My husband's job just offered him to relocate to either Boston or Minneapolis. We will stay for at least a year, possibly much longer. Initially, I thought Boston/New England seemed like the obvious choice but after doing some research I am not so sure any more. Our 8 year old, PG kid is grade accelerated to primary years 4, and further subject accelerated to primary years 5 in math. In Minneapolis there is the "Navigator" program (public/free) for IQ 145 +, grade 2-5 (7-11 yo) where they seem to allow the students to accelerate beyond grade levels. After the elementary years I am not so sure what they can offer. In Boston I have found one private (very expensive) school that caters to the group 130+ and nothing else for gifted (based on IQ). On the other hand, the general view seems to be that in Boston a large proportion of the kids are either PG or HG. Does anyone have experience with PG elementary kid in Boston/Minneapolis and/or Navigator program or schools in Boston? Any advice is highly appreciated.
you may want to send a private message to st pauli girl .
Another consideration is the cost of living in each place. Boston is amazing; so much history, the ocean, easy travel to other cities nearby...
On the other hand, the general view seems to be that in Boston a large proportion of the kids are either PG or HG.
That is not true for the Boston public schools. Some suburban school districts, such as Lexington, do have many gifted children. The state of Massachusetts does nothing to support gifted students.
I am already stuck in the Boston area, but thinking of the upcoming winter in the two cities, my answer to the question of "Boston or Minneapolis" is neither
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You might want to look at information on the MN gifted group, MCGT. There is a website with limited information about school options, and a relatively active yahoo email group (for which you would need to join MCGT, but it is only $35/yr).
MA offers ZERO g/t state funding and that situation isn't going to change any time soon, unfortunately. There's also ZERO state mandate for g/t or 2e and that's also not, unfortunately, going to change any time soon.
Some towns and cities offer g/t (Waltham, Framingham, Brookline come to mind) but it's not the norm. Some towns and cities, such as Lexington as Bostonian mentioned, have more g/t kids than others - but again it's not the norm I'd say. However, even with a town like Lexington, there may be little for a pg kid until they reach middle/high school years and you may end up having to supplement at home or elsewhere until then. Middle school/high school ages is more often the beginning of the AP/advanced coursework options. Dual enrollment doesn't kick in until 14 yrs old and many community colleges and state colleges are age sticklers regardless.
Some pg kids are fine being in public school in MA and being with neurotypical kids. Others are not. Some gifted/2e kids are being accommodated in private schools but this is varies widely depending on the school and the child. It's not necessarily a given that x school would accommodate x child. It really depends on how far ahead away from the norm x child is; how much acceleration they need; if there's 2e issues; how well x child tolerates being with non-gifted kids; etc.
MA is an expensive state too. Towns, such as Lexington, tend to be very expensive and known for their uber competitiveness which is something to bear in mind. Some people find the pressure cooker type atmosphere to be too much or stifling and decide to live elsewhere. Others, though, thrive in such settings. Generally speaking, in a town such as Lexington kids may be operating a couple of grades ahead and/or more academically focused and inclined -- not the ones operating 4+ yrs ahead imho.
Since I am in the middle of moving out of MA with my 9-yr-old 2e/pg, I would completely dispute that there's a large number of pg/hg kids in the Boston/MA area. It is a highly educated state (commonwealth if I'm being precise) and therefore does attract a certain population. However, I disagree that 1) there's a large number of pg/hg kids in general in MA, and 2) the commonwealth can accommodate such kids. That's not been my experience. At all. Then again, pg kids can vary widely.
A number of families with gifted/2e kids are un/homeschooling in MA because, as mentioned, the education situation in MA varies widely and many families either cannot afford to live in the more affluent communities which may accommodate their kids or have difficulty finding or getting their kids accommodate with public/private schooling. Again, this situation varies widely based on geography and socioeconomic factors.
Some families in MA end up moving to NH due to the cost of living in MA and affordability to un/homeschool there as an alternative to the public/private situation in MA. But there are trade-offs with NH and working in MA -- dealing with Routes 93 and 128 come immediately to mind.
Wow- thank you very much for these answers. I'm not sure what to think. Clearly, Boston may not be a good choice for a PG-child unless one is lucky to find that special teacher?
We would prefer a school for PG children mainly for 2 reasons:
1. Meaningful school days where he will be able to learn as much as he likes (and not beeing forced to sit in on classes that cover subjects he already know).
2. Social life with (almost) same age kids whith a similar cognitive ability- kids who may understand him.
We are NOT looking for him to study more or harder than other kids- we want him to enjoy life as a kid. For this reason, I think that an ordinary G&T program may be the worst place for our son. Our son is PG but not 2e. He is likes natural sciences, math and languages.
Good luck soccermom. I really wish you well.
IMHO, one of the biggest problems that you're going to face is your son's age. IF you move to the Boston area, over time the age issue will lessen. BUT until your son is older, you're bound to face hurdles and obstacles and doors shut.
I was not successful finding a school in the Boston area for my pg son. That's one of the reasons why we decided (rather painfully) to move. My son attended two private g/t schools but neither one worked out; he had exhausted the options with public school pretty early on. I really wish that there was a DYS or equivalent on the East Coast, or ideally in New England, but there isn't unfortunately.
G/t schools in the Boston area are not designed for pg kids. They're designed for mg kids or those working 1-2 grades ahead, possibly 3 grades ahead, but not 4+ grades ahead -- and not for more globally gifted kids. For pg kids who rapidly accelerate, un/homeschooling is often 'it' by default. It's a different story, if you've got a child who is a chess, music, or art prodigy. Ditto if you've got a child who's spectacular in say math but more grade typical in other subjects.
As mentioned, other parents of pg kids have found different stories. I spoke with a parent of a pg kid in Lexington public school system. The pg child wanted to be with his friends and thus tolerated being at Lexington. BUT Lexington, as previously mentioned, isn't for everybody's cup of tea and there isn't much offered until middle/high school in terms of AP or equivalent.
I've heard of pg parents having kids at the British School in Dedham (expensive). I'm sure that there are probably other pg kids scattered around at other private schools too.
I know a pg kid who got a free, full ride scholarship at one of the boarding schools, most likely Phillips Academy at Andover; they take pg kids at 12 yrs old IF 1) they've completed their hs degree from something like Stanford Online HS (expensive) and 2) are socially/emotionally ready. Some parents decide to move to Andover or nearby so they can be day students there. Gorgeous campus!
Other pg parents seek alternative schooling like at Sudbury Valley. That's west of Boston in Framingham and wasn't an option for us.
I know pg parents like us who ended up un/homeschooling. Some older pg kids take courses at Harvard Ext or through dual enrollment (which doesn't start until 14 yrs old). Some enroll the pg kids in homeschool co-ops; Voyagers is a popular one - they're west of Boston in Acton. Others find things piecemeal. MIT has some programming but they're sticklers with age and most of the programs are aimed at older kids. There are some summer g/t programs around here and there, but again these can be pricey.
BU Academy (another expensive school) allows kids to take math courses at BU if they've tested and maxed out of math courses at the academy. Otherwise, you've got to be 16+ years old at BU Academy before you take courses at BU.
Thank you so much for this information- honestly I do not think I could have gotten this kind of information anywhere else! dcfox: I hope you are happy where you live now and that homeschooling works well for you. Homeschooling is not really an option for us, I am not willing to give up my work at this point and our son loves to be around friends. However, I do understand that many choose that option.
I agree with you, this age is tricky. There are much more options later on.
I was just looking at a Forbes list of the most overpriced cities and Boston was #3 (Honolulu and Southern Connecticut were 1 and 2). I can't speak for gifted ed between Boston and Mpls, but if it comes down to choosing a private school, you'd probably get more for your money in Mpls (as well as a nicer house).
Thanks for info. Boston seems lovely but if we spend all our money on just living there is not much left for anything else so I see your point. I don't like cold weather but I'm used to it so I think we can handle the Minneapolis weather...