DALLAS — For Megan Howard, the daily school run had become a source of profound heartbreak. Her son, a bright and intellectually curious child who would spend his free time diving into the complexities of trigonometry for pleasure, had begun to view his middle school as an insurmountable wall. The morning routine was a struggle: he would dress, only to freeze when it came time to leave the house. When the car pulled up to the curb at his public school, he would hesitate, unable to bring himself to step out into a hallway that felt more like an alien landscape than a place of learning.
Howard eventually made the difficult decision to withdraw him. While the public school system offered academic instruction, it failed to provide the one thing her son, who is on the autism spectrum and has ADHD, truly needed to thrive: a genuine sense of belonging. Among a student body of 1,000, Howard realized that her son was struggling not with his lessons, but with the isolation of being "different" in a traditional environment. He didn’t just need a curriculum; he needed a friend.
Howard’s children belong to a demographic often referred to as "twice-exceptional," or "2e." These are students who possess high intellectual giftedness but also live with learning differences or disabilities, such as dyslexia, ADHD, or autism. Across the United States, an estimated 360,000 students fall into this category. For their parents, the quest for an educational environment that can simultaneously nurture a child’s high intellect and address their complex socioemotional needs is often a lonely and frustrating journey.
In response to this gap in the educational landscape, the Sage School of Dallas has emerged as a specialized private institution dedicated specifically to this population. It represents a rare model in the current national landscape. "Either you can find a place that has rigorous academics, or you can find a therapy school that is really about social-emotional learning," Howard said. "There was never a place that did both."
As the country’s understanding of neurodiversity and special education has matured over the past few decades, the number of students qualifying for services has risen sharply. Yet, with this increased awareness, a critical systemic question persists: Are existing schools truly equipped to offer the multifaceted support that twice-exceptional learners require?
"Until Sage was around, there wasn’t a school that met all of their needs," said Jessica Rall, one of the founders of the Sage School. "So, you were always trying to make it work. These students and families need a place where they don’t just have to make it work."
An ‘Unexpected Combination’ Within One Person
The term "twice-exceptional learner" has gained significant traction as researchers and educators have begun to peel back the layers of how giftedness and disability can coexist. According to the National Association for Gifted Children, approximately 6% of students receiving special education services are also identified as academically gifted.
"It’s a phenomenon," said Jacob Michaelson, a professor of psychiatry and neuroscience at the University of Iowa. "There is kind of this unexpected combination within one person of extreme ability in one aspect and extreme disability in another."
The surge in students identified with disabilities reflects both better diagnostic capabilities among educators and a greater willingness among parents to seek help. In Texas, for instance, the public school system served 451,600 students with disabilities during the 2014-15 school year. By the most recent academic year, that figure had ballooned to 911,300.
Despite these numbers, twice-exceptional learners frequently remain invisible. Because their high intellect can act as a mask for their learning differences, their struggles are often not reflected in traditional standardized test scores. As a result, even well-intentioned but overworked educators may overlook the specific needs of these students. "You get the impression: ‘Oh my gosh, this person is really smart,’" Michaelson noted. "But that masks the fact that they do have other deficits that are not as apparent."
For parents, this creates a dilemma: should their child be placed in a gifted program where they might struggle with social or executive functioning, or in a special education program that may not challenge their intellect? Howard faced this exact choice. She knew her oldest son would excel in the rigorous math curriculum at the School for the Talented and Gifted, a competitive Dallas ISD magnet school, but she feared he would become socially marginalized. Her younger son, who lives with selective mutism—an anxiety disorder that prevents speech in certain situations—required an environment that prioritized smaller, intimate group settings. "Academics was never the issue for my kids," Howard said. "I needed them to go to school more for social reasons."
A Private School Steps In
Kristen Dauphinais, a parent of a twice-exceptional child, understood these frustrations all too well. Having navigated the same systemic hurdles, she helped launch the Sage School of Dallas to bridge the gap. "We always joke that these kids just have to cook a little differently," Dauphinais said. "We’re the oven. We built an oven to cook these kids a little differently."
On a recent October morning, the school’s pedagogical approach was on full display. Two high school students were hunched over a table scattered with calculators and worksheets, collaborating on a physics project. They were constructing a projectile launcher, inspecting the mechanics of their creation before placing a ball into the device. When it fired, the ball traveled across the room, landing just shy of their mathematical projections—a result that sparked immediate, excited discussion rather than academic discouragement.
Mandi Skerbetz, the head of school, explains that the curriculum is "inquiry-based," allowing students to pursue their curiosities to the depth they desire. The school day concludes with a variety of clubs, ranging from chess to Dungeons & Dragons, fostering social connections in a structured way.
Socioemotional learning is not an elective at Sage; it is integrated into the daily curriculum. Students participate in lessons on social interaction, communication strategies, and role-playing to navigate real-world scenarios. During one session, a student recited an acronym the class had been studying to help them navigate interpersonal communication: THINK. Before speaking, the student asks himself if what he is about to say is True, Helpful, Inspiring, Necessary, and Kind.
The school, which operates out of a church in Far North Dallas, has grown from four students at its inception last year to 11 today, supported by four full-time and one part-time teacher. It serves grades five through 12, and admission is competitive, requiring cognitive assessments, academic records, and personal interviews. Tuition is $35,000 annually.
How Do Other Schools Serve Twice-Exceptional Students?
The founders of the Sage School did not operate in a vacuum; they sought advice from established institutions, most notably Bridges Academy in Southern California, which serves as a "closest aspirational peer." When Bridges Academy opened in 1994, it started with only three students in the founder’s home. Today, it has grown into a significant hub for 2e education, with 200 students, an online program, and a dedicated research center.
Mark Long, the head of school at Bridges Academy, has observed a shift in the cultural conversation. Terms like "twice-exceptionality" and "neurodiversity" are now part of the common parlance. "There’s an understanding around what it is," Long said. "There might not be an understanding of what to do with it, but there’s an awareness."
Bridges Academy employs a flexible curriculum that allows for alternative demonstrations of mastery—for example, a student might produce a film or give an oral presentation in lieu of a 2,000-word essay. However, the model comes with a significant cost, with annual tuition reaching $61,200 for the in-person campus. Long acknowledges that while the price is high, the school is working to provide consulting services to public and private schools, noting that they are "inundated" with requests from districts across the country attempting to better serve this population.
Public school systems are also taking steps toward inclusion. In Maryland, Montgomery County Public Schools is widely recognized for its comprehensive 2e services, including self-contained classrooms. In Texas, twice-exceptional students are eligible to participate in gifted programs while simultaneously receiving accommodations via an Individualized Education Program (IEP). Furthermore, districts like Arlington ISD and Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD have implemented universal screening, a practice that helps identify 2e students who might otherwise be missed by traditional referral processes.
"These kids are clever. They’re game-changers," Long said. "We have a moral obligation to make sure that every child across the United States and beyond reaches their potential."
For parents like Megan Howard, the path to finding the right fit was long. She considered homeschooling and explored various private options before discovering the Sage School. While the transition to a new, smaller school and the financial commitment required careful consideration, she believes the outcome speaks for itself.
When she watches her son tackle advanced calculus, she knows his intellect is being challenged. More importantly, when she sees him interacting with friends and advocating for his own needs, she feels a sense of relief and pride that had been missing for years. For Howard, the experience has been transformative, leading her to a simple wish: "I wish every student could go to a Sage who needs it."
