We have just begun this journey, and these boards have been tremendously helpful so far. Our DD6 is not meeting her potential in her current environment, but we live in a district that offers school choice. I would be ever so grateful to bounce some ideas off of the more experienced parents here. Tons of info- sorry so long!
The Background: We have three programs to choose from for next year for our child. When you hear about the programs, everything sounds marvelous, but in reality, we are in an average performing district in one of the lowest performing states. So, take it all with a grain of salt. Our DD is currently in a K class with age peers, and the entire class is working ahead of grade. The top 10% of her entering class (based on K screenings) were put together in her class. DD is still working ahead of these students, up to 2 grades ahead. She is having problems at school refusing to do work, selecting the least amount of work possible, behavior regression, and just generally checking out. She tells me she is purposely working to match the other kids in her class. She is very well liked by the other students. We are frustrated (teacher too) that she isn't working anywhere near her potential. We are workind toward getting her a complete assessment by a psych that specializes in gifted. Shcool did a KBIT2, but scores didn't really match what we see. She fits the profile of someone who is mildly gifted. Personality wise, DD despises being told what to do/ how to do something with a high perfectionist streak. She seems to be happiest when she is leading a group, or working out of the traditional classroom model. So what type of environment is best for a kid like this?
Montessori? I think the multi-age classroom could be a huge benefit for a child who is trying to "match" their classmates. At least in the beginning, when they are working up. There may be benefit to modeling ideal performance for lower level students?? But how does this method work for kids who don't seem to have a lot of intrinsic motivation?
Project Based? One of the schools is offering a project based, leadership type program, where all of the curriculum is presented through pre-designed projects for the students to complete in teams. I liked all of this as a concept. But for my DD specifically, I am worried about moving her from an environment of higher performing students, to a mixed ability environment, simply because she already feels the need to "hide" her abilities.
STEM/Tech based? The last option we have available to us isn't a true STEM program, although I would love to hear anyone's thoughts about STEM. Instead, we will be offered something that is mostly tech based. 1 to 1 iPad ratio in the classroom (I am told they will actually be made to write with a pencil 1 day a week, so they sort of learn how to do it) and the curriculum is presented through coding, app development and playing minecraft, I guess. Very, very few details, so if anyone is doing anything like this already, please share your experiences! The only benefit I can see to this option for us personally is that DD will keep the same class of students from this year (high performing, lots of friends). The teacher, however, will be the one and the same who kicked her out after one day. Yes, that is a chip you see on my shoulder, although truthfully I hear she is tough, but very good.
