend in the number of female applicants and therefore, enrollments. Over the past three years, the number of girls has increased from 21% in 2019 to 37% in 2021. And more girls are applying. Almost 36% of all applicants for the 2021-22 school year were female. Newer studies are tending to place the likely distribution at 3:1, so it appears that there are some interesting developments in the 2e identification.

As a doctoral student at the Bridges Graduate School, Kim Vargas is conducting research on girls and twice-exceptionality. Kim will take on a special project to learn more about the Bridges families with girls and their personal experience with the key variables - observation, evaluation and identification. Kim says, “While we’ve always celebrated our 2e female population, we are delighted and intrigued by the increase of numbers.”

Event Recap: Alumni Panel

The Bridges Alumni Department hosted a panel discussion for prospective families in Seattle who were interested in learning more about Bridges firsthand from former students. The event, which was moderated by Director of Counseling Services, Anna Schaerf, and Alumni Coordinator, Ty Trumbo, began with written questions and then transitioned into a live Q/A session where Seattle parents had the opportunity to engage panelists.

It was a vibrant and candid conversation that covered a wide array of topics. Elinor Shapiro ('15) and Cameron Aaron ('17) served as our Alumni panelists and shared their personal experiences that covered their academic journeys - before, during and after Bridges.

We are incredibly grateful for Elinor and Cameron taking time out of their busy lives to give back to Bridges as well as the broader 2e community. Congrats on all your successes! We're very excited to see what comes next!

Elinor Shapiro - Class of '15 (Visual Arts)

Elinor is a multimedia artist whose spontaneous process results in thought provoking works that affect the viewer deeply. A native of Los Angeles, she studied fine art at California State University Northridge, where she developed her individual voice using charcoal, pastels, ink, acrylic and oils.

After CSUN Elinor relocated to France, where she is Associate Director at the artist residency Chateau Orquevaux. She recently moved to New York CIty where she pursued new forms of expression, combining words, figures and emotions to represent the many facets of her artistic voice.

Click here to visit Elinor's website and see some of her work.

Cameron Aaron - Class of '17 (Tech & Science)

Cameron recently graduated from Connecticut College in 2021 with a double major in computer science & psychology as well as a minor in cognitive science. He also received a certificate of arts & technology from the Ammerman Center for Arts & Technology.

During his time in college, Cameron interned and worked at multiple companies, including SpaceX where he was an Aerospace Medical Intern as well as GitHub which is code-sharing platform owned by Microsoft.

Attention 2e Writers & Artists

If you're a 2e student (or know someone who is), Variations^2ewants to hear your story. We provide a platform for neurodiverse people to share experiences, challenges, victories, perspectives, opinions, and passions. This next issue of our magazine is all about you, by you, and for you!

The issue will feature stories from young 2e people and their unique experiences and perspectives of the world, exploring advantages and challenges in the academic world, family life, socialization, gender identity, and career.

We're looking for:

Personal Narratives/Perspectives — Share your experience being 2e.
Journalism — Explore and report on topics related to twice-exceptionality.
Essays — Declare your passions about the 2e world.
Visual media — Share photos, paintings, or multimedia that capture your experience.
Lists/Memes — Have fun with new media.
Futurism — Brainstorm ideas to better accommodate the 2e population.
Creative writing — Submit prose, poetry, or something in between.

Accepted submissions may be used wholly or in part.

Please feel free to reach out to [email protected] with any questions you have. For specific writing prompts, target word counts, and other submission guidelines, please visit our submission page on 2enews.com.