Is it worth spending over $12,000 (which we don't have) to send him early to kindergarten? (he would go in Sept., and then 1st grade next yr.)
Hi bbq797,
Okay, this is going to be a long post! I hope it helps.
First: You have a big choice to make, and a lot of factors are going to influence what you do. When I'm faced with a big problem, I break it into smaller component parts. This helps me analyze each factor on its own merits and helps me weight how important each one is relative to the others.
Quick intro: I have three kids (haven't had them tested). The eldest (9) has skipped two grades and the youngest (5) has skipped K. All three have subject accelerations, too. They go to private schools. So I've faced your decision. Obviously, YMMV, but here are my thoughts:
1. Overall, I can't emphasize enough that you need to learn about how public schools operate and, in particular, how your district deals with gifted kids.
Some points to ponder:
* What's the district's gifted program like? Get specifics. Do the kids get acceleration or just "differentiation"? How many hours per week does it consume?
* What are the local policies regarding grade skips? Be careful if they tell you "We'll put him in K and observe him for a while."
* What's the cutoff for entrance into the program? Is it an IQ of 130 (98th percentile) or 124-125 (95th percentile) or something else? An IQ of 152 (using an SD of 15---Stanford-Binet uses this scale, I think) is around the 99.97th percentile or 1 kid in about 3800.
This means that the school district hasn't seen many kids as bright as your son.
So their idea of appropriate differentiation is based on a group of children who don't learn anywhere near as quickly as your son does. This might make them reticent to believe you when you tell them what he can do and how fast he can absorb ideas.
In my experience out west and from what I've read, most schools don't really get giftedness and don't get high giftedness+ at all.
2. What is the district's evidence that your son will be better off as the oldest kid in the class? Ask them this question, directly.
Be careful if they answer in vague terms. If they do, push them a bit for specifics. How many profoundly gifted kids have they dealt with? What is their approach to these kids? Have they read
A Nation Deceived?
Many schools tend to parrot the conventional wisdom that being younger than your classmates is damaging or otherwise bad. Oddly enough, they don't apply the same logic to redshirted kids who may be 18 months or more older than their classmates. Common beliefs include "he won't be able to drive at the same time his classmates do." Another one is "they all even out by third grade." Both of these arguments are notable only for the heights they reach on the
Scale of Edumacational Bogosity.
In any event, you'll need to question them carefully and point out how your son thinks differently from other children his age. They might not believe you.
3. The public school told you that they "differentiate," but until you know exactly what that means (in writing ideally, but not necessarily), be cautious. The comment about not all learning needing to be vertical puts up a red flag in my mind. Differentiation has been known to mean:
a) More of the same math problems
b) The same kinds of math problems but with larger numbers; so this could be 154 + 248 instead of 54 + 48.
c) Reading an extra book at the same level of complexity as the one everyone else is reading.
4. Remember that schools are under the thumb of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). This law provides incentives solely for increasing test scores of low-achievers, and it punishes schools (sometimes severely) that don't raise their scores.
NCLB provides no incentives at all for helping gifted kids, and the schools therefore have no incentives for helping their brightest students. Don't ever forget this.
5. Are you sure that the question I quoted at the top of this message is the right one to be asking? You may wish to consider how best to meet your son's overall educational needs, rather than just thinking of getting him into K now instead of next year.
6. It can take time to get used to the idea of grade skips. One skip seemed odd, but we got used it relatively quickly. Two seemed
very weird when DH and I first started talking about it, but now it seems normal (and so very right).
7. Are you looking at the LI School for the Gifted? Their program looks very, very good.
The thing about schools that deal with gifted kids exclusively is that they're going to be far more likely to get the idea that cognitive skills like doing math and reading early are very different from fine or gross motor skills. This means that they won't tell you that your son can't skip a grade because he trouble holding a pencil. Rather, they'll be more likely to accelerate him in reading and math while he learns how to write his name without wincing.
8. Can you afford to send your son to the private school indefinitely? Do they give financial aid?
9. Finally, be sure to ask the private school the same questions that I mentioned above and any others that you ask at the public schools.
Get promises in writing BEFORE you give them a check. HTH! Must go.
Val
