Journeys School for the Gifted and Talented in Sylva
Western North Carolina will soon have a new school that offers a personalized learning experience for K-8 students who are academically gifted and talented. Journeys School will open in Sylva for the 2025/26 school year, and is now accepting applications. “If a learner is developing asynchronously, advanced in one or more areas, precocious, curious, self-directed, sensitive or emotionally intense, and enjoys learning, building/creating and being challenged, Journeys may help them thrive academically and socially-emotionally,” says founder and head of school Brianne Hudak.
In her more than 16 years as an educator and administrator in public, private and charter schools, Hudak became an advocate for the gifted and saw a need for a program like the one Journeys will offer. “I saw gaps in properly identifying, supporting and educating these learners and helping them reach their full potential,” she says. “Gifted and talented/exceptional children are a neurodiverse population that perceives and processes the world differently. They require unique opportunities for advancement, acceleration and enrichment.” Hudak anticipates an enrollment of 60 students. Although tuition has not been set, she wants the school to be affordable to all families in the area. Financial aid will be offered.
The school will be located on 14 acres ideal for experiential and outdoor learning. “The Journeys School daily schedule is very unique and targeted to each classroom cohort and learner,” Hudak says. “It is designed to be flexible, strengths-based and to develop gifted and talented children holistically. The overall design is personalized learning with goal setting, mastery of content and time for reflection each day. The curriculum focuses on the science behind subjects and allows learners to delve deeper into their learning journey. There will be in-class libraries, online programming and textbooks.”
With Sylva’s proximity to Western Carolina University and Southwestern Community College, there will be opportunities for networking and community outreach. “It is exciting to bring a school like this to WNC,” Hudak says. “There are fewer than 50 gifted and talented private schools in the nation, so this puts our area on the map for offering transformative education to an often overlooked and underserved population.”
Journeys School for the Gifted and Talented is located at 414 Skyland Drive, Sylva. To learn more, apply for the 2025/26 school year or schedule a tour or interview, visit JourneysGT.org, or call 828.398.0112.
