It's possible that your local schools will understand about giftedness and levels of giftedness and will try to provide an appropriate education for your kids. But it's also possible that they won't. Here's my meandering advice:

1. Make a list of questions and ask them of the principals and teachers at any prospective school, INCLUDING the gifted school.

Examples:
  • My son started to read when he was two and now reads books like x, y, z. How do you approach kids like him? (When you say it this way, you won't put them on the defensive.) You do not want your son spending kindergarten and first grade learning about the letter of the week and sounding out Level 1 readers.
  • What is your policy on kids who are working two or more years ahead of grade level in math (or whatever)? Stick to specifics: use numbers and subject areas.
  • What is your policy on acceleration (grade skipping) in subjects or for a whole grade?
  • Do you do out-of-level testing to determine placement? (Schools often don't think to test past a student's age-grade level: it doesn't seem to occur to the ones I've talked to.)

Listen carefully to their answers and maybe even write them down. If they say things like, "We will observe him for six weeks and then revisit the question," be careful. You'll be stuck at that school after six weeks. What's wrong with testing him sooner?

If they say things like, "We've never done a skip and I, for one, never will," or "We let a kid skip a grade in 1982 and it was a disaster and we'll never do that again," you're in for an uphill battle. Watch out for phrases like "All children are gifted." They're a sign that whoever says them doesn't get it.

2. Federal law (No Child Left Behind/NCLB) punishes schools for low test scores but doesn't reward high scores. So schools have no incentives to help talented kids but lots of disincentives in that regard. Some try very hard to help gifted kids, but remember that the law is pushing them to work with kids on the other end of the achievement spectrum.

3. Does the private school have an IQ cutoff? If so, how high is it? The top 2% (130) is very different from the top 10% (119-120). Your kids may be past the top 0.1% (145). There are a few schools that use 145 as a cutoff. If they take the top 10%, the school may be oriented toward above-average learners rather than truly gifted learners, and you might have to do some research to determine if the financial sacrifice is worth the return you'll get. Anecdote: teachers at a California school for gifted kids did an interview not long ago where they said that the kids who learn to read when they're two or three all "even out" by fourth grade and that early reading is "just another milestone" like walking. So much for them understanding about gifted kids! So, back to point 1: I would ask the gifted school how many two- or three-year-old readers they've had and what their policy toward them is.

If you think seriously about the private school, get stuff in writing before you give them a check. It's easy to get excited about a school; remember that the reality may be very different from the PR --- in part because PR is more open to interpretation than the daily grind.

4. Other minor points: how long is the school day at each school? In California, public K-5 schools (in the Bay area at least) have short school days: ~8:20-~2:20 except Weds., when they get out at ~1:20. Private schools have an extra 5-6 school hours per week. This is a huge advantage over public schools.

But public schools might have better programs if they're bigger (usually applies more in middle and high schools). How big is the private school? What kinds of programs do they have?

Are the public schools talking about cutting the school year to save money? They've started saying this in California.

Phew. That was long. Hope I helped. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to avoid doing my taxes, which I must now do. I hate taxes....