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| The Chambers family with Lesley Dinoff watching “Schools Kill Creativity” |
McKenzie Chambers, 6, will switch from public to private schooling in fall 2011. Her parents, Jake and Melinda Chambers, say they were frustrated with the results of McKenzie’s education. “We got tired of asking her, ‘What did you learn today?’ and hearing the response, ‘Nothing new,” said Jake.
They decided it was time to make a change. Melinda works for the Butts County School System, but the Chambers family lives in Griffin. They heard about the Dinoff School for Gifted Students located on East Broad Street in Griffin and decided to check it out.
There, they met Lesley Dinoff, founder and headmaster of the school and learned of her educational philosophy, which includes grouping students by ability instead of age, keeping class sizes extremely small, teaching in a more hands-on manner, and challenging students to be risk-takers. The Chambers visited during the Christmas open house, where they watched the video, “School Kills Creativity,” about changing the current educational paradigm.
“There are many misconceptions about gifted children,” said Dinoff. “All gifted children are not from upper-middle class homes in the suburbs, and all gifted children are not good at everything,” she said. “There are many high school dropouts that would test as a gifted student. They drop out because they’re bored,” she continued. “They already understand what’s being taught and they’re bored.”
Many of the students attending this school are able to afford the tuition due to scholarships, Dinoff adds. “No one knows who’s who or what’s what because we wear uniforms, though,” she says. Not even the uniforms are average at the Dinoff School. Students don faded skinny jeans, fitted polo shirts, and for formal occasions, a navy Blazer emblazoned with the Dinoff School crest.
A quick tour of the Dinoff School eliminates any of the “gifted” stereotypes. For a school of only 20 students, there is a large amount of diversity, both in race and age, and there are 12-year-olds studying (and enjoying!) chemistry. Another feature of the school that stands out during the tour is that the science classrooms have fully-equipped labs. “You can’t teach chemistry without a test tube!” exclaims Dinoff. “You can’t learn everything through books.”
By grouping students by ability instead of age or grade level and providing hands-on learning experiences, Dinoff and her team of teachers have eliminated the opportunity for boredom to creep into the classroom.
“I think tenure is a huge problem in the pubic educational system. After 10 years, the teachers are tenured and they can sit in a corner, read their email, and tell students ‘Read chapter three and answer the questions at the end,’ and not get fired. I have no problem firing a teacher. I have the same high standards for my teachers as I do my students,” said Dinoff.
Dinoff realizes that a “school for the gifted” can sound elitist and her frustration with the educational system can seem confrontational. She responds to this by writing on the school website, “…it is neither fair nor reasonable to provide equal educational programming and hold equal expectations for all students, regardless of their abilities.” She says, “It’s not that I’m challenging the public school system at all; I’m just trying a different way, a different design.”
The Dinoff School offers both merit-based and need-based funding. The scholarship application period for the 2011-12 school year began Nov. 21. Students should apply early as scholarships are awarded on a first-come, first served basis. For more information, visit the school’s website at www.thedinoffschool.com.
The GRIP 
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