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Dose anyone transfer kid from Public school to Private school? My son is in First grade now. He is complaining about the school since he is in K. He said he doesn’t like school. It is too easy… We let him took WISC & Woodcock Johnson few weeks ago. He got 145 on WISC, Broad Math 5.4 Grade & English 9 Grade for Woodcock Johnson test. Also, some of his score in Woodcock Johnson is 15 Grade.
Should I transfer him to Private school? Because the budget cut so Public school doesn't have any program for gifted kids. I heard Public school will be a better place to learn social skill. But he doesn't like go to school now. I think that is not a good sign too. I just don’t know what to do now.
It depends on the private, but in general, it is not a lot different. If your school offers differentiation, that is actually better than a once/twice per week one hour pull out for a "gifted" program. Our school does both, I still don't think it's enough but our one foray into private had enough negatives despite better academics, that we chose to return to public.
It all depends on the private schools. Public and private schools vary a lot.
My kids go to private school. We live in California, and the schools here are generally pretty lousy. For example:
1. The day ends roughly one hour earlier than the private schools, except on Wednesdays when it ends roughly two hours earlier. Plus they have minimum days most months, when school closes at lunchtime. And they've had furlough days this year when school was closed because of budget problems. I once calculated that all this stuff amounted to 4-5 weeks of lost instructional time compared to the private schools. This is huge.
Is this the case where you live?
2. The private schools around here use all that extra time for music lessons, art lessons, field trips, and foreign language.
3. Around here, the private schools are much more open to the idea of ability grouping and grade skips. I have three skips between two kids that never would have happened in public schools (I called around and asked and got some very anti-skip responses from local principals).
Private schools can be averse to skips too, but you have leverage because you don't have to send your kids there. You can always negotiate at an interview ("We're thinking of sending our child to this school; we think he would benefit from a grade skip. What's your policy?" Then sit back and let them talk.).
4. There are obviously bad private schools (e.g. The earth was created 6,000 years ago!!) and good public schools (e.g. Davidson Academy for this crowd).
I may come across as being very anti-public schools, but I'm not. I went to a public school in New Hampshire that offered everything I listed in point 2 and then some. They ability grouped starting in grade 1 and were open to skips. That school was great. AFAIK, it still has a lot of that stuff.
I don't like spending a small fortune on private school fees, but around here, we simply have no choice. It's not that the private schools are a perfect fit, either, but for us, they're a much better choice.
In the state of MI, where I am, they do not have any budget for gifted programs in the public schools either. So, in MI, if I were to switch from public to private school, I would want to make sure that the private school I was selecting was actually targeted towards gifted children and offered a range of gifted services. I believe you can find a list of gifted schools on the Hoagie website.
If it is not a gifted private school, I would compare the curriculum to the public school. If it is similar, then I see no point in changing. If it is a lot more challenging, then it may be beneficial to pay the tuition and switch.
Our area enjoys the same "benefits" for private school, but also adds:
2) A requirement for parents to put in a set number of service hours for the school.
Our public schools do this.
LOL. If ours tried it, I'd mail them a copy of my property tax bill.
I'm right there with you! I feel like sending them our property tax bill just as a reminder to do their job anyways! lol
As for private vs. public .... our privates require a lot of hours put in as well or they will charge you certain amount of $ if you don't do the hours plus since all privates in the area are church schools, you get charged considerably more $ if you're not their supporting parishioner. So for us it will always be a matter of choice between public and homeschooling rather than public vs private.
DS6 attends a private school whose motto is specifically "we meet your child wherever they are". We were told if we could make this school happen, to make it happen. They talk a good talk about individual assessments and plans.
this is our experience, too. during every part of the admissions process our private school talked about "bespoke education" and "inquiry-based learning", but it was all talk. as it turns out, they're only happy to meet children "where they are" if "where they are" is smack in the middle of the curve.
i spent about 6 months of the year feeling like they were gaslighting me (she's perfectly average/ you're a helicopter parent and it's your fault she's dying inside) until we saw a psychologist, who took one look at DD5 and said, "uh... she's most likely PG - don't send her back there in the fall if they won't acknowledge that she needs more." and then i came here - huzzah!
however, all of this taught me an AWESOME technique for school interviews - simply lay out all the issues, and see how fast they run away. even though she's just another kid to squeeze into a classroom, our new local public school principal cracked a big smile and said, "oh we LOVE kids like that here; here's my plan..."
so i'll take crowded & prepared over dishonest & self-satisfied any day of the week. i think it all boils down to who is willing to keep the dialogue going, you know?
Every Sunday it brooded and lay on the floor. Inconveniently close to the drawing-room door.
Our area enjoys the same "benefits" for private school, but also adds:
2) A requirement for parents to put in a set number of service hours for the school.
Our public schools do this.
LOL. If ours tried it, I'd mail them a copy of my property tax bill.
I'm right there with you! I feel like sending them our property tax bill just as a reminder to do their job anyways! lol
As for private vs. public .... our privates require a lot of hours put in as well or they will charge you certain amount of $ if you don't do the hours plus since all privates in the area are church schools, you get charged considerably more $ if you're not their supporting parishioner. So for us it will always be a matter of choice between public and homeschooling rather than public vs private.
Oh, yeah. Ours are mostly Catholic schools as well, so it's either higher tuition, or regular attendance at church for the whole family.
We do have one non-parochial private school. It's more expensive than the parochial ones, it also loads down the kids with homework, and it's adamantly anti-grade skipping. It says it does teach kids one year above grade level, but I don't see how that helps our DD. As a bonus feature, it comes across as somewhat military in nature. Our DD does not need more discipline, thanks.
So yeah, our options are also public or home. The private options are non-starters.
As others have said, it all depends on the private school. In our case, we found a near perfect private to put our DD into after K in public school.
Some of the potential benefits of a wonderful private school: personalized instruction, small class size, teachers who care, teachers who actually know your kid, a willingness to grade skip, teachers and administrators who treat you as if you are paying their salaries (oh wait, you are), etc.
Private school tuition can be a bit of a bear, but if your child doesn't develop a love of learning early, that money you're putting away for college might not be needed.
I don't know where you are located, but if you are in Eastern IA, USA - then I have a couple of great suggestions for private schools.
-S.F.
For gifted children, doing nothing is the wrong choice.
We live in California too. Everyone says the city we live has good Public school so we moved to here about 4 years ago. The API here is more then 900.
Yes! the school close earlier then Private school. And they only have half day on Wednesday. But I don't really care about if the school close earlier or not. My kid love music, art & reading. He spend lots of time on it. He is very busy after school.
The reason I'm thinking to transfer to Private because he can't learn anything at school. I think the teacher only teach the kids who is behind. Also, the school policy is kind of silly. Like he can read Chapter books when he was in K, the teacher knows that. But they don't allowed him to borrow the book from other grade's section. He only can choose the book from K section.
The information I got from school is they will test kids when they are in 3 grade and start GATE program in 4th grade. BUT! There is no GATE program now, just the teacher will give them extra homework to do.
I live in Los Angeles area. If you live around here, could you tell me which private school your kids go?
Thank you for the website. I looked this website before. I live in Los Angeles area and we don't have much choice here. I heard East coast has lots of School/Program for gifted kids.
The psychologist recommend us send my son to a Private school for gifted kids. But that school is too far for us. And there is one Public school for 3rd-6th grader. But we need to live in that area...
however, all of this taught me an AWESOME technique for school interviews - simply lay out all the issues, and see how fast they run away. even though she's just another kid to squeeze into a classroom, our new local public school principal cracked a big smile and said, "oh we LOVE kids like that here; here's my plan..."
so i'll take crowded & prepared over dishonest & self-satisfied any day of the week. i think it all boils down to who is willing to keep the dialogue going, you know?
I would recommend asking how many PG kids they have in each class. Also, ask specifics, like "so, when you have a child who's four grade levels ahead in math, what do you normally do? And what about the kids who are one grade level ahead? The kids who are behind? The kids who are behind in math but ahead in reading?"
yuchi0103, we transferred our EG ds from public to private when he was in upper elementary school, so I can tell you about our experience. My first note though, is that all schools are different - not all private schools are the same just as not all public schools are the same, and even one school is going to potentially be "different" from year to year based on the principal/philosophy, a child's experience within a school can be different year-to-year based on teacher they happen to have that year, and different children can experience the same school in very different ways depending not only on ability but on personality. It's all a very individual choice in so many ways that it's impossible to know from asking on a forum like this, what the best choice for your child in your area will be. OTOH, I've found it's really helpful to ask anyway - because the different responses may give you things to think about that you haven't considered yet.
Originally Posted by yuchi0103
Dose anyone transfer kid from Public school to Private school? My son is in First grade now. He is complaining about the school since he is in K. He said he doesn’t like school. It is too easy… We let him took WISC & Woodcock Johnson few weeks ago. He got 145 on WISC, Broad Math 5.4 Grade & English 9 Grade for Woodcock Johnson test. Also, some of his score in Woodcock Johnson is 15 Grade.
The scores on WJ-III Achievement tests aren't telling you that your child should actually be *in* the grade listed as grade equivalent, they are only telling you that your child's score matches what the average x-grader would have scored on the same subtest. The subtests are also scoring very specific skills, not necessarily knowledge tied to a school district's specific curriculum. OTOH, the scores your ds has are very high, and that combined with his high IQ plus having him tell you he's bored and school is too easy are all good reasons, taken together, to seek out more challenge for him in school.
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Should I transfer him to Private school? Because the budget cut so Public school doesn't have any program for gifted kids.
It's pretty clear that a change of *some kind* is needed. The first thing you need to do is to research all the options available to you in your area: first look at public and private schools. Are there optional/charter programs in your public schools? Don't be put off by private schools religious affiliations or how they advertise (philosophy etc) until you've talked to a few parents who's families have attended and you've interviewed the school or at least looked far enough into the school to know that it's not a good fit. Also don't be afraid to say no quickly to a school that just doesn't seem right. If you find a private you think would be a good fit, don't be put off by the cost until you've applied and inquired about financial aid - each of the private schools I've worked with have given out generous financial aid to families who couldn't otherwise afford to attend. Some have also given out merit-based scholarships to attract high-ability students.
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I heard Public school will be a better place to learn social skill.
I think developing social skills is an important piece of the school experience, but I don't think anyone can make a blanket statement that public schools are going to be a better place to learn them than private, or vice-versa - again, so much is going to depend on the individual school, the school's philosophy, the teachers they employ, and to a certain extent, the makeup of the student body.
This has been our experience with moving our EG ds from public to private, fwiw, one sample:
Social - it has worked out REALLY well - far better than we'd hoped for. The things that have made a huge difference socially are: smaller class size, children who are in school to learn, not just there because they have to be there, parents of the other children are invested in the children, teachers genuinely care about each child, and a lot of work on the part of the school to teach values and also quick responses from the school staff when social issues do arise between children.
Academics - much more challenging and ds thrived on that. The school isn't specifically a "gifted" school, but it teaches curriculum 1 year ahead of state curriculum across the board, and differentiates for core subjects based on ability and achievement. The percentage of intellectually gifted students is much higher than in ds' public school classrooms, so class discussions etc are much more interesting. DS" teachers also challenge him to "go beyond" in the areas that he's passionate about in and strong in. When he's bored, he's challenged to think deeper etc.
How it all comes together - What I've seen for ds is that putting him in a setting that offered true academic challenge combined with teachers who understand and believe in him, created an envrionment that was also easy for him to fit into socially and has ultimately led to a huge increase in self-confidence.
So that's been our ds' experience. I don't think that the key was "private vs public" - I think the important factors were: flexible and challenging academics, interesting project-based curriculum, teachers who care, and small class size.
Best wishes,
polarbear
eta - one other thing that I forgot to mention - private school has worked well for us as parents too - we have found it much easier, in the school wer'e at, to be able to conference with our childrens' teachers, to have our voices and concerns and wishes heard and acknowledged and acted on. I think it's due to a combination of three factors - first, we're paying and we're the customer, but that's not all of it. The teachers are less stressed and overworked from managing large classrooms of unruly students (which was the reality of our previous school) and the teachers employed at the school genuinely care about the children - as well as, they value our opinions as parents rather than automatically assuming we don't have valuable input simply because we aren't professional teachers (which did happen quite a bit at our previous school).
...they don't allowed him to borrow the book from other grade's section. He only can choose the book from K section.
Ah, the lovely sectioning off of the school library. During the public school open house, before my daughter started kindergarten, I remember being in the library and there was large strip of tape on the floor marking the farthest kindergarteners were allowed to go. In my ignorance, I walked over the line to the "Little House" books and said to my daughter, "Hey, we've read some of these..." - then turning back to the tour group, I felt like I had just been caught sneaking out of East Germany as all eyes were on me, not one person had followed me over the tape line, and I was getting a disapproving look from the librarian.
S.F.
For gifted children, doing nothing is the wrong choice.
the librarians kill me. one day this year, my DD5 noticed one of the Harry Potter book in the library, and gleefully clapped her hands and squealed. the librarian responded with, "oh, you're too little for that, dear." um, no.
of course, this WAS the same woman who, when it came to the (mandatory) Birthday Book donation, blithely ignored DD5's list of preferred topics (robotics/medical) and instead put her name inside the umpteenth copy of Angelina Ballerina, based solely on the fact that she's a 5 year old girl. so glad i got a tax receipt for that one. ugh.
when did this happen to librarians? the ones i remember from childhood were super awesome and essentially said, "have at it, you little weirdo!"
Every Sunday it brooded and lay on the floor. Inconveniently close to the drawing-room door.
the librarians kill me. one day this year, my DD5 noticed one of the Harry Potter book in the library, and gleefully clapped her hands and squealed. the librarian responded with, "oh, you're too little for that, dear." um, no.
of course, this WAS the same woman who, when it came to the (mandatory) Birthday Book donation, blithely ignored DD5's list of preferred topics (robotics/medical) and instead put her name inside the umpteenth copy of Angelina Ballerina, based solely on the fact that she's a 5 year old girl. so glad i got a tax receipt for that one. ugh.
when did this happen to librarians? the ones i remember from childhood were super awesome and essentially said, "have at it, you little weirdo!"
The middle school librarian had a fit when I asked for Lolita and told me it was pornographic. I never had any guidance, and could have used some from a great librarian because I ended up really reading a lot of trash.
I have posted at length about our awful principal and the fact that she never spent even one day as a classroom teacher. (She had a corporate background when she earned an MLS and became an elementary school librarian. 4 years later she became a principal.) I have several friends who worked with her during her short tenure as a librarian and all report it was a nightmare. One reports working with a TAG student on a project and he finished the book he was working with. She gave him a pass and sent him to the library to get another so they could keep going on the next stage of the project. A few minutes later he came back, trembling and ghost white. Apparently when he entered the library - with a pass in order to check out a book for an extra project he was working on for the TAG program - she apparently threw a total hissy fit. Yelling at him that he had no right to enter "her" library at any time other than the one period a week his class came. Heaven forbid that a smart, well behaved child might actually want to learn something extra...
I live in Los Angeles area. If you live around here, could you tell me which private school your kids go?
Thanks!
I'm near San Jose, but I know of a few schools in LA.
Did you know that LA has a set of magnet schools for kids with high IQs? I don't know anything about them.
There are also private schools specifically for gifties (e.g. Mirman). Here's a list.
Re: School libraries.
Has anyone ever asked why they do this? It seems very weird to me. But I suppose one can never really plumb the depths (shallows?) of an edumacator's so-called logic. That was't very nice, and I don't care. Restricting a child's book choices is just plain mean. Not to mention that they're shutting bright low-SES kids out of books at their level (wealthier people can just go buy them)!
When I was a kid (remember, public school, but a long time ago), we could borrow any book we wanted. I remember a couple of coffee-table type books in the section of the library for 7th and 8th graders and up. The books were about ancient Egypt and ancient Rome. I loved them! I used to borrow them two or three times a year, starting in second grade. No one ever batted an eye. Most of us borrowed a range of books from all sections.
Our DS (6) was enrolled in Kindergarten in the public school at the beginning of this year.
We were there about a month and the best they could do for him was to pull him out for reading to go to the third-grade class. Unfortunately, they weren't serious about that...we realized it when I overheard an aide tell his Kindergarten teacher that the third-grade teacher needed his book report.
Um...book report? This kid can read at a fifth-grade level but hasn't a clue what a book report is. They never explained it to him.
So, we pulled him and placed him in a private school. They don't require book reports for the reading, but the teacher has a "beef" with "pushing" children. So, we've allowed him to "tread water" this year with whatever she wants to give him to read. (Maybe third-grade...I'm not sure.) And as far as math, he's been given third-grade worksheets without much instruction.
For example, today I went in early to check up on him and found him in the principal's office doing his worksheet. DS was needing some help with visualizing the answer to a problem, so I suggested a piece of scratch paper. (He asked for a calculator...to which the principal laughed.) I suspect because I was there, the principal gave him scratch paper with which to figure.
What I'm saying is the private school, unless specifically stated, will not be any better with differentiation than public.
There's no way around getting an appointment for a personal plan for your child. Don't expect anything from a private or charter that's not in writing.
We're hoping to hear from a charter that offers blended classes for his first grade year soon. Perhaps you have a charter like that near you?
For example, today I went in early to check up on him and found him in the principal's office doing his worksheet...
I asked him why he was in the principal's office during recess and he told me during math class he was like the girl on Schoolhouse Rock who is dreaming. Because he didn't do his worksheet, he lost recess.
We have a fantastic school librarian who seems to know all the kids, what they like, hand sells books pitched to their interest, and considers reluctant readers a challenge and enthusiastic readers a joy.
This stuff still happens at our school, because of teachers' instructions. The one time I heard the dreaded line "you can't check that out because you are in first grade" the librarian was pretty apologetic.
Val, I suspect it is all about a somewhat misplaced trust in reading assessments (which at our school don't go above grade level :o) and teachers' handling of the results.
hee - that's awesome about Lolita. i'm reading Sense & Sensibility with the kid right now - i think that's safe enough?
OMG i totally forgot this gem from my murky past! i did a book report on Dostoevsky's The Idiot in elementary school and my poor mother had to go in and explain to the principal that i clearly had to turn something in, so i just did the report on what i was actually reading. (i don't think she included the part about Iggy Pop being the whole reason i picked it up in the first place - but i doubt that would have comforted them at all.)
and i promise i'm done with the librarians - sorry, everyone!!
Last edited by doubtfulguest; 05/08/1301:59 PM.
Every Sunday it brooded and lay on the floor. Inconveniently close to the drawing-room door.
We are in the same boat with you, Ametrine...and its ugly out there outside of the metro area, isn't it?
There is a reason why even being in one of the best school districts outside of that metro area (probably THE best, come to think of it), we're still left going "Ummmm... okay... what the HECK do we do here??" and so are local administrators.
Clearly they can't do what DD seems to need. But at least we're lucky enough that they admit it fairly openly to us-- if she were only HG/MG, not so. It's only because DD is so flagrantly HG+ that they go there and just make it clear that she won't get an appropriate education from them because they don't have it to give.
Sad, but true.
There was a time in this state.... a magical time... called the 70's... Well, I digress.
My point was this-- for Ametrine-- if you want info on how we've (kind of) managed to cobble together something that has taken my DD from ages 6 to nearly 14 with somewhat minimal angst re: differentiation methods, feel free to PM.
We've been with our virtual charter for quite some time, and I can definitely provide names and tips for dealing with state administration, and tip you off to where the tripwires are with the national administration.
...they don't allowed him to borrow the book from other grade's section. He only can choose the book from K section.
Ah, the lovely sectioning off of the school library. During the public school open house, before my daughter started kindergarten, I remember being in the library and there was large strip of tape on the floor marking the farthest kindergarteners were allowed to go. In my ignorance, I walked over the line to the "Little House" books and said to my daughter, "Hey, we've read some of these..." - then turning back to the tour group, I felt like I had just been caught sneaking out of East Germany as all eyes were on me, not one person had followed me over the tape line, and I was getting a disapproving look from the librarian.
S.F.
LoL.
DS was conversing about the Little House books with his preschool teacher. She "identified" him at the open-house.
What is WRONG with so many "educators" these days???
Thanks a lot for everyone’s advice. There is no Charter/Magnet school near here. So I think I should send him to the private school.
Most school don’t accept student for 2013 fall now. But I found one that only has about 50 students (K-8th grade). Low ratio for teacher & students and every student works on their own level. They also offer lots of outdoor activists. I’ll take my son to there next week. See if he likes it or not. And I’ll keep looking.
Polarbear,
Thank you very much for those information. I know WJ-III Achievement tests doesn’t means he is at that level. The psychologist told us that mean he can understand that levels work if he wants to.
Val,
The psychologist thinks we should send him to Mirman School but it is too far for us. LAUSD do have two schools for gifted kids. But we need to live in that area for attend it. We can’t move to there. I think Private school will be the only choice…
I believe one of our two local grade schools is superior to the parochial school we send our son to; the parochial school is much more interested in having the kids do sports than any serious academic work.
Enormously upsetting. The only positive is that parents and kids all get along very well. Supportive environment, although I fear my son will have to be always taking educational supplements.
The librarian stories are quite interesting to read, perhaps I should be thankful for our elementary librarian instead of annoyed! LOl
Our school librarian makes the kids pick out books in their AR (Lexile)range. When my DD8 was in 1st grade she had a 7th grade reading range. She came home from school one day with a book and started asking me questions about the things that were happening in the book that concerned me (dead woman in the woods type stuff). I took the book and read the first chapter and thought that yes, while my daughter can read the book, the content was way too mature for her. I had her return the book and talk to the librarian on her own and then I went in one day and touched base. The Librarian seemed pretty annoyed with me, but honestly, I do think that just because our kids have the ability to do something doesn't mean I want her to lose her innocence or her childhood over it.
Now in 3rd grade, she comes home with books that are a little edgy and I let her read them and we discuss them because I think the two years of maturation have made it easier for me to explain and easier for her to understand.
I guess our librarian is pretty cool, although I didn't think so at the time!! LOL
We went to that school today and my son likes it. The ratio for teacher and student is 1:5 so the kid will have more attention. They can do things on their own level, they have band, art lesson, language lesson will start at 4th grade and field trip every month. Most of kids went to other school when they are in 5th or 6th grade. So there are only about 40 kids at school. Also,the teachers, parents and kids are very nice.
I am just wondering, if he need to go to other school when he is in 5th or 6th grade. Will that be a problem? Because all other private school has bigger class. Usually about 15-20 per class. Will that be hard for him to get used to it?
That was't very nice, and I don't care. Restricting a child's book choices is just plain mean. Not to mention that they're shutting bright low-SES kids out of books at their level (wealthier people can just go buy them)!
