Okay, my husband and I are really early planners, okay - its just me
We were looking to see if there were any gifted schools in our area that our son may be able to attend.
There was one school that was for the "gifted" and they started at age 3 - yay! They also said they admitted year round - yay again.
So, I called and asked if we would just wait until ds turned 3 to apply for the 07/08 school year.
NO!
Why, because ds birthday is in Oct and their "cut off" date is Sept 1. I said "but don't you admit year round, why could he not just be admitted when he turns 3. No, they have a Sept. 1 cut off date and he will need to wait out a year.
This makes NO SENSE TO ME! I was not asking for him to start the school at 2, just would he be able to start at 3.
Obviously this school is not for "gifted" kids, it is for "smart" kids. I can't imagine a true gifted school using the public school system abritrary cut off date for enrollment. I can see rules such as: must be fully potty trained, must be over seperation anxiety, must be able to take instruction from an adult, etc. Not - must be lucky enough to have been born by a particular date.
Mind you - this school cost over $10,000 a year for the preschool and Kindergarten. Why would I pay that much money when he still is going to run into the same problem - being one of the oldest kids when he works best with children older than he is.
I am getting so frustrated with people not seeing the special needs aspect of being gifted. If he was on the other end of special needs - he would be getting an individualized, state sponsored "FREE" education to meet his every need. We would probably even be getting a check from the state each year to supplement his free education with additional learning materials, tutors, etc.
Honestly - it isn't that we want ds to start school at 3. We actually want to have him in an environment that allows learning through play and exploration as long as possible. We just can't stand that even schools reporting themselves as "for the gifted" are really just doing age based schooling with some enrichment activities. I can get that for free with the public school and provide enrichment at home.
