Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments Can we keep our HG child in a regular classroom?

My daughter just turned 6 (1st grade) and was recently identified as HG. Her school has no gifted programs whatsoever (we live in IL) and after meeting with her teacher it's clear very little differentiation will be done this year (for example, her reading level is grade 5.4 and comprehension is at grade 9+, and the teacher is putting her in a 2nd grade reading level group, basically because that's the highest level two other kids in her class are reading so she has to be grouped with them). I got the whole "she's only 6, she needs time to be a kid, she seems happy, sometimes things are challenging for her" speech from the teacher as well as "here's the two skills/things she isn't doing so she still needs to work on that". It's clear my daughter is not learning much academically in school (outside of Spanish because she's never learned it before!), but she seems happy socially. She doesn't seem to have some of the social challenges other HG/PG kids have. And yes, it's only 1st grade, so I can't expect much in terms of academics. However, my concern is long term: if we stay where we are at and keep her in the regular classroom, accept that her school district will not accommodate her giftedness, and let her just breeze through school, aren't we doing a disservice to her? The saying goes, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" but I'm worried about the bigger picture. It's so hard to say since she's only in 1st grade, but I was hoping some parents could chime in with their experiences in this regard. (Side note: there are a few public school districts in the area who offer gifted programming beginning in 3rd grade, identification usually begins in the spring of 2nd grade. We would have to move to a new town to get into one of these programs so it wouldn't be as simple as just switching schools. Private gifted schools are an option but they are 30-60 minutes away from us and that too would possibly require us to move because of the commute).

Your child is in good company, as a recent study showed 15%-45% of students are performing one or more levels above "grade level".

Exposure to a world language, and positive social experiences are two strong factors in favor of staying with the current learning environment for now.

Children learn important life skills from challenge and struggle, as discussed in the recent thread, what kids don't learn. School is not the only place to acquire these skills; Parents can make a conscious effort to expose a child to academic/intellectual challenges and provide the support needed to talk a child through the struggles in a positive manner.

When evaluating the "fit" of a possible new school, parents may wish to create lists of questions, and weigh the responses to each according to the family's values and what they are seeking for their child's education. The Davidson Database offers articles on this subject, including Choosing the right school for your gifted child. As part of checking out a school, children typically shadow for a day. Some of the Q&A in the article Frequently Asked Questions may also be of interest.

At some point you may wish to advocate for your child to join with a different group of students for one or more subjects. There is a roundup of advocacy resources and approaches in this old thread.

Che, I sent you a PM.

I don't know. I have a HG and a PG in NZ public school. It has been variable to say the least both for my kids and kids with LDs but good for bright kids. The fact is that in many cases there are no options but to make it work.

Agreed. Well said.

While sub-optimal, the present school may be the least-worst option... or the only viable option.

Agree with above. So much depends on the child and environment that it is really hard to say. Be aware of the signs that things aren't working and be aware of any options you have if you need them. Advocate to improve things even if it seems impossible and/or glacially slow. A lot of it comes down to teachers and relationships. Teachers can make a huge difference regardless of what the official policy is if they are willing and able.

I have two kids with two very different personalities and two very different experiences with school. Each had their own way of letting us know when things needed to be adjusted and we did the best we could. What I've learned from both of them is to take it year by year. They change, their needs change and you just do the best you can with the available options.

Expanding on looking at the bigger picture I'd also consider what might be lost by moving or changing to private especially since both are pretty big steps. Maybe it means a longer commute for a parent (or two) which cuts into family time. Maybe it means less money for extra curricular activities or travel or whatever. What can you do outside of school to challenge her if school isn't? Is she interested in sports or music or something else where some of those skills might be developed?

I'll also note that gifted programs aren't always the perfect solution for all kids. If your child happens to be a good fit for that particular program then great but there are huge varieties of gifted kids and gifted programs out there which means that there can be many kids who aren't a good fit for that particular one. The links provided above are a great start.

DD goes to a private GT school. Their IQ cutoff is around 98 percentile. The good news is that she LOVES her school so there is that. The not so great news is that now that she is in 1st grade and the curriculum is a bit more academic than last year, she is complaining about class math instruction time, a lot. Last week, she came home and said "I think other people learned some new math today but I sure didn't." We don't have time for after-schooling but we might have to make time. Sigh.

I could talk to the school but they are more or less known for being apathetic to parents' opinions and they can afford to be that way.

My point being, you might want to also consider smaller private schools. They may be more flexible and accommodating.

Our DD is HG according to some scales and higher according to others so please take this with a grain of salt...

She attends a rural public school with cornfields/cattle pastures abutting the school which ought to illustrate just how rural. We have been able to be moderately successful so far.

The advantage of a smaller school district is that there is more personal accountability and people cannot hide behind procedures because there are simply less layers. This has allowed us to leverage the IAS to get our DD whole grade accelerated. It has also allowed us to get our DD bused to the regional HS for an addition 2 year skip in Maths. The village school district has been amazingly accommodating

We also after school to a limited extent via AoPS and she has done a DYS LA class - we don't overdo this because we also recognize that we have to balance appropriate challenge with the need for downtime which is completely unstructured.

In short, in our experience, a regular classroom can work for an HG child depending on their individual needs and personality plus your ability to provide addition after school challenge. Provided that you are also blessed with a school district prepared to accommodate the needs of your child appropriately.

We recognize that our DD could more several years ahead if we home schooled but a) we do not want to send a juvenile to college b) this is not possible economically for us and c) we also recognize that life is a distance race not a sprint.

Education is a life long process from our perspective.

All the above is accurate for our DD11 - whether we can sustain after schooling (appropriate challenge) AND have our DD complete the busywork assigned in later middle school and high school remains to be seen...

Thank you everyone for your feedback and experiences! It sounds like there's a lot of factors to consider before we make a decision.