Hi again,

DH and I are looking at various schools in our area for DS7. We had him tested recently at JHU/CTY and are waiting for scores but were told he's gifted (don't know LOG yet). I've posted a few times before, and noted his current parochial school has not (in K or 1st) been open to accommodations for him. Granted we didn't have scores yet, but the culture seems to be NOT to provide accommodations.

So, as we have been looking at schools, we found one that has a great academic reputation, although it's not a GT school. The concern I have is that I've heard it's very competitive academically and that there is pressure to achieve. I've heard that it's more the norm there than not for kids to be performing above grade level, but am not sure how to determine whether that's because the kids are GT or because they're being pushed to achieve.

DS7 is a pretty anxious kid and I don't know how he'd react in a competitive environment. I do think it's necessary for him to learn how to overcome academic challenge (which he's deifnitely not getting where he is), and to understand that he's not ALWAYS going to be the smartest person in the room and that that's okay.

I wonder what you think about a "competitive" academic environment for gifted kids, and any suggestions you might have for determining the right fit for a gifted seven year old.

Thanks and hope you're enjoying your summer!