DALLAS — Megan Howard’s oldest son is the kind of kid who studies trigonometry purely for fun. Yet, for a long time, the very thought of going to school filled him with dread.
Every morning followed a familiar, agonizing routine. He would meticulously get dressed, only to stand frozen at the front door, refusing to step outside. Once they finally made it to the car, the arrival at his public middle school brought a fresh hurdle: he would hesitate, gripped by anxiety, unable to bring himself to step out of the vehicle and onto campus. Recognizing that the daily friction was taking a severe toll on her son’s well-being, Howard ultimately made the difficult decision to pull him out entirely.
Her son, who is diagnosed with both autism and ADHD, has never struggled with the rigorous demands of homework or academic assignments. What was entirely missing from his traditional educational environment was a sense of belonging. Among the roughly 1,000 students attending his public school, Howard said, her son did not need an expansive social circle—he simply needed one friend.
Her two sons fall into a unique classification known as twice-exceptional learners, a term used to describe children who are intellectually gifted while simultaneously managing learning differences such as dyslexia, ADHD, or autism. Nationwide, an estimated 360,000 students belong to this population. For their parents, navigating the educational landscape often means engaging in a frustrating search for a classroom environment capable of catering simultaneously to a child’s advanced intellect and their complex socioemotional needs.
Enter the Sage School of Dallas, a newly established private institution designed specifically to fill this void. It stands as one of the very few schools in the United States dedicated exclusively to serving twice-exceptional students.
"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, reflecting on her years of searching. "There was never a place that did both."
Over the past few decades, society’s understanding of special education has deepened significantly, leading to a notable jump in the number of students who qualify for and receive these services. However, even with this increased awareness, a pressing question continues to loom over educators and families alike: Are modern schools truly equipped to offer the comprehensive support that twice-exceptional learners require to thrive?
"Until Sage was around, there wasn’t a school that met all of their needs, so you were always trying to make it work," said Jessica Rall, one of the founders of the Sage School. "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 steadily gained traction as researchers dive deeper into the distinct cognitive profiles of these students. According to estimates from the National Association for Gifted Children, approximately 6% of all students who receive special education services are also academically gifted.
"It’s a phenomenon," said Jacob Michaelson, a psychiatry and neuroscience professor 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."
At the same time, the broader population of students with identified disabilities has experienced a dramatic increase across the country, suggesting that educators have grown more adept at recognizing student needs while parents have become more proactive in seeking out professional support. In the 2014-15 academic year, Texas public schools served 451,600 students with disabilities. By the most recent school year, that figure had climbed to 911,300 students enrolled in special education programs.
Yet, twice-exceptional learners frequently fly completely under the radar. Their high intellect often masks their learning differences, meaning their daily struggles are rarely reflected in standardized test scores. As a result, overworked and under-resourced educators may pay less attention to them, Michaelson noted.
"You get the impression: Oh my gosh, this person is really smart," he said. "लेकिन that masks the fact that they do have other deficits that are not as apparent."
Even when parents are fully aware that their child is twice-exceptional, pinpointing the appropriate educational placement remains a daunting hurdle. Families are repeatedly forced to choose between placing their child in a traditional gifted and talented program or a specialized education program, neither of which usually accommodates both sides of the coin.
Howard never had any doubts that her oldest son would excel academically in the rigorous math classes at the School for the Talented and Gifted, a competitive magnet school run by the Dallas Independent School District. Her primary fear was that he would fall desperately behind on a social level.
Meanwhile, her younger son deals with selective mutism, an anxiety disorder that inhibits his ability to speak in specific social situations. For him, Howard simply wanted a learning environment characterized by smaller, more 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 understands the profound frustrations experienced by parents like Howard. Because her own child is a twice-exceptional learner, she knows firsthand how exhausting it is to find an educational institution capable of addressing academic and socioemotional needs in equal measure.
That shared frustration is precisely why she helped establish a school that could 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 typical October morning, two high school students at the school could be seen hovering around a table cluttered with worksheets, calculators, and pencils. As part of a hands-on physics lesson, the boys were tasked with constructing a functional projectile launcher. Bending over the table, they carefully inspected their makeshift machine before slipping a small ball inside.
To their genuine excitement, the ball launched cleanly across the room, landing just short of their mathematical estimations—a result that sparked lively discussion rather than disappointment.
Mandi Skerbetz, the head of school, explains that the curriculum relies heavily on inquiry-based learning, allowing students to explore their own questions and pursue topics as deeply as their curiosity demands. The structured school day concludes with a variety of student-led clubs, ranging from chess and Pokémon to Dungeons & Dragons.
Crucially, socioemotional learning is woven directly into the fabric of the daily curriculum, Skerbetz noted. Students participate in explicit lessons focused on interpersonal communication, working through communication strategies, role-playing challenging social scenarios, and discussing practical ways to apply these insights to their everyday lives.
During one morning session, a student easily recited an acronym the class had explored earlier that month: THINK. Before speaking, the student explained, he pauses to ask himself a series of questions: Is it true? Helpful? Inspiring? Necessary? Kind?
When the school opened its doors last year, it began with a modest cohort of just four students. Today, enrollment has grown to 11 students, supported by four full-time teachers and one part-time teacher. Located inside a church facility in Far North Dallas, the accredited institution serves students from the fifth grade through high school graduation.
Admission to the school is selective and requires an application process. School leaders carefully review cognitive assessments, past academic records, parent reports, student interviews, and campus visits. Tuition is set at $35,000 per year.
How Do Other Schools Serve Twice-Exceptional Students?
Before launching the Sage School, its founders reached out to the handful of established twice-exceptional schools operating across the country to exchange concepts, ideas, and operational models. They point to Bridges Academy in Southern California as their closest aspirational peer.
When Bridges Academy was founded in 1994, it started with just three students learning inside the founder’s home. Over the decades, it has expanded into a comprehensive institution serving 200 students, complete with a dedicated campus, an online school, a research center, and a media site.
Mark Long, the head of school at Bridges Academy, has observed a distinct shift in how educational communities discuss these students. Terms like "twice-exceptionality" and "neurodiversity" are undeniably used with greater frequency today.
"There’s an understanding around what it is," he said. "There might not be an understanding of what to do with it, but there’s an awareness."
The college-preparatory school utilizes a flexible curriculum designed to accommodate diverse learning styles, Long explained. For instance, instead of assigning a traditional 2,000-word essay, instructors might permit a student to demonstrate their mastery of a subject by delivering an oral presentation or producing a short film. Much like the Sage School, Bridges Academy sets aside dedicated time during the school day to actively cultivate social skills, focusing heavily on teamwork and public speaking.
Naturally, specialized education of this caliber comes with a significant financial commitment. Annual tuition at Bridges Academy runs approximately $61,200 for its physical campus and $37,500 for its online program.
However, Long emphasizes that families who lack the financial means to cover private tuition should not be left out of the equation.
To help bridge that gap, Bridges Academy offers professional consulting services to public and private school districts alike. Long notes that the institution is "inundated" with inquiries as school systems nationwide grapple with the challenge of better serving twice-exceptional learners within their own walls.
Public school systems have already made notable strides in certain regions. For example, Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland is widely recognized for offering some of the most comprehensive support systems for twice-exceptional students, including specialized self-contained classrooms.
In Texas, public school guidelines dictate that twice-exceptional students are permitted to participate in gifted and talented programs while simultaneously receiving the specific accommodations outlined in their individualized education programs, or IEPs—legally binding documents detailing how a district will support a child’s unique needs. Educators across the state are expected to modify standard curricula to accommodate the dual nature of these learners.
Furthermore, several North Texas districts, including Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD and Arlington ISD, have implemented universal screening processes. Universal screening significantly improves the identification of twice-exceptional learners because every single student is tested, rather than relying solely on teacher referrals.
"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."
Finding the Dream School
Before finding a workable solution, Howard exhausted nearly every available avenue. She considered homeschooling, enrolled her children in public school, and even explored a private college-preparatory school for one of her sons. For a very long time, the concept of an ideal "dream school" felt entirely out of reach.
When a routine internet search led her to the newly established Sage School, she decided to take a chance, sensing that it might finally be a place capable of embracing children with profiles like her sons’.
Initially, transitioning away from established schools to a brand-new campus carried a degree of uncertainty. The high cost of tuition caused severe sticker shock, particularly given that the school does not yet offer financial aid programs. To make it work, Howard consulted with financial planners to determine if her household budget could absorb the expense.
Ultimately, she concluded that the personal and educational sacrifices were well worth it.
Today, when she watches her oldest son deeply engaged in studying calculus, she knows his brilliant mind is being properly challenged. When she sees that he has successfully formed friendships with his peers, a profound sense of relief washes over her. And when she watches him advocate for his own needs, she feels an overwhelming sense of pride.
It is precisely for these reasons that Howard wishes every family and student who needs it could have access to an environment like the Sage School.
