Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional School Options

That is really funny! That is exactly how we felt. We could not "drink the kool aid," and we ultimately left. It did work for some but it did not work for my older boy. For my younger boy, the Montessori people were genuinely shocked that we pulled him out since they felt he was the "perfect" montessori child.
Our souvenir was that he had horrible handwriting since they never practiced that. I had him do both volumes of Handwriting Without Tears for 6 months, and it pulled his handwriting together.
They had wanted my then first grader to stay in their preK-K room for first grade to "learn more" about Montessori, which we didn't agree with and ultimately we left at the end of the year.
The only satisfying thing for us was that our friend's daughter (who got moved through the program) did not qualify with high enough scores for our G/T program on the OLSAT and my son did.

FWIW, the "strict" environment that you've described is an astonishingly insightful description of my (late) mother's elementary classroom environment for decades.

Yes, she was a public school teacher, and she generally had between 4 and 10 ADD/ADHD children placed-- by request-- in her classroom at any one time.

Those kids and their parents wound up giving her about a 90% approval rating, and her room was easily the quietest and most "calming" of any in the school. It amazed other teachers, even.

I mention that because sometimes that lower level of stimulation really works for ADD issues, and rather than feeling rigid or harsh, it can wind up feeling really empowering to all of the kids, regardless of ability.

My only concern in that environment would be whether or not such a teacher has a good sense of empathy for HG+ learners and divergent thinking. If so, then it could be nearly ideal.

If not, then it could feel like slow suffocation. My mom was a lot of terrific things as an educator, but sensitive to GT needs she was NOT. She was a terrific teacher for ADD kids who were otherwise typical in terms of grade-level readiness, and even better for those who were struggling as a result of an additional learning challenge...

but HG+ kids found her bafflingly inflexible and intractible, and I strongly suspect that she felt likewise about them.

Such an attitude about gifted kids is likely to be pretty obvious upon brief conversation with teachers-- is there any way that you could chat with the teaching team?

We're in the same boat with the handwriting. What a disaster. We even resorted to OT to deal with the handwriting issues. While the OT helped with other issues, it didn't translate to the handwriting. Our handwriting without tears books should be arriving today. I'm hoping it will help. We're going to work on it over the summer. My only concern is that I bought the cursive book, and I just heard that the charter school doesn't push cursive at all. His printing is pretty horrid as well, so maybe I should order the print book too. What do you think?

Hmmm, I will have to see about that. I wish I knew which teacher he would have, but they haven't told me yet. I will be advocating for ds to attend the gifted program if he does go to the charter school, although I don't know much about it. I do know it meets one full day per week (every Friday), and the students who go love it. At least I'll have a gifted teacher at the school who hopefully understands the issues faced by gifted students in the regular classroom.

I feel like I'm a bit in the dark. I'm wondering if I can request a meeting over the summer to address all of this. DS will be testing next week for updated achievement testing and cognitive ability (IQ) assessment. We're hoping to also identify any specific learning disabilities. I don't want to have to wait once school begins to have that done. I'm hoping if I can provide the test results/info over the summer, I can get a meeting.

Just got a call from the private school, and they are so wonderful. If we choose their school, ds will get all the one-on-one he needs. Because he has significant attention issues and some learning gaps, this is a big positive for him.

The administrator/owner has experience with my son, as he's spent some time at their school back when he was homeschooled (for enrichment) and more recently for trial-run days, and she thinks he got along with everyone really well, even the older kids. She isn't concerned about the social component at all and thinks he'll thrive in their environment.

I asked about the ages of all the students: ds9, 2 10-year-olds (going in to 6th), 3 to 4 12yo, 2 13yo, and then the rest are high school, age 15+.

Their first high school graduate (school was started when she was in early elementary school) is going to Smith College, so not bad!

I just read some recent parent reviews about the charter school saying how it used to be such a great school, but it's become so rigid. One parent described it as "too smart/organized for their own good," and another said, "some policies are twisted and unjustified" and said they carry out their policies only when they feel like it or when it suits their agenda.

Of course, there are other parents who say they love it, and responded to the other reviews with, "I guess it's what you make it."

I'm so torn. I hate being indecisive! The private school will be the least stressful decision for me, but I want to make the best decision for ds; he's the one who has to live it.

Thanks for helping me sort it all out, you guys. I really appreciate your input and welcome any further thoughts you might have. ; )