Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments Possible new school option but a PPP

DS is currently in 4th at his neighborhood school. He skipped 1st & gets pull out enrichment 1-2 week and monthly field trips. It's been one of those, it's not perfect but he's not unhappy situations, & he has some friends.

We went to a magnet school fair this weekend & learned about the science & tech magnet middle school. It runs 5th-8th, DS's elem goes til after 5th & middle 6-8. He watched the video of kids doing all kinds of science projects & was in awe. He was/is extremely excited & talked about it all weekend. They have several science & tech labs, use palm pilots & ipods for classes, lots of hands on activities, science fair, clubs, planetarium on site, prairie outside in the courtyard with pond, etc. He wants to be a biologist & has loved science since pre-K.

He asked if since kids come into his school mid-year, why couldn't he switch there now? When I reminded him about the grade, he asked if he could show he could do the work, could he go? He is THAT interested & it's great to see him so excited. We also met a family that loves it there & the kid is able to go to the HS for math & then MS the rest of the day. DS was very impressed by this. There should be no question but there are issues.

So he gets off the bus yesterday and says, mom, we have a PPP. lol He says he has a Peer Pressure Pickle because friends were against his choice. I explained that his friends would miss him but that most of his day is spent learning, not socializing so what is more important to him.

We are in a suburban school district, great test scores, good rep, etc. Not much diversity which I do not like. The middle school offers the usual courses with no emphasis on science. Gifted ed is a few seminars & differentiation by the teachers which I don't have a ton of faith in from past experiences.

The negative in some eyes is that the magnet school is deep in the inner city. It's a good 30 min away but they will bus him. I have toured several inner city schools as part of a program and the city schools get a bad rap from the burbs people.

At this magnet, there is one feeder school and the rest are bussed in from all over. There is a lottery to get in but they are trying to increase the diversity in the city. Kids that are not free lunch are accepted first after siblings. (I do feel bad that we could take a spot from a lower SES kid) The test scores are not as high as our school but not horrible. It is 1/2 the size of our local middle school.

DH has gotten PPP from his friends too-"don't send him, it's too rough there". I am not worried about the location & just want him somewhere that will spark his learning again. By HS, he will be able to take AP, dual credit, etc. but until then, his options are this magnet, IB at a nearby school (not sure that meets his interests), or maybe jumping ahead in some middle school courses.

Sorry for the book but can anyone from outside the decision provide some insight?

Honestly, I would probably go for it, esp considering your son's excitement. Maybe because of Piper's CF, I tend to be somewhat of a "risk taker" if you want to call it that. There's no way of knowing how long she's going to be here, so I deny her very few opportunities that come her way. My reaction to those types of opportunities goes something along the lines of.. what's the worse could happen? If she hates it, or there's a problem, I'll pull her out and she can go back to her regular school. What's the best that could happen? She LOVES it, learns a ton, and gets appropriately challenged. Normally for us, the best argument wins every time. Very few things in life are irreversible, and I'd much rather take the chances and reverse it if necessary than have her wonder what it might have been like. Hope this helps....

-Amanda

I think it warrants further study. Set up a day to go visit when the school is in session or arrange for a day for your DS to spend the day shadowing a kid who is already there. Talk to the principal, etc. Also, find out what sorts of accomodations they will make for your DS- a lot of science might not be so great if it moves slow and is too basic.

I would lean toward going to the Magnet however. But I live in an urban area and pretty much just roll my eyes at people who the suburbs who are "afraid."

Cat

Take a visit. Sometimes the cummulative experience doesn't really match the day to day.

I would cherish the friendships he already has, but I wouldn't limit his educational experience to accomidate them - perhaps one or two of the kids will be inspired to overcome their concerns and follow your son. It's possible.

But it's also possible - at least sometimes - to nurture the friendships with weekend playdates and sleepovers.

It's hard.

Best Wishes,
Grinity

Thanks for the replies. Yes, we're planning to take a tour & one of DH's concerns was that it might move too slow. DS is still excited despite leaving his friends. I hate putting him in the position of being different again but at the same time, want him to enjoy the academic side of school.

I am not at all scared of the city but do hear that kind of impression from others. I worry he'll be stereotyped as one of "those burb" kids and not accepted by the locals either.

We'll see how the visit goes.

I would also make sure that the HS you can go to for higher level math is a well-performing school and is not too rough, depending on the area of the inner city it is in.

Will the magnet allow your DS to enter into the school mid-year with what is, essentially, a grade skip?

What percent of the student body comes into the school via the feeder elementary, versus kids getting in by lottery? If the ratio of feeder to lottery kids is high, that could be a concern. (A relative sent her daughter to a "gifted" magnet where a large proportion of the kids were not gifted and it was not a good idea - some magnets are created by taking a failing/bad or low enrollment school with the idea to increase the number of good students attending).

You may be able to compare test scores on a site such as www.schooldigger.com to see whether students do well in all areas. (disclaimer being it's just sol scores so doesn't show depth or the variety of experiences offered at a school, but does give one way to compare schools). Looking at the percent of kids that passed each individual test with advanced rather than just proficient sometimes can show what percent of the class is ahead of average.

Polly

I would not fall in love with the school just watching the intro videos. You have to sit in the classroom with your kid for at least an hour to observe all the details.