Val, well said, really well. Your post should be turned into a sticky for everybody to read before deciding on a new school.
"well-rounded" is one of favorite excuses. "whole child" nonsense tops my list. I kept hearing it over and over last year.
I forgot to mention "subject mastery," which can be a code phrase for "they have to master all the information in one grade-level curriculum before they can advance." Another clue to this one is a statement indicating the need to "fill in the gaps" or a policy of avoiding "gaps in learning."
These policies sound seductive at first but they ignore the fact that gaps can be good challenges for gifted kids and that complete mastery is therefore not always necessary in order to move ahead.
Val
