Hi there.

During my search for more information, I have found very little evidence for options in the public school systems in my state for "Fast Learners". (Which is the official term in MA) I am an educator and have spoken to several educators including principals, teachers, interventionists and specialists to see what they think.

The information that I have received is that very advanced students are very rare and that they have never known anybody to be accelerated. We are heavily trained in differentiated instruction and are expected to support all levels.

I am reaching out to current or former MA residents in this community to ask:
What are your experiences in MA?
What choices have you made?
What has been successful or not for your particular situation?

Thank you so much for your help.

pm'ing you

I teach in MA as well.

My experiences with my son? Kindergarten was hell. The teacher thought I was overprotective and asking for special favors when I asked for harder work. Every afternoon was a meltdown, because school was a waste of time. He would have gotten much more out of staying home reading his Beverly Clearly books and science books. He also didn't fit in with the kids (now we know there's aspergers in the mix). Homework was ridiculous as I fought to get it done reading sight words and coloring in things that start with "r".
Teachers always think of him as the perfect student and that he is so cute. It shocks me that teachers feel comfortable saying , "He's soooo smart!" Like it's easy and adorable. When I asked for an IEP, the principal (who used to head the gifted program in town when there was one) was overheard saying, "Why are his parents here for an IEP meeting? He's he smartest kid!"
Needless to say we didn't get an IEP. They told me that they never had Wisc scores so high, but they all agreed that the curriculum was of use to him so no need for an IEP.
Third grade was a blessing. Any negative behaviors disappeared entirely. Because there wasn't busy work and his teacher differentiated like crazy for him. She bought him books and let him read An Inconvenient Truth during class. She had him write to the president because he had great ideas to share about the environment. Basically, she saw inspiration, understood giftedness, and didn't think it was cute.
We're in fourth grade now and I had to fight to get rid of ridiculous assignments like fluency reading. His perfectionism is flairing this year and now they are taking concerns seriously. We now have a 504 per my request. It should be an IEP, but that's not happening.

What works- not just good teachers, but teachers that understand giftedness, and that 2e is a thing.

I can't speak on choices because we can't afford them. A private school is nearly my whole salary. Sometimes I dream about homeschooling.🤔

Hi Mnotes,

Thanks for sharing your experiences and frustrations. Glad to hear you found at least one teacher willing to provide "appropriate challenge" and gets the 2e thing. It seems like it really is luck of the draw in MA.

DS5 is starting K in the fall.

I. am. terrified.

My son displays some asynchronous features that I reported to the guidance councilor at the K school. They asked if they could do a full eval. PT and OT are now scheduled for this week. We are also in midst of a full neuropsych at the local college (meaning affordable) and these steps are making me feel better for now.

At least we will have more information that can guide our decisions. I am also hopeful because the school has been seemingly supportive. This is one wild ride!
Thanks again for your input.

Hi, my son is in 4th grade. In 3rd grade we put him in a private school shortly after we had him take the WISC-IV test. It's not a gifted school, but the classes are small and they are less rigid than his public school was.
We get a good deal of financial aid towards his school. In fact we declined their first offer because it still cost too much and they brought it down again.
PM me if you'd like to talk more.

What do you mean by a neuropsych at the local college? how would I go about contacting someone? We are near one of the UMass branches. I would like him to have more testing but haven't done it because of the cost.

A large university campus may offer the opportunity for their graduate students to provide clinical services to the community, under the direction of an experienced professional. For example, here is a link to UMass Amherst Psychological & Brian Sciences (PBS). You'll want to do a bit of online research to see what may be available in your area, and how to contact them.

Thanks!

Sorry for the late reply...this has been what we call a "screwball" week :) Ditto to what indigo said. I will PM soon.

MA parent here - Looking for an update from OP or commenters. thanks!

I am from MA, although I have been down in Atlanta now for 7 years. My older son was going into 3rd when we left. We lived in Medfield, which is known for good public schools. I can tell you it was a lousy experience for my gifted son but we found other school systems the same way so it is not just Medfield. The public school system operates in a box and if you are way behind there is help. If you are way ahead the answer is do nothing and "wait for others to catch up....or why don't you spend class time helping others." Great but in the mean time my kid coasted and suffered. I ended up getting recruited and moving jobs the year he was to enter 3rd grade but we had pulled him out of Medfield and applied him to the Sage School in Sharon/Walpole area. It would have been like a mortgage payment to send him but in our diligence that was the best option. There kids are not limited and many students transition in grades/curriculum as their pace. It is a shame there are not public schools in MA (at least that I was aware of) that did anything what the Sage school does. In GA they do have a few public options for gifted but it only serves about 10% of the demand. Most others if able pay for private school like what Sage offers. There are choices down here that do that. If you don't have to work or can work from home you may consider Home School options. Good luck!

To my knowledge there is only one remaining true GT substantially separate (replacement) program in MA public schools, and it's on the South Shore, in Brockton. The remaining programs are pull-out enrichment- or in-class differentiation-based, with almost no routine acceleration programs that I could find. (Bedford appears to be an exception, with SSA referenced on their website.)

But there are two public virtual charters, one of which allows for acceleration via placement or (effectively) compacting (TECCA, a Connections Academy school), and has a defined GT track. You'll need some of the same supervision resources as for homeschooling, but not the instructional or curricular ones.

Another approach is to look at average educational attainment at each grade in specific school districts, as in this NYT infographic:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive...s-how-your-school-district-compares.html
Inequity is, of course, the primary topic, but you can also look at these as informative with regard to school district expectations of average, which will tell you how many grade levels above nominal the typical classroom instructional environment falls. This appears to be up to three grade levels above the national average, in some of the highest-achieving districts.

Just curious if anyone here has had a good experience with private schools in the Boston area? I know there are a few that are aimed at the GT student population, but open to others as well that may have a flexible enough program to meet all students needs.

We are in a good public school in MA, but for various reasons I am not hopeful that it will be a good long term option for our family. I would love to hear about others experiences in any private or public school in MA - especially if it is working well for your family!

Thank you!