Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Regions California vs the East Coast

We may be looking at a move to California from the East Coast. While the school my son goes to has a 6 out of 10 ranking on great schools, atleast they have acknowledged that he is advanced, but that there is nothing they can do about it. Added to this, we may be looking at a potentially 2E kind of scenario (his current school thinks he has attention issues).

How are schools in California (primarily, the south bay area) ? How open are they to differentiating ? Do they offer accommodations for potentially 2E kind of scenarios (attention issues)? Are there any specific schools you would recommend ? Everything I read on the internet suggests an almost unhealthy emphasis on testing from 2nd grade onward. While I am fine with testing, I am wondering if they primarily teach to the test. I know, in theory, every school has to offer FAPE, but I see a lack of information about any kind of accommodations (I have not searched extensively though). Also, are there any psychologists or neuro-psychologists you can recommend ?

While I can't say I love my kid's school, my kid seems happy enough to go to school, primarily for the extras (library, art, music, PE etc). I see a lot of schools in the south bay area have one half day every week. I also see almost no mention of art/music; any mention states it is all upto parent volunteers.

Any suggestions/recommendations ?

Umm.

We live in the South Bay. Your public school choices here are pretty bleak. California public schools are pretty bad. I called around the local school districts a few years ago and asked about gifted programs and grade skips, and didn't get a single positive answer. But one principal did imply that I wasn't letting my kid be a kid after he told me he'd never done a grade skip in 20 years and never would.

There's a public magnet school in Redwood City called North Star Academy. It's aimed at "high achieving students" and supposedly compacts the curriculum. My impression is that it might be good for kids in above average range but not for HG+ kids (but possibly better than other local schools). HOWEVER, you should check into it because I'm only looking in from the outside and have only known one parent with a child there.


You're right about the half day on Wednesday. It's so common, it's practically a standard practice. Plus they have other "minimum days" when the kids go home at noon-ish. They have a fair few of those. And don't forget "furlough" days when the schools are closed because they can't afford to open them. You're also right about the lack of art and music.

One good thing about the this area is that there are a lot of private schools and they're relatively cheap. My kids attend a wonderful small-ish private school that costs about $12K per year. They have music, art, language classes, and lots of other stuff like field trips. This is because they don't have half days and because the school day is ~45 minutes longer than the public school day (public schools are out around 2:30 here; privates end at 3 at the earliest up to 3:30). When you add up all that time, private school kids here get a whole extra day PER WEEK compared to public schools. PM me if you want more information.

ETA: the school my kids attend is also very much into ability grouping (usually three groups per class in mathematics).

Kcab, that's interesting. The middle and high schools in my district have half days and aren't terribly demanding (at least, not from what my son's friends say and not from his experience in a public charter last year).

I've got a kid in public school in not quite the South Bay, and I would say that schools vary wildly from district to district. At our school, we have a great music and PE program; there is a small art program run by the PTA, although I think most teachers try to have a frequent in-room art class.

I was able to push for individual subject acceleration for DS eventually, but it was difficult and not well supported (and now we're homeschooling him, if that tells you anything!) I know our school has supported whole-grade acceleration in certain circumstances, but it's extremely infrequent.

Our school fundraising is pretty non-pressured; I've had friends in other districts tell me they're *expected* to donate many hundreds of dollars to the school. Here, we can hope for it, but certainly don't expect it (or make public knowledge who donated).

Our district lets kids out about 90 minutes early once a week, so it's not really a half day. This was the same as the private school I went to briefly in NYC, so not a strictly Californian phenomenon. And considering the weather here is so nice so much of the time, it's 90 more minutes to spend outside playing.

Keep in mind that all of California is in the process of moving over to Common Core (supposedly all public schools are taking the CC and STAR tests next spring, followed by CC only in 2015). This means lots of changes in curriculum, stressed out teachers and administrators, and possibly not a lot of time, energy, or interest in trying to accommodate a 2E (or otherwise not middle-of-the-road) kid.

(PM me if you have more specific questions about my district.)

Thanks for the replies. Val, KnittingMama, thanks very much. I will take you up on the offer to PM, once we definitely decide to move. I am quite nervous, about the possible move, and all that it entails.

kcab, you are right. My kid is currently in K; so he will be entering first grade in the fall. Val, that is good to know about private schools, but I am a little hesitant considering a potential 2E kind of situation. Also, it will be a stretch financially, so it is something to consider as well.


This does not sound good.


This is how it is, over here. Yes, fund raisers are held, but it is not mandatory, nor does anyone know who contributes, how much etc.

I also meant to ask this -- if I show the school district the testing results, and how it compares to the rest of the K class or the 1st grade class (achievement test scores, for example or assessments performed independently by our current school), would they differentiate for strengths and accommodate for any 2E scenarios? Or, would it be going back to scratch -- requesting an evaluation and getting a new set of tests done ?

My other challenge is getting any sort of accommodations (if attention issues are found). My kid does do a whole lot better in quieter (and small group) environments, as compared to a large group (though his coping skills, even in large groups, is getting marginally better). Would you mention this to the new teachers, if you were in my place ? Or, would you wait for them to gauge for themselves ? For our current school, we did the evaluation based on his preschool teachers' feedback (we knew he was advanced, but they said something else was also going on. His K teacher thinks it is attention issues).

Thanks for all the information and suggestions. Very helpful.

Again, just speaking for my kids' school, there is almost no differentiation for lower elementary. There is some for reading (they use Accelerated Reader, which allows kids to read books at or near their level), but otherwise math, LA, and other subjects are one-size-fits-all. GATE in our district doesn't start until 4th grade.

California schools are also strapped for cash, despite promises that more money is coming one of these days. There will be no incentive to put your son in a small group environment unless he needs serious accommodations. Some schools are amenable to outside testing, others aren't. My school was resistant to testing DS; even though he was clearly unhappy and becoming a behavior problem, he was doing fine academically and therefore didn't fall under the criteria for testing (again, it's a money issue).

In terms of options-- given what you've said and what I know about class sizes in some CA-- well, really, 'west coast'-- districts--

be aware that state charter school law means that you only have access to virtual charters in some districts within the state. If you want that option, you will need to know which districts they are, and make sure that you're in-district.

You might be able to get an OOD placement, but I really, really wouldn't count on it. Those seem to be extremely rare on the entire west coast.

I mention that because if you run into a particularly refractory local administration, it may be the only way to get acceleration. GT/GATE/TAG programs typically don't begin until 3rd-5th grades out here-- barring the larger magnet programs in LA and Seattle, I mean. The rest of us basically have to do what we can with individual advocacy and piecemeal approaches.

If you can maybe look just outside of Southbay, For public schools Manhatten Beach, Rancho Palos Verdes, Irvine, Cerritos, Los Alammitos. You have to live in the city, but the public schools in these cities are a little better then most.

Direct quote from our principal, asked about the 'huge potential' DD's test scores indicated combined with mediocre performance and outright despair, and whether we can offer her anything to address her potential:
"We get asked that all the time. Unfortunately that's just not what we do here. We don't have the resources, or the responsibility, to do that."

This was the district's own testing. It's not likely to make any difference at all who does the testing, they can't do anything anyway. The budget set to pass this week eliminates all GT funding and requirements for the whole state.

We moved to a private, which I can recommend highly for HG+ or 2E.

Wow, I hadn't heard this yet.