I am an AC parent at WY. Student came from an SEES.

There are advantages – as you know from the shiny open house tour. But I think a lot of parents don’t see that their kid can earn high school credits, and they can take language or other graduation requirements earlier on that allow them to either go deeper into their field of interest in HS or explore electives. It is a huge head start.

Academically they were prepared. Your kid may be doing extremely well in elementary school but will be appropriately challenged with rigor – you are choosing the AC path because you feel they are not challenged enough in elementary school. Some kids are not used to having to work for their grades. so if you consider that ‘stressful’ then it’s up to you how to approach that feeling.

Your kid will be in high school. They attend core classes with their cohort, but electives are with kids of all ages. At WY the older students look out for the younger ones, generally welcome them and I’ve seen no bullying or nastiness. There is a considerable measure of freedom in their day to do what they want to do. Organizational skills need to be on point. There is a lot of stuff they have to keep track of – not only physical items but also their workload and tasks. Be prepared to support your own kid.

Downside/upside – your kid can stay there for high school. This eases the pressure on 7th grade grades if needed. Downside is if that is not where you want to be for HS, you may be more academically prepared for the HS test by being in a more advanced learning environment, but then you need to keep your grades on point for HS entry.

I can’t recommend it enough and am thrilled with the choice, even though it’s not ‘easy’. Hope that is the constructive criticism you are looking for.