Thank you for your interest in Seabury School.  We are proud of the quality educational experience Seabury offers our academically advanced students. Seabury offers a child-centered program specifically designed for highly capable learners. Small class sizes allow our teachers to support each child in developing their talents and discovering their passions. 

Seabury is one of only three schools in Tacoma accredited by the Northwest Association of Independent Schools (NWAIS), a nonprofit membership association that provides professional development and support services to more than 110 schools in eight Northwest states and British Columbia. 

Seabury’s admissions process is designed to focus on the child, not just on the numbers. While cognitive testing is required for admissions, results are looked at in the context of all the information we gather about your child as we get to know each other through the process. Seabury is also one of a handful of schools in the U.S. that will accept the results of either a qualitative or quantitative assessment for admissions.  Contact me or check out the testing information for more details.  

To learn more about our school, please call Emily Kuhne, our admissions director at 253-252-3542 or email admissions@seabury.org. Also, visit the other sections of this website. In addition to information about our program, you’ll find resources on gifted children.

We recognize the importance of the decision you are making about which school will best meet your child’s educational needs. We are happy to assist you in any way we can in the process.

In Service
Sandi Wollum

Seabury offers this list of local psychologists as a starting point for parents needing qualitative cognitive testing for their child. These exams are required as part of Seabury’s application process beginning in kindergarten. These psychologists do not work for Seabury, but are professionals in the area that we have worked with in the past.

Seabury requires cognitive testing as part of the admissions process for students entering grades K-8. Cognitive testing along with what we learn about your child through information in the application form, your child’s visit to school, school records and our conversations you help our admissions team determine whether Seabury’s program is right for your child. As a child-centered school for highly capable children, Seabury looks at cognitive testing as one piece of the puzzle – it is never the only criteria for admission.

Most families opt for the more traditional qualitative assessment. The WPPSI-IV for younger students, the WISC-V for older students, or group tests given at public schools such as the CogAT or NNAT are the most common quantitative assessment tools. Individual assessments given by a licensed psychologist are most likely to yield the most accurate results. However a number of factors can impact test validity so Seabury’s team always looks carefully at the entirety of the assessment report.  

Seabury is also one of only a handful of schools in the country that will accept the results of a qualitative assessment (QA) for admissions. Offered through the Gifted Development Center in Denver, Colorado, this assessment is the result of the work of Annemarie Roeper, founder of the Roeper School, the oldest school for gifted children in the U.S., and Dr. Linda Silverman, who has been researching gifted children for nearly 50 years.  

“QA determines giftedness based on the emotional characteristics, personality traits and reasoning strategies known to correlate with advanced cognitive ability.  The method relies on the expertise of certified practitioners to appreciate the qualities of the child not measurable by quantitative means.”  – From the Gifted Development Center website  

The QA has only recently become available virtually, meaning your child can be assessed at home in familiar and comfortable surroundings. QAs tend to be more extensive and more child-centered than qualitative assessments, and are therefore a more expensive option. But they can yield valuable information about how your child learns. Contact Head of School Sandi Wollum if you are interested in learning more about the QA option.