Ryan Ostrager was having a tough time in school. "He went through three kindergarten classes because he frustrated the teachers so much," remembers his mom, Rita. "He wasn't disruptive but non-participatory." By the time he was in third grade, Ryan disliked school so much he refused to do most of his schoolwork.  

It was a danger sign Rita Ostrager, from Monroe, New Jersey, recognized.

Ryan's older brother had gone through the same thing years earlier. Ostrager's older son had eventually become so disillusioned with public school and refused to go entirely.

At the Ostragers' urging, Ryan's public school system had him formally tested. To everyone's astonishment, the third grader passed end-of-year math tests up to 8th grade, including the GEPA and Algebra I. He also passed the end-of-year language arts test up to 6th grade.  

For many families, this would be great news. But the Ostrager family, though proud, recognized that having a "profoundly gifted" child—meaning, a child who performs at or above the 97^th percentile in clinical intelligence tests—was a huge responsibility. 

"Most parents don't have a clue what to do with a kid like this," Ostrager maintains. "The few times I met an educator who had ever dealt with one, they said, 'I remember that kid.  It didn't turn out so well for him.' I couldn't stand by and let that happen to Ryan."

Driven by a need to protect her son, as well as to address what she saw as a dearth of information and educational options for such children, Ostrager founded a non-profit organization called H.E.R.O.E.S: Higher Education, Resources and Opportunities for Exceptional Scholars.  Its mission, as stated on the H.E.R.O.E.S Web site (http://www.heroesgifted.org) is to identify exceptionally gifted students and provide educational resources and social opportunities for them. 

"I developed H.E.R.O.E.S because I didn't see anybody else doing it," Ostrager stated matter-of-factly. "I wanted to be able to give (parents of gifted children) the tools to help their children, to show them what's available."

In fact, there wasn't much available—anywhere. 

"You don't have any funding for gifted programs in public schools," Ostrager declares, with evident annoyance. "The only reason you might have one is if there's a school administrator who feels a moral obligation to do something for gifted kids.  But it's not like there's a reward for it. No one gets a promotion or bonus for it."

Ostrager notes that there is a distinct difference between children who are exceptionally bright—even classified as "gifted"—and the "profoundly gifted," whose needs, even with significant classroom accommodation, can't be easily met. 

"I don't believe school districts can create programs for kids like this because they're too rare," she says. "There are about five kids over thirteen grades in my entire district who would qualify forH.E.R.O.E.S.  How are you going to make a program for five kids?  Especially when they're all gifted in different areas?  That's why a program like this needs to be regional." 

Of the students currently registered for H.E.R.O.E.S, seven percent are from Essex County (Maplewood, Millburn, Shorthills, Newark, West Orange, Livingston and one child from Montclair) six percent are from Hudson County, six percent are from Bergen County and so forth.  Three percent are from out of state. H.E.R.O.E.S is affiliated with the Davidson Institute for Talent Development in Nevada and many of its members also participate at the Johns Hopkins University CTY (Center for Talented Youth) program.  Additionally, many universities, such as Stanford, offer online education courses for accelerated learners. But HEROES is one of the few programs that offers a social network component (kids participate in fun activities like pool parties and picnics) in addition to providing educational opportunities; in that, H.E.R.O.E.S is unique.

"I just quit working to devote myself full-time to H.E.R.O.E.S," says Ostrager, who says she's especially excited about its connection to Rutgers University. "Rutgers is creating classes just for us!  It's now possible to for an 11-year-old to take a college math class.  And their Basic Composition and Expository Writing (see Searching for Shakespeare under the Writing Talent Search section of our website) will be open to students under sixteen. We are also working with them to create a special section of a bio-chem lab for our kids."

Ostrager went on to say, "Academically, H.E.R.O.E.S has opened many doors for kids.  We connect kids with programs and scholarships.  We introduce students to leading researchers at our annual conference. We also help kids by providing a resource for parents to get information and meet other parents who have kids with similar issues."  She pauses. "I feel like I'm doing a lot more for education through H.E.R.O.E.S than I ever did volunteering for the public schools or the PTA."

And what about Ryan Ostrager? He is now 14 years old, attending Rutgers University as a day student. He has already earned over 40 credits towards what will be— by the time he's 18—multiple bachelor of science degrees. 

"Since I started college when I was eleven, I have time to do multiple degrees," he says nonchalantly. "I'll probably tri-major in physics, computer science, and math. I mean, it's just fun."

FUN?

"Well," he explains, "A lot of kids don't have a passion for academics because they don't know yet what they love.  So it's not really work to me, it's fun."

Asked about his experiences in traditional public school, Ryan relates, "My experience with public school was frustrating because a lot of the time when we negotiated (with administration for special accommodation) it was inadequate. It doesn't help much if you have to spend from June to December or January arguing (with school officials)." 

As for his future career, Ryan is in the process of deciding whether to pursue Astrophysics, his concentration for the past several years, or computer programming, something he's been leaning towards lately. "We can't exactly go fifteen thousand light years into space, now can we?" he jokes, before explaining (a bit too patiently), "Of course, they're related.  A lot of Astrophysics involves using computers to do simulations to interpret data from satellites." 

Of course.

Ryan says it hasn't been hard to make friends in college, despite being so many years younger than his classmates. "When I started college I was barely four feet tall so it was really noticeable.  Now I'm tall enough that people just think I'm short," he says cheerfully.  "I have plenty of friends from back in public school and online programs, but I feel confident with the kids I meet in college, too.  I find it socially better than public schools because the students are more adult-like and nicer.  In middle school they're not that respectful." He pauses. "Ideally, we could get public schools to work with us, but for me (college) is the next best solution."