Genie Academy Graduate Accepted into Gifted Program at Johns Hopkins!

Genie Academy graduate, Adarsh Girish, passed The Cognitive Abilities Test, (CogAT) a K–12 test that assesses students' learned abilities in verbal, nonverbal and quantitative. In addition to the CogAT, Adarsh took The School and College Ability Test, (SCAT) a standardized test done in the United States that measures math and verbal intellectual capabilities in gifted children. Adarsh scored 99 percentile nationwide quantitative and 98 percentile for verbal. His high score qualified him to get into the Gifted and Talented (GNT) program at Johns Hopkins University.

Mohit  S. Jain, the founder of Genie Academy, interviewed Adarsh and his father Girish and discussed Adarsh’s overall experience at Genie Academy, how he is doing in school, and the programs he got accepted into. The transcript below has been edited for clarity.

Mohit: “How has your experience been at Genie Academy?”

Girish: “It’s really helped him in his core fundamentals, especially with memory and being able to elevate his intellectual capacity. So, I think Genie Academy played a pretty important role.”

Mohit: “How are you doing in school?”

Adarsh: “I am doing really well. I am the smartest kid there.”

Mohit: “How do you know?”

Adarsh: “Everybody asks me questions they do not know and I usually get them right.”

Mohit: “Do you get the highest grades in your class?”

Adarsh: “Yeah that I know of. I usually do not see other people’s grades, but I think I get really high grades.”

Girish: “I think he is doing really well in school. He is one of the top students at Woodbrook. He got into CogAT for reading and math. I think Genie Academy’s core fundamentals helped a lot with that. 

Mohit: “Congratulations! So what is CogAT?”

Adarsh: “CogAT is basically a test which you need to pass to get into GNT and only a few kids get there.”

Mohit: “So you got in?”

Adarsh: “Yes for both subjects.”

Mohit: “What grade did you take the CogAT in?”

Adarsh: “I took it in second and fourth. Second grade I got math and fourth grade I got math and reading.”

Mohit: “Congrats! I am so proud of you! How many kids in your class got into CogAT?”

Adarsh: “I don’t know, but very few have mentioned it.”

Girish: “In addition to the CogAT, Adarsh also took the SCAT. So that is a SAT for much younger kids. It is below 5^th grade. He took that and cleared it as well. So, there is a program that runs with John Hopkins University and GNT kids. You have to score within the SCAT to qualify for that, so he was able to qualify for that in math. Once again, I believe Genie Academy played an important role.”

Mohit: “Fantastic. So a lot of people when they come to talk about a program always have a question whether this will help them in school. So basically what you are telling me is you passed the CogAT, got into the GNT, passed the SCAT and got into Johns Hopkins. It’s obviously helping in school.”

Adarsh: “Yeah.”

Mohit: “So when you do work in school, a lot of the work you are doing now you probably did not learn at Genie Academy. How is Genie Academy helping you?”

Adarsh: “ Genie Academy is helping me with basic equations so I can build on top of that for the higher and much more difficult stuff.”

Girish: “Genie Academy helps him and I process things much faster.”

Adarsh: “And it makes you eager to learn!”

Mohit: “That is very good to know because that is what we tell parents. What other gains have you seen in other areas? Like sports, music, or creativity.”

Girish: “Overall, he has become more outgoing since his graduation here. Just being with the kids and interacting with the teachers. It is wonderful. Confidence is a huge thing, so once he gained confidence here, step by step, that helped overall in his categories.”

Mohit: “When you see him outside in other subjects and other areas, how does he perform in comparison to his other peers?”

Girish: “He performs the same, or if not better. I do not see him lacking in any of those extracurricular activities, which I think is another thing we learned here- to put 100% towards anything. If it is a new activity, he tries to do his best. Skiing for example, which he tried for the first time, he put in 100% and tried to get better.”

Mohit: “Now that he is graduated, what do you feel proudest about for him?”

Girish: “I am very proud that he persevered and got through the entire curriculum and was able to complete all levels. I am proud of the perseverance and effort. He just kept at it. Also, the knowledge he has gained in math and reading.”

Mohit: “I would like to add to that. While we are quite proud of the knowledge and brain development, the thing that is most valuable is the perseverance because that is going to take him places. Keep at it, do not give up easily. Whatever you do, give 100%. Now, let’s talk about the Genie Academy program and how it is run. What do you think is good about it and what needs to be improved?”

Girish: “What is good about the program is the classroom atmosphere and the quality of the teachers. I also believe that the way you run it is also a part of it. It is very accessible to the parents in terms of suggestions and such. In terms of improvement, I know some parents have an issue with once a kid gets used to a particular teacher, and then it changes. Sometimes it can help like you should not be stuck to a particular teacher. I do not know what the right solution for that is.”

Mohit: “With the other teachers he has had, what are your experiences with them?”

Girish: “I think he has enjoyed working with all the teachers.”

Adarsh: “Yeah!”

Girish: “He has benefited from all of them. They are very good.”

Adarsh: “They also give a friendly environment to the other kids and help them out.”

Mohit: “Great. What is your best memory about the program?” It has been a long journey.”

Adarsh: “Everything. From addition to multiplication, to division, to Common Core. Everything was really good.”

Girish: “I think he and I made a lot of good friends and have very good memories of this place. Thank you, Mohit.”

Mohit: “And thank you.”

Enroll your child in Genie Academy’s math and reading program today. Your child could be the next one in a GNT program!