Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Where is gifted education the best in the country?

Suppose you had a 2nd grader who was DYS-level + a bit and mathy, and your job was such that you could live wherever in the country you wanted for the next 10 years. Assume the only consideration is getting the best education possible (public or private) for the kid.

Where would you live and why?

Whew. I don't think your question can be answered as posed.

I mean...best for what interests and age groups? Private or public? Best for what kind of kid? A kid who likes to go into lots of depth on stuff, or a kid who wants to take in as much as possible as fast as possible, or someone in between? A child with one very keen interest? Or multiple interests? A kid who might resist a lot of homework? A kid who will conform and do whatever is asked?

Where I am now, in Charlotte as there is a public highly gifted program here. All my interactions here with the school system has me persuaded that "they get it."

Davidson Academy in Reno sounds interesting and obviously they have awesome stakes in the game. I've also been impressed with Exeter Academy's philosophy in New Hampshire.

Actually, if enough folks with HG kids moved to New Hampshire, could probably take over the state.... lol

Have to put a plug in for the Twin Cities area, simply because there are quite a few different options for HG+ kids in several districts, and we have open enrollment here (meaning you can go to school out of district). Our state GT org has a lot of info. On this page, scroll down to find a doc that lists the full-time GT programs. http://mcgt.net/gifted101

Of course, no one place will be perfect for any one kid, and you are unlikely to be able to find a perfect fit school for any PG kid that goes from K-12. That's why I like the areas with several options.

Also, I don't really believe we have the BEST GT in the country - there are so many improvements that could be made. I haven't heard of the best place.

Well, I would NOT live in the Pacific Northwest. There is very little here in support of HG/HG+ kids.

Uh... other than lip service. Plenty of that.


We've considered Reno, the Research Triangle, and a few places in the Northeast-- our research (such as it's been) indicates that there is genuine support in those places, though it may be highly localized.

Mostly, though, I'd reiterate Val's statement-- there probably isn't any ONE right place for every HG child. Add on top of things the bitter fact that even an "outstanding" situation is all-too frequently just a single administrative change from "revolting and damaging" and I'm not sure that there is a way to do what you've proposed. Not really, anyway.

I'm not sure that a ten year plan CAN be done. Maybe a two or three year one, yes, but only if you're super-flexible and have plans A, B, and C in place at a given location.

There is no way that I could have predicted my daughter's needs at twelve with any degree of accuracy when she was five. If we'd based decisions on that, we'd have locked ourselves into a situation that would not have fit for very long, which is why I suggest, with all due respect, that not looking TOO far ahead is probably a wiser strategy long term.

The best we've ever managed is a fit that was ideal for six months, good for at most another twelve months, tolerable for another six to eight months, and increasingly miserable moving out to thirty-six months from the placement decision. We are currently riding the middle stretch and hoping like mad that our 13yo won't enter "miserable" before June 2014 when she is supposed to graduate from high school. Please note-- the SITUATION isn't what's changing here; my child is just gradually outstripping what accommodations have been made for her.

We ride one train until we run out of track, and then we find a new train and make a plan to get on it. I'm willing to concede that there may be places like Davidson that could really be "good" for the long haul, but it hasn't been our reality.

HTH.

Combination your house+ the library+ the playground, for the gt kid who doesn't fit even in first grade.

We have one of those.

We also have a more obviously gifted and definitely more socially able child who is doing ok, bored but not downright depressed yet.
Northern VA. public school is ok for this sort of child, so far. There are several excellent private schools, many specifically for gt kids if you are willing to move or drive, and ok elementary programs in p.s. Mid school specialty programs get very full so it is hit and miss, and movement to very advanced material is very rare (perhaps as it should be?).
High school options range from Governor's schools all day programs to schools with college 1/2 days, and I really think that last is an excellent option.

In a place so close to D.C. you'd think foreign language would be presented earlier across the board, but I think 8th is the earliest it is seen except for a very few schools.

Thanks for the post; I've been wondering the same thing myself. We live in the Research Triangle NC area and I have heard good things about the Chapel Hill public schools but at least some of the gifted program seems to keep changing so that it has moved over time to different schools and also there seems to be a waiting period so if you move into the district your kid can't be in the gifted program until the following year. There's probably more to it than that, but that's what I found online awhile ago so we did not look further into moving to Chapel Hill. Wake County public schools have gifted differentiation starting in third grade, but we have also heard not good things about some of the elementary/middle schools and plus the school assignment plans have been in constant chaos for the last three years or so, with no end in sight. We've cobbled together stuff for our kid at private schools, with variable results, but I can't say I would recommend this area for gifted education. Maybe late middle school/ high school will be different. Also I would say we have met hardly any kids who are different in terms of having slightly unusual behavior and/or senses of humor, and that has been difficult. Plus the teachers have been all over the map in terms of supporting DD; fortunately we're in a good place now but last year was just awful. Good luck finding a place; I would love to hear about it if you do!

Forgot to mention there are some great GT homeschool groups in the Twin Cities area as well. Another option. There are other fabulous GT homeschool communities across the country as well. I believe the SF Bay area has a wonderful one. I would add "active and supportive GT homeschool community" to the list of things to check into, anyway, if I were moving for school reasons.

"Reno, the Research Triangle, and a few places in the Northeast"

Where in the Northeast?

All good questions. Let's assume either public or private is fine, and that the kid in question is very interested in math and science and in the middle of the (gifted) spectrum on all those other dimensions.

But that said, if you think the answer depends on one of those dimensions, I'd be eager to hear how it depends.

Thanks for all the other replies.