I was hoping to get some objective input from you all regarding school choice for my gifted son. Here's our situation -- we're moving and my gifted son will be going into fourth grade. We've moved a lot and this will be the fourth (yes 4th) elementary school he has attended. He's been identified as gifted in each school he's been in so I assume the same will be true in the next one. I also have a daughter who is probably not gifted and will be starting first grade. She's very social and will likely do well wherever she lands.
Here are the choices we have open to us.
1. Regular K-5 neighborhood school with pull out math/reading. This is the kind of school he has attended so far and has been a welcome way to quickly integrate into the local community. My son has had both fantastic and mediocre experiences. It all depends on the teacher.
2. K-5 gifted-only magnet school. Unfortunately this is in a town where people pay for coaching so their preschoolers will test into gifted programs. And brag about it. I'm not a fan of being around people who think of giftedness as a symbol of social status.
3. K-8 Open Classroom style multi-age classroom charter school with no gifted program. The principal does not believe in a program for gifted kids since the kids have a lot of freedom to design their own curriculum based on their own interests. The academics are weak by regular testing measures though they do cover the Common Core requirements. Parents are required to put in a lot of classroom volunteer time which I see as a plus.
My son tends toward introversion but has so far managed to make a solid little group of buddies at each school and through sports. At this point I am leaning toward the K-8 so that he can at least be in the same building with the same kids for a few years. It would be putting the social aspect ahead of academics. So, do you think it is easier to compensate for poor academics than it is for the social development or vice-versa? I have had minimal problems with my son acting out in boring classes, but that might be related to constantly being the "new" kid.
Thanks for any advice or your honest opinion.
