Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments Has anyone ever switched/left gifted schools?

Most people would feel fortunate to have a gifted school close to them, let alone to be able to choose amongst them. But, I'm curious to know if anybody has ever turned their back on a gifted school enrollment? Why? How did it turn out?

Running short on time for a detailed response, but yes, and it worked out incredibly well. Labels aren't everything - I'll try to reply in detail later.

Best wishes,

polarbear

Our school district has a self-contained program and I took my child out, it wasn't a good fit. DD is 2e but I know of many other kids who left the program in the middle of the year or after the first year. Main problem was that it was very unstructured and lacked organization and good communication with parents. They were treating 10 year olds like Jr. High students and expecting them to plan/organize their work and do things independently. For 10 year olds who actually act like Jr. High students in terms of responsibility, that's fine, but many are not that mature.

That is exactly how my son's class seems to run. The really scary thing is it is a mainstream class in a NZ state school and my son is 9. Since the ministry of education is pushing this method it is hard if not impossible to avoid.

My DD12 dropped out of a very highly regarded full-time gifted program to attend her current school, which is centered around project-based learning. So far, I would say it has been successful but not unequivocally successful. I do adore her school staff.

We were in a private GT school for part of middle school, and we didn't leave only because we didn't have a better option. Our choice of middle schools was very limited. If we had a better choice, or if we could homeschool or do online learning, we would have left that GT school right away.

DS is now in a magnet high school (no entrance test; kids know how high the expectation is at the school and they come because they really want to). And he loves it. This is the first time he loves school.

There are two GT private schools in our area (and our district doesn't have any GT program), both seem to have good reputations but from what I heard from families that go to the other GT school, it's not as good as it sounds either.

I am surprised by the no entrance tests part. The entry to magnet school where I am is so desired and I cannot imagine anyone will be deterred merely by understanding the high expectations.

It's lottery. This method has been used by a few magnet schools in our area and it's working very well. Basically people self select, enter the lottery and hope for best luck. I guess the rationale is that anyone who wants the challenge should have equal chance...

That is such a double edged sword.
I am all in favor of opportunities for all, and student chances not be compromised by parents SES level or other obstacles towards early achievement, but it can compromise the program.
Here, parents push hard to get even marginally qualified (or frankly, unqualified) kids into a high ability track which was originally designed for the top third of the age cohort.(and up to 50% of attrition until graduation was considered normal! most of that happening in the middle school grades).
Then they complain that the standards are too high and their kids have to work too hard.
If you gently suggest maybe the kid might be happier in a different track, the parent will either change the subject or moan that they would deny their kid opportunities. Not because they couldn't still enter a college prep program for high school, they can, but that one does demand a little more motivation and hard work on the part of the kid, as opposed to the parent banking on a combination of peer pressure and tutoring to try to keep the kid on r&r sick in middle school.
Now that entry levels have risen to 50% of the age cohort, the quota of kids with marginal qualifications has risen so high (because that is the way the bell urge works...) that parents are succeeding I dumbing down the curriculum. 50% attrition wouldn't fly any more, must be the fault of the school and the curriculum, right? The pace too fast, the content too much, the curriculum not hands on enough, blah blah blah, The fact that some kids NEED the pace, the content, the level of abstraction, falls totally by the wayside.
DH is still not happy with having DS9 enter the gifted middle school across the state line (which teaches the high ability track curriculum of that state, but with acceleration /compacting/telescoping/enrichment) since he feels that with entrance requirements having been abolished in the other state, the process of curriculum dumbing down might be even more advanced in that state that the one he teaches in.
Even if he starts in the gifted program (because it would be hard to have him enter at a later grade, and DS really rally wants to go) DH may be poised to have him switch out later.
We will see.

Slightly different scenario than what you're asking about, but here's my experience. I went to one of the top GATE public high schools in NYC for my first two years of high school. I switched to an international school for my junior and senior years after my family moved abroad for a job. Looking back, it was a good thing. The academics at the GATE school were generally good, and I had friends, but it was a massive school (~700 per grade) and felt somewhat anonymous. For some teachers, I was just another name on a Delaney card. The international school was far from GATE, as they took kids at all levels. But they had a decent IB/AP program, and it was much smaller (~100 per grade). My teachers and my guidance counselor knew me, they knew my parents, and the classes were smaller. I didn't realize it at the time, but I did so much better in a less crowded environment, and went on to a small liberal arts college instead of a large university.

For some kids, a top-rated GATE school is not necessarily better than a decent non-GATE school.