Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments What to look for in a GT magnet school?

Hi all!

Our District provides little in the way of GT education at the elementary school level. DS8 (HG) has had GT certfied teachers since being ID'd in 1st grade when he was 6 but the education itself is really not much more than teaching the icons, etc. No pull out, no enrichment, a little differentiation but not much. Long story short, the District has a magnet school with an all-GT class. Entrance in the school itself is by lottery and tomorrow we have our required tour. If DS was picked from the lottery, he would be in the all-GT class obviously.

May I draw upon the collective experiences and wisdom of the folks here to ask what I should look for during the tour of the all-GT class?

Thank you in advance.

Hmm. It's a GT magnet but entrance is by lottery alone? Is there a qualifying exam or IQ score cutoff or something else? If it's just by lottery alone, I would assume that the student body wouldn't be much different from the student body in other local schools (?).

If they have requirements, how stringent are they? Do they set the bar low, low-ish (85th-90th percentile) or high-ish (98th and up)? How heavily do they rely on fuzzy factors like teacher recommendations?

I'd ask specific questions about their policies and what they do. For example, what's the general approach and how does it differ from the other local schools? IMO, the answer to the second part of that question is quite important.

What do they do with highly gifted kids? Hint: do they look confused when you use the term "highly gifted," or are they familiar with it?

It's hard to say in the absence of other information; it could be a least-worst option, if nothing else.

A nearby district has a lottery system for their GT magnet. They do not have enough space, and that is why they have the lottery. First kids must be identified as GT, then they can apply. It ends up being a school full of the range of GT kids, as there is no preference for HG+. I have heard parents of HG+ kids say that it was a horrible fit for their kid, as they were bored and the school didn't do extra differentiation, but then more recently I've heard that they school has provided more options for HG kids. Depends on the administration, and the kid, I would guess.

I would say a lot depends on how flexible the school is. I would ask if there are different groups for different kids with different abilities. Is subject acceleration allowed? Do they cluster or group together kids with similar abilities? I would be wary if they said "our curriculum is challenging for all our kids." But if your son isn't really getting much at his level now, it may still be an improvement.

Can you ask for contacts so you can ask parents with HG kids how they like the school?

Are there any HG magnets around?

The Davidson Institute Resource library has a good list of questions to ask of any school: http://www.davidsongifted.org/db/Articles_id_10511.aspx

You've got a great list of questions already from the replies above. The one thing I'd add is to do your best to talk to other parents whose children have attended the school - hopefully families who are currently enrolled. We decided to not send our ds to our district's HG program based on what we heard from other parents. In our case, the district's program really is for HG kids (it has a cutoff that guaranteed that), but we found that the input we heard from other parents wasn't what we were looking for in a school experience for our ds. For a different family, it might have been just the right fit, and we've known several families who were very happy there, as well as having known several families who purposely left after a year or two.

I found it very difficult to make decisions about schools just based on a one-time tour and talking to teachers/administrators, other than very broad ideas about vision etc.

polarbear

ps - ha! I thought of a question. I'm guessing you'll be putting your ds in the lottery no matter what, just to see if he gets a spot. I'd ask if your ds can spend a day at the school this spring if he's chosen in the lottery. Our kids are in a private school, but before they were admitted they had to spend a day there with the students who would be in their grade the next year. That gave us good info on how the school would work for our kids.

Val, St. Pauli Girl, and polarbear, thank you all so much! I really appreciate the responses.

In this district, GATE identification is done by OLSAT (I think 90-95% cutoff) for most part plus teacher recommendations. I think portfolio review can come in for older kids. DS's home school is one of the top schools in the district and has high API scores and a good deal of extras due to the deep-pocketed families in area. But after having numerous conversations with the principal and the GATE teacher liaison, it is abundantly clear that GATE ed is a low priority at the school. I was even fed the line that the school wants the GATE kids to "inspire the low performers". Hence, the anti-clustering policy.

Probably the biggest problem I am having with the current home school is the classes are fairly crowded and, according to the teachers, populated with an abnormally high number of "misbehaving" kids. Who knows?

The magnet school is open to the district. There is an all-GATE class for grades 1-5 at the school and the rest are "fundamental" classes. All hopefuls (GT or not) go into the lottery and are selected. The lists are kept by grade and then by GT/non-GT. There is often more room in the GT classes but not always. The parents I've talked to have loved it but I don't know any from my homeschool who've gone that route.

Val-yes the student body in the non-GT classes would not be much different from other schools.

I just thought of another question for you all. When viewing the GT classes, what types of student/teacher behavior should I be looking for (other than the complete opposite of what he has now in class)?

Thank you all again so much! It is so helpful to have this resource.

These are all great thoughts. These have worked for my ds and dd:

I would tell them the highlights of your ds8 and ask what specific classes are available for him to take. Try to judge whether or not they respect parents' opinions by their answer. If not, then they probably won't adjust his program to suit him, if it turns out that the level is too low for him.
When I have talked with teachers who care about parents' educational goals for their child, they adjusted enough to make the classes interesting and challenging. I only saw superficial accommodations from teachers who don't care about parents' opinions.
Another thing I do is stop a few random students as they walk by and ask if school is challenging, or if there are any other students at the school who have the same interests as your ds. They'll tell you the truth according to their point of view.
I also flip through the textbooks that are usually kept on the classroom shelves near the windows to get a sense of the challenge level of the classes.
Finally, I look at the student work that is posted up in the hallways.


Regarding this question, PG students are supposed to be given more autonomy because they are self-driven learners, so I'd look for students working with each other or on their own in different parts of the room while the teacher makes rounds to offer guidance. A teacher lecturing probably is not a good sign.

I don't think this is an across-the-board accepted best method for HG or PG kids. They all learn differently. In my area, there are several schools for HG kids, and they each have their own philosophies about how to teach the kids. There is one school that is great for kids who are more independent and motivated learners that sounds like the description you give, with fewer lectures and more autonomy. That type of school would not be great for my kiddo, who likes to learn in a group. The HG school my son attends provides accelerated work (faster pace and more advanced), plus different groups for reading, but it is generally more like a traditional classroom (though the work is challenging). It's a great fit for my son, but it's not for everyone. There is another school that believes in advancement only to a point - they don't believe you should go further than what they offer, and they direct people who want to move faster to go to the more independent school.

So I guess my point is that you'll want to observe the school with your kiddo's learning style in mind. Maybe ask questions about how much group and independent work there is.

Also, since you mention that the magnet has a GT program but also regular classrooms, how is that arranged for non-academic classes? Are the GT kids always separate, or do they get to interact with the other classrooms (for things like music, band, gym, etc.) When I toured my son's school-within-a-school program, some of the kids wished that they could spend time with the kids in the other classrooms, since they're pretty isolated with their own GT class all day.

Here are some things I asked when touring a local GT magnet that went to 5th:
What is the most advanced math available for 5th graders?
My son's handwriting is pretty far behind, will this have a bad impact in this program?
What STEM clubs are available?