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I would highly recommend this program as it was started by the Forman School who specialize in teaching students with learning differences like EFD while. coordinating with a 20 year experienced veteran director of gap programs. It's a hands-on and experiential style of educational learning that develops confidence and leadership in your child. Having said all of that, my child misses her friendships from Ingenuity Year the most.
My daughter (18) participated in the Ingenuity Year Gap Program: Climate Change in Coastal Maine- and the experience was lift changing for her. She needed a break from school but also needed a structured way to spend her time. This program was perfect! The Project Leaders were engaging, approachable, knowledgeable and fun. The participants were all great. The program is very inclusive of diverse identities. The capstone projects showcased students talents and passions. I loved talking with her (we phoned weekly) as I hadn't heard her as happy and confident in years. My only regret is that the program wasn't longer. Highly recommend.
Ingenuity Year provided my daughter with a much-needed reboot, confidence boost, and inspiration. She did the program as a gap semester after two very challenging years of college that kicked off in the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. She emerged with a fresh sense of her own potential and purpose, a rekindled connection to the power of being in nature, a deeper experiential appreciation of the impact of climate change, and a constellation of coping strategies for learning differences that were challenging her. She was one of the older participants and was worried about this at first, but she found that age differences soon dissolved into background noise, and there was as much opportunity to lean into leadership as she was willing to take. She came out of the program with some of the most meaningful friendships of her life.
Best experience for my son and our family. During my son's senior year of high school it became clear that he was not prepared for college. We shifted gears and began researching gap year programs. We found Ingenuity Year with the help of my son's school counselor. My son had a lot of growth experiences during his time at Ingenuity Year and he continues his journey of growth thanks to Ingenuity. I look forward to seeing how his trajectory plays out. Thank you to Kai and everyone at Ingenuity Year!
Since our founding in 1930, Forman School has been solely devoted to educating students in grades 9-12 with learning differences. Learning is as individualized as one's fingerprints. Bright students who may have difficulty in previous academic settings may simply process information differently. ..(more)
The Forman Summer Program, a coed boarding and day camp, takes place on the Forman School campus in Litchfield, CT, during the month of July. The program is a dynamic balance of academics and recreation for students entering grades 7-11 who have language-based learning differences such as dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia, as well as ADHD...(more)
It was always clear to us that our only child who would leave High School at age 17 would take a gap year to not only decompress from the performance pressure of junior and senior year in High School, but also to be given time to find his passion and explore life outside of his comfort zone. We had therefore not pressured him to apply to Colleges right out of High School which at times he regretted as he got swept up in the excitement of his friends' acceptance letters and felt left out. As High School drew to an end it became clear that it was the right decision because despite excellent grades neither he nor us believed that he was ready to socially and academically navigate College on his own. Life Experience was needed!
Because he is clearly a neurodiverse thinker we were mindful that sending him out on his own with a plane ticket in hand may be too much to start, we were looking for a program that also gave him the time and space to reflect how he will need to set himself up on the path to becoming a functioning adult. This is what lead us to Ingenuity Year where during the first online meeting he immediately connected to the idea of meeting other kids that have similar experiences and connecting with them without having to think about the "cliques" and "labels" from High School.
It took us a while to really be comfortable to spend the significant fee which represented 75% of his budget for the whole year, also given the fact that he was supposed to join the inaugural cohort of students for the program. The organizers were very patient and methodical in helping us alleviate our concerns. The application process is very personalized and geared towards the individual personalities and how they will form a group that "fits". The forms seem to ask the most insightful questions aimed at understanding the child/student and the interview is conversational/thoughtful.
Once accepted and signed up the organization stays in constant contact and provides a website with resources to prepare and an exhaustive packing list for outdoor adventure gear and items to bring. Some of which seems excessive, but to err on the side of better prepared.... we just went with it and off he went.
While in the program the organization sends regular reports and photos about the activities and the kids are free to contact home as much or as little as they prefer. At some stages they have very limited access to cell or internet services during which the reports from the organization help to understand what they are up to.
Our son loved his experience, he was sad when the program was over and he had to return home, because he felt he had made lifelong friends and life was about to get serious. We have seen personal growth upon his return, a better acceptance of personal responsibility and a more collaborative approach to life within the family and a readiness to further explore life outside of his comfort zone. He will now move on to an international volunteering assignment and a completely unguided work/travel adventure in Australia before entering college. Ingenuity Year had a big part in getting him to this point as an engaged participant in his own life planning, so we can recommend the program whole heartedly to anyone at similar cross roads.