School structure
Mirman is one of a handful of schools for the highly gifted (IQ of 138 or above) in the United States. Instead of traditional grade levels, Mirman School consists of a lower school and an upper school; the lower containing kindergarten through fourth grade, and the upper consisting of fifth grade through eighth grade. Each lower-school classroom contains approximately 15 students in kindergarten to 18 students in fourth grade. Many students leave after the second year of upper school and matriculate to a conventional seventh grade class. However, the administration of the school encourages students to stay through fourth year upper school when they can matriculate to ninth grade (or, rarely, tenth grade), or in some instances seek early admission to various colleges.
Lower school
In the lower school, there are three classes for each academic level (or grade). Each class has a primary teacher and assistant teacher who instruct the students in reading, mathematics, English, history, thematic studies and other miscellaneous subjects. In addition, there are additional specialist teachers who teach separate classes covering science, theatrics, music, computer skills, and world languages (Mandarin or Spanish).
Upper school
The upper school, in contrast, has no homeroom teacher. Instead, each student takes seven different classes and moves around the classrooms throughout the day. Rather than storing all school supplies within a fixed desk, as the students do in lower school, upper school students have lockers as an area to store books and school supplies. The classes for the upper school are: science, a world language (either Spanish, Latin, or Mandarin), history, English, mathematics, P.E., art, theater, music (except in seventh grade), LEAP, and two electives. For electives, students may choose to attend one elective which meets four days per seven-day cycle, or two different two-day-per-cycle electives. On some afternoons, the upper school has a program called LEAP (Learning Enhancement and Achievement Program) which gives students the ability to choose which classes they attend from a list of approximately eight options each period. The primary purpose of LEAP is to support the academic and artistic programs by providing students time for working on class assignments or independent projects. Students can also select classes that enhance the learning in all of their classes. Throughout the year there are a variety of choices available for all of the upper school students. LEAP has been an important part of the upper school curriculum for the past 20 years. In addition, there are two "flex" periods per seven-day cycle for seventh and eighth-graders, which can also be used for taking missed tests, working on class assignments, or getting extra help wherever it is needed.
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