We first met Dr. Shin when our now 14-yo daughter needed to get evaluated for the Issaquah School District to start school early (she was born in September). Dr. Shin’s interaction with out daughter left a strong impression with us. On top of that her detailed evaluation was spot on and later corroborated as our daughter grew (yes she did start school early and is doing well both socially and academically). So when our son was at a similar age we also got him evaluated by Dr. Shin. We thought that his non-verbal skills were not as far along. Again, Dr. Shin’s evaluation was very detailed and confirmed some of our concerns and ways to help him develop. With Kindergarten approaching for him and the pandemic’s end nowhere near, we enrolled our son at BK. He’s first grader there now. We can see his growth in the past two academic years. The nurturing of his interest in reading, art, science, etc. has been impressive. Looking back it was a great decision to enroll our son at BK.
—- Marcus Chen in May 2023
A video testimonial of BK Academy, a school for gifted students.
A video testimonial of BK Academy, a school for gifted students.
“We’ve had both of our kids in BK Academy, and they’ve grown so much the past couple of years. Meera’s cultivated an environment of psychological safety, where gifted kids can be themselves and uniqueness is celebrated. Academically, she’s met children at their appropriate level and supported their continued growth. In a non-Covid school year, there’s been extracurricular actives (e.g. martial arts, chess, coding, science) that allows kids to expand their interests. BK has also emphasized social emotional learning. There’s plenty of time for unstructured play, allowing kids to have teamwork, work though conflict, and negotiate. Though these interactions, our kids have had the opportunity to build on empathy, decision-making, and social/self awareness. Being a small school, we’ve gotten to know all of the families at BK, and this community is one of the highlights of attending. All of the families are supportive and have faced similar joys and challenges of raising gifted children. We’ve learned so much and have made life-long friendships through our time at BK — we’re so grateful to have been a part of this community. ”
“Ms. Meera is an extraordinary teacher and has done so much for both of our kids. Our son went to BK for a few years and grew tremendously both socially and academically. My daughter also thrived and gained so much confidence learning from others and finding her own drive.Dr. Shin understands gifted children and their psychology very well. She employed clever techniques to pair children with complimentary skill-sets to help each-other group during group exercises. She encouraged open and creative expression through unstructured formats and play.She customized the curriculum for each child paying close attention to areas of advancement and development. Our kids were always challenged but also had tremendous confidence and drive.We’re grateful for the foundation Ms. Meera gave both of our children and fully believe their educational career would not be as bright were it not for these critical early years at BK. ”
“Ms. Meera is truly a renaissance teacher, re-thinking the way we educate our youngest students. Ms. Meera’s program allows each child to function at their own level with individual goals, something most schools try to claim they do, but few accomplish.
Her most impressive qualities are with the difficult students. When you are dealing with highly capable students at times behavior can be quite a challenge. Ms. Meera is patient beyond reason and I have personally seen her help many brilliant students with uncontrollable behavior regain themselves with her perseverance.
I have had three children attend BK Play. After they moved locations, the school went from being 15 minutes away to over an hour away with traffic, yet I made the drive, why, because I knew without a doubt Ms. Meera would ensure my students got the best possible start to their education and Ms. Meera would ensure they had a foundation that would last a lifetime.
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“Meera is the best gifted educator I have ever met, and I have met many of them over the years, as my son has spent last 4 years in a gifted program in Seattle surrounded by educators of gifted children. She has the fundamental understanding and concern for this unusual type of children and their special needs.
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“Meera gave two my children a good start in their delicate early years when I could find no other school that could understand their specific needs as gifted children. This takes a special kind of person with a lot of creativity and caring. Every day after school Meera would spend time talking to parents about how their kids were doing and if special needs were coming up. I haven’t found this kind of support at any other school.
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