Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Quest Academy vs Quentin Road Christian Preschool

Hi Friends,
This is my first post. Please provide your guidance.

I am full time mom.My daughter just turned 4. As her day care was closing, I went to Gifted School- Quest Academy,Palatine. I never expected her to pass their test. According to me she is just normal kid. I dont she is the brainy kid who is into puzzles or math.
Surprisingly She passed and they gave admission into Quest for Fall 2012 into pre-k
There was near by church based preschool that friends recommended that has lot of hands on activities, like pony rides,Swimming,Soccer,Baking and has huge facility, Teachers at that church school are trained in ther church college or something. They dont teach bible, but they focus on values.

I am so torn between spending the extra 8k/per year on this gifted academy or save it for college. We are not religious, but we are fine with teaching basic values .

How important do you think is gifted academys add value at pre-k level, Cant we do the same at 3rd grade? I am an engineer and I sometimes think I can teach a lot at home, But After work, Daily chores, I dont think I have tonns of patience to sit for couple of hours to make a 4 yr old work.

Did anyone consider enrolling into these two schools?

Thanks
Confused Mom!

Hello Amma, welcome. I don't know anything about these particular programs, but I'll offer some general opinions. That's an awful lot of money for preschool. I don't think that there is a whole lot of need to pay for gifted schooling, or much formal schooling of any kind for that matter, at age 4. There is so much that you can do at home. At that age, I would encourage doing a lot of child-led activities. Go to museums, zoos, libraries, etc. They also have great classes that your child may enjoy. Spend time outside. You know what your child likes, follow her lead and have fun.

As for waiting until 3rd grade for GT services, it depends on your child's needs. Some GT kids need more at an earlier age, and I think the usual 3rd grade start of many GT programs is arbitrary. What do the schools in your area look like?

The church based preschool sounds pretty fun. It sounds like you do need day care, so I guess I'd just recommend going to visit both places, and other options if available, and see how you think your child will fit in. Are they both full-time programs?

sorry, rambling...

Thanks For the reply. You certainly have a point.
Does anyone have any opinion at pre-k Level for Quest academy?

Hi! My DS will be attending the pre-K at Quest. He's three, but will turn 4 in August. I was also surprised at the screening, although I don't really understand what it means. He didn't quite finish the test because he was so distracted but they told me he "hit the ceiling" anyway and got the max score (which was 6, they said). I wasn't surprised that he got in, because we've been told by many that he is a bit off the charts... but I was surprised at the screening itself. Do you know what the name of the test is that they did? Because I've been trying to look it up to learn about it, but I have no idea what it was called.

Anyway, for us a lot of the value in Quest is in their smaller classrooms and excellent teacher/student ratios. For some kids this matters more than others. Also, our kid is definitely a bit quirky - and Quest is the only school we've found in our area that seems like the may be able to "get" him and work with the challenges that often come with a highly gifted kid.

I agree that it is a LOT of money to spend for a pre-K. Some kids can benefit from this specialized environment, and some kids would probably do just as well at another preschool. It really depends on your kid. Our son has been (basically) kicked out of two preschools so far. So he is a challenge, to say the least. We are hopeful that Quest will be as great as they seem.

The staff have been terrific and response to our questions and concerns so far. We have our son signed up of camp in August. You may want to check that out. Maybe it is a good way to introduce your daughter to the school before she starts.

There is a kiddo in our neighborhood that goes to Quentin Road school. She is older now (pre-teen) and seems like a great kid in the brief interactions we've had with her. I think the school is very very conservative. We are Christian, but we weren't totally comfortable with some of the teachings at that school. I remember when we went to their pizza party/fund raiser, our little boy really wanted a flower for the face painting and it was a really big deal because he was told that boys shouldn't want flowers. They should want footballs or lightning bolts. There was nothing bad or wrong with the interaction, but it was very clear that these face painters (who were all older students at QR) were taught very very conservative and very traditional values.

Anyway, back to Quest... I believe their cut off is 95th percentile. The screening test is really meant to "predict" what the IQ test would be. I honestly don't know how accurate it is. Do you believe your daughter is gifted? (Is she, for example, a good reader or have other skills that pointed to likely giftedness?)

I'm sure I'll be posting more about Quest in the future here. For now, still as an outsider, I think it seems great. Everyone we have encountered has been terrific, helpful, and extremely knowledgeable about the special challenges of gifted kids.

I don't have any knowledge about either of these schools, but have hung out around a lot of kids over the years - including a lot of kids raised in very liberal left-field families (including my own lol). I wouldn't be surprised at any girl no matter what background saying the same thing - I hear it from my girls all the time! And I'm so *NOT* conservative/traditional as well as having spent major efforts trying to be sure that my kids don't grow up with gender bias of any kind

polarbear

Good point!!


Oh, and my husband reminded me that there were actually 3 scores from the screening. I don't remember what they were (and neither does he) but we were told that he hit a ceiling.

Hi,

Could you Please let me know what questions they asked during the screening of preschool. And also were the patents allowed during the screening at quest.

Regards,
Su

Hi,

I can't tell you anything about the Christian School but I do know about Quest. It is probably the best situation you can give your child if they are showing signs of giftedness. I had three children go through the preschool and the most important thing I think they got from Quest was a love of learning. If we could have afforded it my kids would would still be there. We started there for my son who just finished 7th grade. He attended Quest thru 1st grade and has gone on to have great success at the charter school that he attends. We put are daughters who are borderline gifted there for convenience because we were driving 40 min each way for my son. Anyway I feel that the pre-school years are probably the most important in developing the proper attitudes with regards to learning.

Sorry for the rambling. Bottomline if you can afford it Quest is worth every penny.

Regards,

Bill

I take it the $8000 is above what you would have to pay at the christian preschool? Personally with a few exceptions i can't see a four year old needing any more than a free play type setup and lots of conversation. I'm not saying slow her learning down - just don't push it.

Also would the quest preschool actually meet all your needs for daycare or would you end up juggling pick Ups drop offs and holidays?

I live in Lake County so I have heard of Quest since it's probably the closest gifted school to where we live. But personally having an almost 5 year old and a 3 year old I would never spend that kind of money on a preschool program. I know every child is different but I have noticed that our boys learn a lot more and faster informally outside of any classroom by just absorbing information and playing games. They do not enjoy formal schooling. And there will be plenty of years for that in years to come. So I am in the "save for college" camp.