Dear Friends,

As we step into a new year, I can’t help but feel a sense of excitement and possibility for what’s to come; because what started as a small, specialized community has grown into something much larger—and much more necessary—than we ever imagined.

Over 11 years ago, I set out to solve a problem I couldn’t ignore: my own bright, curious children were losing their love of learning in environments that weren’t built for their kind of brain wiring. They needed a place where advanced abilities and real challenges could coexist.

I soon learned that other families shared this experience. Children who were exceptional at both ends of the bell curve—known as twice-exceptional (2e)—were falling through the cracks.

FlexSchool grew from this reality. We started with the students whose needs were most complex—gifted, twice-exceptional, deeply asynchronous thinkers—and built a school around what allows them to flourish.

As that fledgling school grew into a vibrant community with three campuses and students from dozens of countries, something important became clear: this is not just about a small group of outliers. 

As expectations, demands, and the pace of information continue to increase, we’re left with a system straining under societal forces that no individual school or teacher created. More and more families are recognizing what we saw from the very beginning: the problem was never their child. The system simply hasn’t kept up.

FlexSchool has shown what’s possible when learning is designed around how students actually think, grow, and engage with the world. And the very practices that help our students thrive—a strengths-based approach, authentic relationships, and environments that honor the learner’s needs—can help all students thrive.

That’s why, through 2e 101, we’re bringing what we’ve learned out into the world, sharing practical insight, research-informed guidance, and real-world strategies so schools, educators, and institutions beyond FlexSchool can begin to do better by these students.

By making the needs of these brilliant, creative, and talented learners visible, we help move the world toward a long-overdue shift—one where they are recognized, supported, and valued not just in classrooms, but in college, work, and life.

I am thrilled and humbled at the momentum we’ve built so far, and I can’t wait to see where we take this movement together. Thank you for being part of the community that made all of this possible.

Jacqui

For free tools and resources to improve your 2e child’s experience, visit 2e 101. 

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Jacqui Byrne, FlexSchool Founder

Jacqui Byrne is the visionary behind FlexSchool – a network of small schools specifically designed to engage and support the creative, quirky, asynchronous minds of gifted and twice-exceptional (2e) students. An acknowledged expert and sought-after speaker on education, Jacqui is a member of the Bridges Graduate School Advisory Council and holds a degree from Yale University. She is also the parent of twice-exceptional kids.