Our students come from a variety backgrounds and school settings. Some from private school and others from public school. Some live close to Bankers Hill. Others move quite significant distances in order to attend the program. All come from families who support our vision of education and understand that progress comes from working together.
Balboa students display a wide variety of interests and aptitudes. Please see our work samples section to get a feel for their high level of accomplishment. Like many bright people with very specific interests. BCS student aptitudes are not consistent across all domains. For example, a child might be a very gifted writer and only an average or even below average math student. Part of BCS mission is to nurture giftedness and support children in other areas of academic need. Many tend to be late readers and need some extra assistance in this area.
One attribute that all BCS students have in common is that they are very nice, welcoming to strangers, caring about others and are always ready to help someone in need. BCS students do not compete with each other in the classroom and this is encouraged as we do not see classroom success as a zero sum game.
BCS does not accept students who are violent or have a history of substance abuse. We have tried, in the past to work with such students but have not been successful. In addition, students with serious Tourette’s disorder may also have a very difficult time with the structure at BCS. Finally, children suffering from Childhood Schizophrenia or other similar disorders need a different type of program than the one offered at BCS.