Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments Touring a school for the gifted.

I got curious about a local private school for the gifted and signed up for a tour.

I'm pretty sure this school is financially way out of our league, and it's more than 30min from our house, but I'd like to check it out all the same.

I hope I'm not setting myself up for another bout of disappointment. I went to a conference at a different private school (about 1hr away) and the place was so fabulous I was really disappointed that I couldn't give my kids an opportunity to go to a school like that...<sigh>.

Well, I don't think it hurts to check it out yourself. But I know how you feel, I haven't checked out any of the private gifted schools for the same reason.

I would hate them to get excited and then not be able to swing it.

Maybe they can offer some financial assistance if you say it is out of your league it won't hurt to go and see it.

Please share your experience after the tour. I think it's always good to know what's out there/ available.... even though it may be out of reach for now. U may be able to "steal" a tip or 2 for home-use during the tour.

Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?

They also have a half-time program and enrichment classes you can sign up for which may be more within our reach. And maybe financial aid is a possibility. At ~$1800/mo we would definitely need it. That's more than our rent!

I was a little surprised when the lady who called me back to set up the tour appointment told me to bring DS's WPPSI results with me. But I guess there's no harm in that. Is that the way these things are usually done?

I will. It's on Tuesday.

Go ahead and see it. It may not work as a full time school (too expensive or/and too far), but they may offer a great enrichment program. Not to mention it's always nice to have a back up option in case things don't work out in his current school.

I only wish I could go and see gt schools around here. There are none Zilch. Nothing. The closest one is 1.5-2 hours away. At least we have an access to a great gt weekend program. It's far but it's ok if we do it only once a week.

Good luck! The gifted school where my ds6 goes is definitely out of our financial league -- we get hefty financial aid, and I hit up my parents for some tuition help (who are in a financial position to contribute). There was no *way* we could have afforded it on our own.

And it's a 35-minute drive from home.

But ... we sucked it up and checked it out, and then we made it work.

It's made all the difference in the world for ds6 -- he loves going to school and is appropriately placed. So definitely, go look! You may be surprised at what you can finagle if push comes to shove.

As for bringing the WPPSI with ... maybe that *is* how they do it. Do they have a numerical cut-off? Ds's school did, so maybe the school you're touring just wants to make sure your ds does qualify for admission?

Good luck! Can't wait to hear about it.

They don't have a published cutoff. Entrance seems to be based on an interview which they told me is not a test. So I'm not sure why they want to see the WPPSI, but it's ok with me.

I toured the school this morning--it's much smaller than I expected. It's just a few rooms that they are renting in the community center portion of a church. There's also a swimming pool and a grassy area with a play structure.

Right now they have about 25 students of various ages. They emphasize experiential learning and meet with families to create tailored educational goals for the kids. It looks fun, it has some structure but it's flexible and non-authoritarian. There are adult mentors (instead of teachers) who help the kids work on their goals and structure their day. The structure is fairly loose, though, e.g.

Morning: arrival and choice time, snack, language arts
Noon: lunch, recess
Afternoon: math, biology, swimming.

The place has a homey feel to it, looks lived-in. They do a cooking project together on Fridays. There were lots of projects in various stages of completion around like a three foot high balsa wood Rube-Goldberg type contraption put together with liberal amounts of hot glue, there were computers where some kids were doing math games. Some kids were playing a complicated looking board game. Another boy was on the floor working on a large map-like project that he had made. Some kids were working on their language arts theme projects.

The kids are allowed to choose any theme and then choose to do three projects related to their theme, one of which has to involve writing. Some of the options are: write a biography of about a person related to your theme, research your theme and give an oral report, collect or draw pictures related to your theme, write a story related to your theme, build a diorama, etc.

They have specialists come in to teach the kids, e.g. one week will feature a biology professor who takes the kids on a nature walk, another week they'll have an artist who shows them how to make kinetic sculptures.

For us, there would be downsides--the expense = $16,000/yr/kid. We just couldn't do it. The commute is bad. With the small number of kids I would be afraid that some kids would not find a buddy to bond with. I am debating whether to take the kids to visit the school (the next step in the admissions process) since I don't have much hope it could work and I don't want to get their hopes up.

I think DD is happy where she is, socially. Academically, she is not as driven as DS and she is happy to do lots of reading at home.

DS does not seem to be clicking with any of the kids at his school. He just doesn't fit. He has never known anything different, though, and seems to accept the situation for now.

Neither of the kids knows about me shopping around. DS would probably be excited about trying this new school. DD would not. I don't know how I would manage having them in two different schools...

I might be able to talk the GT school into an arrangement where I could teach math there in exchange for part of our tuition. But then I think that if I were going to do the teaching, I could just homeschool my own kids and they would get even more benefit than they would with a student:teacher ratio of 12:1 without all the driving around. So I don't know. I'll have to think about it. My first impression is that I didn't fall in love with the place enough to make a heroic effort.

The loosely organized, experiential learning format is new to me. What are some of the cons you have seen at your school?

Thank you, Dottie.

I think I got all the pros during my tour The lady who showed me around was very helpful and seemed to really understand HG+ kids.

The kids who were there all seemed engaged and had peers they were working with. Except one kid, who may have just been having a bad day...

We were in a very similar situation with our school choice. We had met with the principal of the local public school and walked away feeling that they would not really meet our son's needs. I went to an open house at a private gifted school, and walked out feeling like we had to do whatever we could to have him go there. It is kind of out of our financial league as well, but we are trying to make it work. He started Kindergarten in September, and is thriving. We are absolutely gaga over his teachers and the school.
Everyone's situation (and child) is different, but for us, it was the right choice. While the "cons" pointed out earlier are real, there are "pros" that are just as real...

You know I'm really, really surprised and disappointed that there aren't more gifted private (or charter) schools in our area. It's frustrating really. The only truly GT school is 1.5 hours away from us...

Cathy, I sympathize. This last week has had us looking at alternative schools to check out our options. Average cost was $15k which is probably not feasible for us either unless I switched jobs. And then I wonder if they're not catering to GT kids then that's a really big risk to take for a situation that may not be any better.

JB

Cathy, at least you know what the school is like. It's good to have a knowledge about available options. Do they offer any weekend or afterschool program? That may be all your children need and it may be a nice balance between ps and gt school. DS6 is homeschooled but he attends weekend gt program and goes to alternative (non gt) school 2 afternoons/week.

Yes, it is good to know what options we have. They don't offer weekend or afterschool courses, though. This is only the second year of operation for this school, so I am also a little concerned about whether it will stay afloat financially.

I would hate to get the kids all settled there only to have to move them back to ps the next year having lost their spots. Around here, the public schools are overcrowded. Priority for your neighborhood school is assigned by enrollment date. If we leave and come back the kids would be overloaded to other (lousier) public schools.

Still, if things get really bad at the ps, it's nice to have alternatives.

We toured a school nearby for gifted children. It really seemed very cool in a lot of ways, but about $20k/year. Plus they organize a school ski trip in the winter, and Im sure have other costly events. I figured if we really really stretched, got some aid, etc., we could swing it. Lots of sacrifices but ds8 would probably really like it.
But, I also saw that it had a parking lot full of $50k/cars. I know this probably sounds lame, but I thought, there is no way we as a family are going to fit in at this place, unless I work 4 jobs! hope that doesnt sound class-ist.
Lastly, ds is very artistic, and really they didnt offer much more than the regular schools in this arena, so in the end I decided not to feel too guilty about not doing it.

I'll post in a new thread later today when I get a few spare minutes. It's been a big mixed bag.

JB

I just returned from my first two hour round trip school commute for the day.

I never imagined our son would attend the �rich� school where he began this fall. Because it is so far away, I haven�t attended any of the Mother�s Club events yet, but my husband and I did chaperone the junior high dance recently and met a few other parents. I found the parents and teachers to be extremely genuine and the kids (boys from the school and many girls from the community and other private schools) were respectful, courteous, self assured and did not strike me as overly materialistic.

Just as I never looked down on families (that I knew of) who received financial assistance at our last, more moderately priced school, I assume any one worth their salt is not going to snub our family if they learn we receive financial aid at this 15K+ school. In my opinion, the most pretentious and materialistic individuals are often more �posers� than truly the �haves� anyway. The reality is that just the gas to get him there, in combination with my lost work day availability for my part time career, is quite a financial sacrifice for us. (I wish I could get comp time as my work responsibilities have not decreased.)

So far, this private school is well worth the effort and sacrifice. Most of the teachers treat the students with what I can best describe as �professional courtesy� and mutual respect even when addressing negative situations. The teachers and administrators don�t have to be autocrats in order to establish they are in charge. This grown-up treatment, in addition to the very high academic intensity for most classes and his high ability classmates make this school the absolute best environment for ds to spend his days. Also, he loves it.

"You know I'm really, really surprised and disappointed that there aren't more gifted private (or charter) schools in our area. It's frustrating really."

(I can't figure out the quote box thing again. I swear I'm losing my brains!)

I live in a major metro area in Texas and there are only 2 schools that I've found for gifted kids and they are both high schools. I'm thinking of calling them and asking "hey, what do parents of elementary age gifted kids do until they get to high school age. It is frustrating considering the number of schools there are that focus on "learning differences".

ETA: I don't mean to imply that kids with learning differences don't need those services. Our society just seems skewed.

Chris-
I get your point. We actually attend one of "those" schools. I drive my Scion every day into a parking lot full of Lexus, BMWs and more... We aren't "those people" but we have fun watching them. It was fun at the school auction last year to see people spend thousands- literally- on kids' artwork. "A beautiful framed collage from the Kindergarten class" $4000. !?!?!?!

Surprisingly, it hasn't mattered yet. We've been there a year and a half and I've found that while we make far less money, we are much more financially stable than most of the families there. Spending beyond your means to keep up a show just isn't our style. My kid wears Target clothes to school. And I don't have to scream when they get paint on them.

I know that DFW has several schools that start from 4 years and up.

You know that people don't spend that much b/c they think the artwork is worth it, right? It is a fundraiser after all. At DS's private school, the auction provided the revenue for a new playground. Sure it's good sport to watch them, but they're also good sports, themselves, to support the school and its programs, and many of us have been the beneficiaries of their generosity.

As for Target, I buy my clothes there, too, LOL!

Sure, I get they're being generous to the school! Of course, most are parents so their kids are also benefiting, not to mention the large tax deduction on the artwork!

I was more commenting on the previous poster's feelings that she'd be a little out of place and out of her element. We buy our $100 a piece tickets to the auction. We just don't have the luxury of throwing around that kind of money while we're there.

Yeah, we've got those Bimmers and Lexuses (what's the plural of Lexus -- Lexi?) in our parking lot. I drive my VW Rabbit in and park, and sneak out.

The private school where ds6 goes is $15K a year ... and no, I don't really "fit in" with many of the parents there (age and money both). But I've found a few. And really, ds fits in, so it's not that big a deal. Lots of kids say hi to him as we walk past, and that's enough for me. And he just started, so I think as time goes on, the appearances will count for less and the kids will count for more. I'm less concerned about me fitting in and happier that ds is fitting in.

At his school, all parents are expected to contribute to the "annual fund" on top of tuition, whatever they can afford. I can tell you that our contribution is going to be about $75! That's what we can afford, really, and that's what they'll get. I feel a little bad, but I also know that there are families there that can and do contribute a lot more on top of tuition.

Anyway, it is good that you're looking around. There's a local GT Saturday program where we are that ds did last spring and it was *great* for him, he loved it. Those things can make all the difference, just a chance to meet with kids that are more like him.