Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy thinking ahead about middle school

I want to ask people who have thought about this issue whether you could share some of your thoughts. Will things generally get better for GT kids once they get to middle school, or worse?

I've already started thinking about middle school for my DS9, knowing that it will not be easy decision and wanting to have enough time to consider everything. We could send him to the public school. Most of DS's friends will go there, and the school is a very good one, by public school standards, both in terms of academics and extracurricular activities. But if DS is still under-challenged in the classroom, the impact might be bigger than when he is in elementary school. Negotiating with our public schools will be a major pain, as we have found out with our elementary school. Sometimes I feel that the school and the district are very arrogant, the way they think is that "well we are one of the best in the state and have a really high academic standard, how is it possible that some kid still doesn't get enough challenge?" Or we could send DS to a nearby private school, which has impressive academics, and a lot of flexibility to accommodate kids with different abilities. But of course it comes with a fairly steep price. Also it is a small school so DS will be limited in terms of friendships, and of course he will have to make new friends. Also, because of the small size, extracurricular activities are not strong.

Now what I'm thinking is that the decision will probably depend on how self motivated and emotionally mature DS will be. If he can put up with the boredom in the classroom, and advance himself academically by self study, public school would be a good place for him to do extracurricular activities and be with all of his friends. But if he can't cope with the boredom and will suffer academically or lose interest in learning, then private school should be the better choice. Given the somewhat unpredictability of kids of the middle school age, it will be tough to decide. But am I at least thinking the right way? Are there factors that I totally didn't think of? For those of you who have been through the same phase, how did it work out?

My DS is in 7th grade, so the 2nd year of middle school. I think middle school has been a huge improvement over elementary school. Part of the reason is that we chose a magnet school. The school specializes in science/engineering which is my son's "thing". Our middle school also offers an opportunity for HS math classes and this year DS is taking HS Honors Algebra I. Next year he will take HS Honors Geometry. Foreign language is also available at the HS level. Attending this middle school grouped him with kids that shared his passion in science and allowed him to join clubs, robotics, rocketry, secme, math, etc. which put him in touch with kids that were more along his ability level. No necessarily, gifted, but accademically advanced in those subjects. Even if you don't have magnet schools in your area, the middle school probably does offer clubs that will tend to group kids together that have the same common interests and want to explore that subject area deeper.

I do think you're thinking the right way. Middle school can be a big time of transitions and it's worth thinking through carefully. Have you asked your DS, in general and specific ways, how he feels about these things? I know it will ultimately be your decision, but these kids of ours can be quite thoughtful and could actually have some valuable thoughts and opinions.

We approached our assigned middle school when dd#1 was a 9y/o 4th grade to ask what they would have to offer in the way of GT programming or accelerated classes. Since we had a lot of test scores to back us up (IQ, ITBS, WJ-III, SRI Lexile, MAPS...), they were surprisingly accommodating. They suggested that we skip her and have her start 6th grade at the middle school that next fall. We spend a few months doing the IAS thing, EXPLORE test, and having her spend two days there shadowing & going to 5th grade visitation day. She wound up starting 6th grade at the middle school shortly before her 10th bd.

For her, it has been a much better fit than elementary and I've not needed to do nearly as much in the way of advocacy, etc. Our youngest is another story (she's still in elementary & moving more toward homeschooling).

The main reasons that I believe middle school has worked better for dd#1, though are:
1) the grade skip
2) they have 300 kids in each grade, so the odds of finding other similarly able kids in her grade went up
3) they group for math and literacy, so she is in an accelerated class for both of these
4) the GT coordinator has been extremely helpful and has gone out of her way to make things work for dd -- finding the right teachers, getting her into extracurricular enrichment classes run through the school, etc.

I think that it will depend on the school. I'd give a call to the school and see what you can find out even if it seems like it is too early. I am glad that we did so when dd was nine.

I've been re-reading Deborah Ruf's book these days (read it once a few years ago). Sadly everything she described about schools and teachers not understanding GT kids has been true in our case. I was quite naive when I first read her book and didn't really pay much attention to these issues. Given that we are in a district with very high academic standard (compared to other districts in the state), I thought we would have it easy. But I was so wrong. In a sense I think it's worse to be in a good district, where educators can be so confident and smug about everything they do, that it's much harder to convince them that they still have room to improve.

Well the "average" level of academic achievement is high in our district, but as long as teachers teach to the lowest common denominator, no matter how strong the lowest common denominator is, kids at the other end of the spectrum are definitely going to be shortchanged.

Yes, we have brought up the topic with DS. He is just like us, firmly on the fence, at least for now. He craves for a more stimulating and flexible learning environment, but on the other hand will feel sorry to part with friends and will miss being in a big school (more clubs and more opportunities to establish friendship). He has visited both the private and public schools...

Cricket2, it's awesome that things worked out so nicely for your DD#1. I think the facts that you planned ahead and took actions, and that the school has been helpful, are the key. In our case, it's hard for me to imagine the latter.

kcab, I know that our public middle schools do have a bit of grouping, especially in math. But I have no idea how advanced kids can go. That's something we need to find out.

DorothyS, it's awesome that things worked out for you guys as well. Unfortunately we don't have magnet schools here based on academic areas. We have "choice" schools that claim to go at each student's pace, but what I heard is not very promising at all.