Any opinions?

You mean, like, in the world?

My guess would be the schools that group the GT together as a group and then let them progress through the curriculum at their own pace. There are a number of school districts that are doing this. It would also depend on the curriculum.

St. Anselm's Abbey School in D.C. - very rigorous, all boys prep school. I know two hg men who attended and I believe they felt basically 'at home' there.
Not billed as a school for gt, probably about a B+ overall.
(Just decided to start naming names.) I think it's 4-12g.

Best public elementary school in California is in Cupertino. It is called William Faria. They have several years of scoring perfect 1000 on the API (Academic Performance Index). It is a school for the gifted.

Cupertino is the best school district for elementary schools in the entire state, with many fast track/gifted programs in elementary and middle schools.

High Schools in the Fremont School District (which Cupertino schools feed into) also have different tracks for advanced students and will provide accommodations where needed. The very respected and highly academically ranked De Anza Community College works with Fremont District High Schools students for dual enrollment when needed.

Best high schools are Monta Vista and Lynbrook, however Los Gatos school district's Saratoga High is a rival school that is just as competitive.

Silicon Valley on a whole has quite a variety of school districts, but these school districts (Cupertino, Fremont, Los Gatos) very much respect the students' needs, if they prove to need more of a challenge.

Here is a link that will show you last year's API scores. 1000 is perfect.

Santa Clara County List of API Scores

Wren -

What definition of best do you have in mind?

Best = Most rigorous
Best = Highest scores
Best = most "high acheiving" graduates
Best = most flexible at meeting students needs
Best = ?

I did not have a definition. Just wondered what people thought worked and, hence, would be labeled best in their minds.

Just looking at options and wondering what is best. I don't know how many noticed when someone posted, but there is a new private HG school starting up in NYC. Speyer. There was an original Speyer in the 30s, by Leta Hollingworth.

And I really wonder about their choices for curriculum. And the tuition is 28.5K.

What makes a great school for HG kids? Definitions not defined.

I just posted and realized I take that back. Outcomes are important, but what outcomes? admittances to Harvard and Princeton? Good satisying careers? Or taking the intelligence and being able to be an "outlier" so you really think out of the box?

I started to tell a story and realized that the outcome was family pressure, not school choice. Too many factors on that outlier thing I think. What makes you an outlier, school or nurture and or nature?

ren

That should have been another post, sorry.

mmmm...

sometimes following a train of thought is good.

It make sense that you leave the question open-ended enough to let each person responding decide for themselves what is best.

Meanwhile, the more background we have on what your thougths are, the better we can contribute to your decision making process.

We had a similar thread to this a while back. It seems you are stil trying to work through these questions: what will be "the best" fit for my daughter? how do I want her to benefit in the long run? etc.

Wren -

I bolded the areas I felt were especially relevant. (there are other you can pick out) If a school can live up to its word in these areas, they will be providing hg children with an amazing educational experience.

Interesting that they use developmentally precocious and not the "g" word

- EW

FYI.... The Speyer Legacy school is in NY.

Hi Jayne,

I wonder why you are saying what you're saying about Cupertino schools. What information do you have?

I live in Cupertino and my kids go to the public schools. They did not go to Faria, which is certainly not a school for the gifted. It is an alternative elementary school, with a program designed for parents who believe in strict rules and lots of work. See their web site <http://www.cupertino.k12.ca.us/Faria.www>, which describes their philosophy right on the home page. They are known for teaching to the tests and therefore they do well on tests. I wouldn't send a gifted kid there. But I don't speak from personal experience other than going on a school tour years ago.

As to Monta Vista High School, I have two children there. The older one opted out in junior year to do Middle College because Monta Vista was so awful. I cannot imagine sending my now 7th grader to Monta Vista for high school. He is highly gifted and would go nuts there. It's all about rules and homework and grades and actually learning things seems to be far down the agenda.

De Anza Community College is just a community college. The classes are not for the gifted nor is anything special available. My 11th grade son, who is taking classes there instead of Monta Vista, reports very few students who care to think or ask questions, and naturally the classes are taught to the level of the students they have.

If these are the best public schools, we're in bigger trouble than I knew. If you believe that API test results mean anything useful for gifted students, then I think you are fooling yourself. I don't think you'll find that "competitive" means good. So far as I can tell, what it actually means is that the administration is very concerned about grades, and so inordinate effort is expended in attempting to prevent cheating.

Reading through this, I sound pretty unhappy. I guess it's because I expected better. This is not to say there aren't individual teachers who are great -- there certainly are. But it's pretty much in spite of the school.

Regards,
Jon

Hi Jon Z,
We lived there for many years and moved out a couple of years ago.
My oldest went to Monta Vista. She was on the fast track plan. Recently, (maybe last year?) her friends told her it ranked 23rd in the country. I don't really go for high school rankings much, since they don't include concurrent enrollment data or early graduation data. She and her friends have done very well in colleges, and many have full rides, especially to the UC system (favoring Berkeley, Davis, and UCLA) and a few at Stanford.
We had a wonderful experience living in Cupertino. And it is considered the best elementary school district in the state. This has come up on many surveys for a well-rounded education - acceleration, languages, arts, music, musical theater, band, and more. The elementary schools also worked with EPGY to help advanced math students move forward.

Also, the computer labs provided by Apple and the training for the teachers to implement the programs needed for the students is a benefit. They also have many field trips to a variety of educational experiences - besides camping for the week, they go to the tech museum, Stanford museum, and went to Sunnyvale Theater productions. My son was in a group in 5th grade that learned how to use the computers and media to present a daily tv school news morning show that they wrote. He also did Lego robotics. I could go on as why it continuously is ranked for elementary school districts.

When we lived there, De Anza was ranked 5th in the nation. Several of the classes my daughter took there were taught by Stanford and MIT professors. Many of the students there go right to Berkeley and Stanford and do well, but many do have a lackadasial attitude. It is a junior college. Maybe I can find stats on where they go after attending there.

As far as Faria, it is a gifted school. Unless they changed things in the past year and a half, students have to take a test and supply other information to attend. The people I know there did very well, and I was impressed with the many activities/projects that the students were able to work on. Another unique school in the district is Portal, who don't use grades (if I remember correctly).

By the way, I never said that "competitive" is good. I'm not big on worrying about grade levels or grades, which is a competitive viewpoint. I'm always considered more about learning a lot for a given amount of time. My philosophy is that I want my kids to learn and love learning. I want opportunities available to them to expand their interests and the teachers to care. I want funding available for arts. We found all of that and more available there.

Jon,
You were right about Faria not being a GATE school. I really think it used to be only GATE,but maybe I misunderstood at the time. If it's an alternative school, I'm wondering how they focus it now. They must have had some flack or something and changed it. I bet it's run the same though.

Here is a kinda older fact on DeAnza. It's from 2006 and states that it provided the second most transfers to CSU/UC systems. Orange Coast JC and De Anza College ranked for Transfers I haven't found data on specific to Stanford or Berkeley, other than knowing my daughter's friends. I do know that they are "articulated" with many state and private schools for almost all of their classes.

For those who posted about Speyer, I really question some of the things they are doing. I think the talk sounds good, the walk is wobbly and confusing.

I don't think they are on the right track.

As for choosing best school for my daughter, it seems she has her own mind. She wants the "science school". Not totally convinced what that means, but she is clear. There is one gifted school called New Explorations in Science and Technology + math. Yes, they did the + math at the end. They do the Singapore math, compared to the more established gifted school that does the Everyday math. But they have a designated science teacher for the lower grades, who is wonderful.

Ren

Jon, I agree that some schools that call themself gifted are not good fits for some GT kids, especially HG/PG. That's merely my opinion, though. While you have to test GT to get in, what's really going on when the child gets there?

We moved to a district to attend a school like the one you describe and our experience is that it wasn't a perfect fit for our HG(+) kids. What you describe, teaching to the test for high scores and excessive work....I see a lot of that here and I'm not thrilled with it.

Isn't Speyer almost 30K a year?

If anyone knows of gifted public schools I would love to hear about them. Private schooling is not financially feasible...but I really think they should have some public schools that have programs or classrooms for gifted students. I am sure they do, but not in my district and none that I really know about. I am not planing to move yet, but you never know.

Shellymos - Can you kind of clarify what you are looking for? Age, interests of your child (writing, math, art, etc.)? I posted my experience above as an option, but Jon is right in that what fits one, doesn't fit another.

There are different programs all over the country. I am thinking options are most available in high school, but I may be wrong.

Anyway, more details would help.

Don't rule out private schools necessarily, not even for financial reasons. Many have financial aid. I'm with you in that I'm not willing to pay college tuition for my 7yo to go to elementary school, but I think it's worth it to keep an open mind about what's available. At least at the beginning.

I agree because school is called gifted doesn't mean it's good fit for every gifted child. HG+ kids may have harder time to find a good fit than MG.

Davidson Academy of Nevada for MS and HS for PG should be on the list.

Wren, what happened to Hunter? I thought that was your #1 choice.

Well DS is only 4 1/2, starting school in the fall. We are doing testing right now...I suspect that he is somewhere in the highly to profoundly gifted range. We currently live in upstate NY. DS is very gifted in Math, as well as verbally and with reading. I can't tell which is more a gift for him because they are both quite high in my estimation. He is drawn to Math, but also to word play and games (ie: wheel of fortunte, word scrambles, etc.). We are planning to go with a public school...although I don't know what the psychologist is going to recommend since we haven't finished testing or gotten results back yet. I am just not sure what to do if the school district is unable to accomodate him and meet his needs. I do know that schools have financial aid, but when I have called in the past it is still only up to about 25%, and the fact of the matter is that technically we pobably wouldn't even qualify. We don't make tons, but there are people making a lot less. I would assume they would say that we could afford it if we moved to a smaller home, sold our cars, etc.

I know of a few schools that we have looked at in the Los Angees area. Public schools, LAUSD has a highly gifted program. Thier are one or two elementary schools that have a HG+ group within the school. They have to test above 145 to get in. They also have a middle school with a group of HG+ and a part of a High School (North Hollywood High).
In regards to private, In orange county they have Pegasus Elementry. It is like a gate school, at least thats the way we saw it. Thier is also The Mirman School in Los Angels for HG kids (145 SBLM or 138WISC/WIPPSI to get in). Our DS6 goes to this school. It's been a great fit for us, but may not work for all. Thier is no one school that can meet everyone's needs. For us Mirman has been a good fit, it has provoided a peer group. The school is very good at pushing personal responsibility, and natural consequences for actions. Other none gifted high schools in the area that seem good are Whitney HS in Cerritos, Taft in Fullerton, and a few others that I can't think of right now. With Private HS, thier is Harvard/Westlake, an amazing school but very expensive.
Note many private schools offer financial assistance, even if you have a moderate income.

Wren -

Yes! That is why I posted the info from Speyer's website. Like so many other schools, they sound good in their brochures or look promising on the tour, and then what they deliver on once you enroll does not truly serve the needs of the child. sigh

On an up note, neat that your daughter has clear preferences.

My tiny little Public School is the best school!! JMO

BWBShari, How far are you from ABQ? My sis lives there and I have a DS6 like you have. Maybe we need to relocate? Hmmm...

This one sounds pretty good! Video to the right of the screen. It's about 1.5 hours from us. A tad far...

http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=540964

I've heard a lot of good things about this one St Pauli girl. Unfortunately for us it is also 1-1/2 hours. So that would make you about 3 hours away from us. LOL

I forgot to mention in my post that the link and video are about The Lighthouse Program in Spring Lake Park, MN (twin cities suburb). They have taken away grade designations and let the kids work at their own level. The video shows a pretty interesting classroom, where every kid has a computer workstation and is allowed to move about freely.

(I believe you're right about the distance, hkc, since i have inside info that you're in the opposite direction!)

OK - DOK here. Check this out:


http://www.springlakeparkschools.org/schools/la/la_lighthouse_faqs.asp

I'm watching this school with great interest! This is about a 15 minute drive for us. I know a family currently homeschooling that is thinking of enrolling here in the fall (they already have acceptance). The model looks really promising!

Hi everyone,

Dd did not get into Hunter. Totally devasted for a day, but she told me after the interview she didn't want to go there. I met a mother, whose son's IQ is about 152 and he didn't get in. Her older son is at the public gifted school Anderson so her younger son can easily get in there as a sibling. They only need a 97percentile on the OLSAT. So we commiserate.

So in looking at the two public options, I am leaning towards one that is up and coming, new principal two years ago, that has the Singapore math.

And I am soothing my ego with reading all these negatives about Hunter. Windowless schools have 25% lower scores in math and reading to comparable schools. And Rena Sobotnik's Elite Talent that shows that since Hunter startee in 1941, there has been no "super" success story, like Bill Gates. All moderate success. Yes, it is sour grapes. Still much sadness about not having the peer group for her. But she said she didn't want Hunter, she didn't like it and wants the "science school".

Thank God, she is legacy for Harvard and her father fundraises for them. My nerves are shot from this process.

Ren

(((Ren))) I know how much you'd hoped that would pan out. I am confident that your daughter will thrive wherever she lands, and wish you the best in finding the best for her.

I am sending e-hugs too, ren. Your DD will end up getting a wonderful education because she has a caring mom seeking out the best for her.

And no windows? Horrid!

Thanks. Such sadness. But I know that NYC still has options and many of you are struggling without options. So I will quit feeling sorry for myself.

Ren

Ren, I'm sorry it didn't work out. At least you tried. Not every school is perfect for everybody and your not #1 choice may turn out the be a perfect fit for your daughter. Like you said you still have good options unlike most of us.

Hey Ren,
I'm a bit of an expert on the NYC admissions nightmare. (My son was also rejected by Hunter after the second round.) I don't want to scare you, but I'm sure you're aware that admission to the two citywides is now basically a lottery among kids who score 99% on the OLSAT? Do you have a backup plan?

So, yes we have options in NYC but it's a crap shoot.

BTW my son now goes to the school that's second on your list, and it's not working out at all. I don't know what your child is like, but these are no places for bouncy boys! Really, what is your child like? Because the citywides are pretty rigid.

Good luck!

The tuition is around $25 or $26k for families enrolling for the inaugural year and will be frozen for the student's tenure at Speyer. Additionally, there will be a $2k discount extended to any accepted siblings. The school has made it clear that they are seeking the appropriate students and will be admitting on a firmly need blind basis. While they were also clear that there would be very limited financial aid available for the first year's applicant pool, I was encouraged to learn of a particular child's acceptance and tremendous financial aid offer. I found this information encouraging and enriching to the credibility of Speyer's stated mission.

Hello Wren,

I just signed on tonight and have been moved by your account of the nyc school search for your daughter. Although your post is a month old,I know how dragged out the remainder of the process may be and that a miss on Hunter can be a real letdown. If it helps, we decided after a successful R2(2yrs ago) at Hunter, that it wouldn't be a good fit for our child. I have years of experience with the successful HCES program and feel that although it's the best free option in ny, its strengths aren't in serving hg+ learners. The citywide g&ts are the best options for publics, but are in high demand and are another 'crapshoot'. I'm sure you've looked well into nest+m, Anderson and TAG and must realize that there are major drawbacks to Board of Ed schools. I encourage you to investigate Speyer more closely. I really think this may be a genuinely unique structure among ny schools. All the people involved, the pedagogic intent and the commitment are impressive. I know it's tough to take a risk on a new school, but it's so important to take steps to build communities which foster educational enrichment. Best of Luck to you.

Thanks Mamone.

I actually think NEST is trending towards being the best school of the Hunter, Anderson, TAG mix. And think it would be a good fit for DD, maybe the best. She keeps insisting she wants the "Science School", though she has no idea, unless psychic that NEST is New Explorations in Science and Technology + math -- for anyone else reading...

I did look at Speyer. And don't like what I have read or heard. I think the philosophy is great but I know of a girl accepted into kindergarten. She got 97 on the SB last year, but her parents held her back as she did not do well on the OLSAT. She got waitlisted at all the privates or not accepted with 99s on the ERBs. And I am thinking they are putting her into kindergarten with some really smart kids a year younger. That is tough. I do not think that was a good decision. Also, Danny is the music director. I know Danny. Of all the talented musicians that are available that teach at the Special Music School, this was a weird choice for HG+ kids. He does real preschool type music on Noggin. He teaches at a playschool where DD went for her 2nd year. If this is a sample of the decision making of how to teach HG+ kids, Connie has to think out of Hollingworth and get real. Can she do it? Perhaps but I do not want to be a guinea pig at 28K per year.

DD is doing extremely well with her piano and wants to take violin. She loves science and we think we can offer a lot of extra curricular. What I want is a good peer group and I am hearing good things about NEST. With the opening of some schools in Brooklyn, I think NEST is a better probability. Willing to take my chances even with TAG for a year and then try to go to grade 2 at the Special Music School.

Thanks again for the suggestion, but I think Speyer has to work the kinks out.

Ren

I am very interested to learn of great public schools for gifted.

After 9 years at private & 3 kids the well is dry for tuition. Oldest applied to some boarding schools, but is waitlisted & the fact we need Financial Aid doesn't help getting off the list.

I am willing to relocate ANYWHERE at this point.

BTW - I had never heard of OLSAT before - Is this just primarily used for NYC?

what are your kids' strong areas? interests? LOGs?

what did you like about their private school that you would like to have again?

what didn't you like about their private school (besides cost)?

I thought PA was supposed to be ok, at least fairly flexible..?
We are in Northern Va., a couple counties there are pretty good - Fairfax is well thought of but pretty rigid with numbers on testing due to large numbers of kids trying to accomodate. At the HS level I think they do a lot of online and other more flexible options.
Prince William County is another option you might investigate, we are here sort of by accident, didn't really plan on great schools but so far they really walk the walk. (Our kids have only hit 3rd grade so far!) I guess what I appreciate most is that they look at a variety of factors for identification.

Another notable point about NoVa: The Governor's Schools - but I am not sure they would be recommended for pg kids. (yes, public)
http://www.doe.virginia.gov/VDOE/Instruction/Govschools/

http://www.doe.virginia.gov/VDOE/Instruction/Govschools/academic.html

I really don't know if there are schools like this in other states...?

Well, I just decided to look:
NJ - http://depts.drew.edu/govschl/
MS - http://www.muw.edu/govschool/

and, voila, a fairly complete list...
http://ncogs.org/web/index.php/View-users-list/All-Governor-s-School-Programs

Ok,and for PA, the first few paragraphs are on...budget cuts. I could be wrong but it sounds like that entire program is cancelled.

http://www.pgse.org

And some of these seem to be summer only.

Hope this sparks some ideas, at least!

I believe the OLSAT is similar to the COGAT. It's a group test.

For NYC, they modify the OLSAT to 40 questions and give it one on one to preschoolers for kindergarten entrance. They do not have to color in the circle, just point to the right answer and the tester fills it in.

Down here in the Sunshine State
International Baccalaureate High School
2270 South Broadway
Bartow, Florida 33830
However, many will enter and few will win.
I believe this high school ranks 7th in the nation, and I hear the entrance requirements are quite competitive.

As for Elm you are out of luck, we have waiting list for all of our good magnet schools.

Some public school districts in Missouri (St. Louis County/City of St. Louis, Kansas City, and Columbia) have a two-tiered gifted program. These districts usually have a one day pull out program for "gifted" students which starts in kindergarten and they have a full time (all day, every day) immersion program for "profoundly gifted" students.

I'm very familiar with Speyer. It's definitely early days, and things are still getting worked out, but I have to tell you that what's going on in the classrooms at Speyer is unparalleled in New York, and contrary to what someone said on another thread, there is financial aid. I really encourage you to talk to current Speyer parents for informed feedback.

I would say that Fairfax County, VA has a good program as far as public schools go. Their "level IV" services at the elementary level include placement in a GT center class comprised only of other students who have also been selected through the process of testing and a selection committee.
http://www.fcps.edu/DIS/gt/level4.html

Also located in Fairfax County is Thomas Jefferson High School (also a public school, although admission is by competitive application only) which is considered one of the top high schools in the US.
http://www.usnews.com/articles/educ...a-high-school-is-best-in-the-nation.html

In the Dallas, TX area.

Public schools:

Garland School District and Carrollton School District are ranked in the top 3 G/T schools in Texas. Both have very objective entrance requirements to the programs. They both have very reasonable cost of living - either renting or home ownership. Carrollton is more central to the area.

http://www.cfbgifted.org/index.htm

http://www.garlandisd.net/departments/Magnet_Programs/

Both Dallas ISD and Denton have Magnet Schools as well.

Private in Dallas:

St Marks, Hockaday, and Greenhill are the top private schools. St Marks is for boys only - and Hockaday for girls only. Greenhill is coed. All three schools provide partial to full rides to part of their student body.

St Mark's has over 25% of its senior class named as National Merit Scholars every year. Typically, these kids are in the top 2/10 of 1% of their age group. Those are some very smart kids.

We're looking at these schools, too. What are you thinking for Mr W?

The test scores for Episcopal School of Dallas are also pretty impressive, and it's definitely on our list (as it has a fantastic preschool program).

For those considering moving or boarding, have you thought about the Davidson Academy in Reno (hello? this website). I am anxious to hear what others think of this school because there is enormous expertise and financial backing behind it. Middle & high school level for profoundly gifted.

we are seriously considering it right now. we've applied and have been invited to the next tour. Reno is just SO far away. (we are in NY, all of out family is on the east coast) If we visit, DS8 will be doing the assessment so I will let you know how it goes. Are you applying to Davidson Academy also?

Where do you find rankings for G/T programs in Texas? My (entering 1st grade) daughter has been waitlisted to Hockaday, and we want to move somewhere where she can get what she needs (though I don't believe anything will compare to an all-girl environment).

Wren-I've thought about you and your child. Where did she end up in school?

I live in the ABQ metro area too. Have a gifted DS5 and a DD7

Thanks, Edwin! My 2 kids are now at San Jose Highly Gifted Magnet, a public elementary 25 minutes away. We can't afford Mirman but can't imagine a better fit than we've found at San Jose, academically and socially. I updated the Wikipedia page on Highly Gifted Magnets so there are links to all 5 HG public school options in the Los Angeles area.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highly_Gifted_Magnet

This is a never ending process.

She is in the district gifted & talented. It is not the citywide and we are trying again this year. Spots are given by lottery but siblings have first shot, even if their scores are much lower.

But I have been building my case to push if any spots open up after the lottery. It is very frustrating.

Looked at Speyer and they wanted her to redo K since they have a 9/1 cutoff. I thought that was ridiculous for a 30K per year gifted school.

Ren

that is hugely disappointing to hear. We don't have the cutoff problem but it sort of negates the idea of asynchronous development which it seemed like they supported. That said, if we don't end up anywhere in this crazy lottery, we are going to investigate it. And it seems that Julia Osborn is no longer heading admissions - which is also disappointing.

DeHe

I wish I could guarantee DS7's entrance to IBHS. I have a job in Lakeland if I want it. But even with many years to prepare for it, I talk myself out of taking the job and the plunge (of moving).

A completely different area of the country than has been discussed but I have to advocate for the school my kids attend here in Michigan. It is a private school for the gifted(that gives a lot of financial aid) called Roeper. Its PK-12 and my kids are currently in 2nd and 4th grades so we don't have any experience with the middle or high schools yet. At one point we thought about leaving this area for a job opportunity but one reason we stayed is actually because of the school.
One thing to consider with schools is that different schools are going to be more in line with different parenting philosophies- giftedness aside. Roeper is a a very diverse, liberal place where kids are given a lot of responsibility for their own learning. My kids have had electives as early as kindergarten. We have other private schools in the area that are very academically rigorous but are much more strict than Roeper- uniforms, lots of homework, requirements to participate in sports etc. Many of my friends have their kids at these schools and love them but they also tend to be more regimented than we are here in my family.

DeHe,

I didn't know Julia Osborne is not doing admissions anymore. Since Janet Jackson started there and now they are looking at the 3rd admissions director in 3 years, I think that is telling in itself.

I also know someone who score 97th percentile on the Hunter SBV modified test and Speyer was going to take her since they needed people at that point. She did score 99 across her ERBs, the following year (Nov birthday) and that is what they showed. Still....

Speyer at 30K is not so exciting in my opinion.

Ren

I actually moved back to MA from NYC a year ago partially due to the nonsense and mess with the G & T and overall education situation in NYC. In my opinion, there are too many hoops to go through in NYC for middle or working class families for children to receive a quality education. It's very stressful and not for the faint at heart. I love NYC but not the educational system. I had a neighbor pulled her son from Anderson due to the competitiveness and lack of social skills.

Gifted education is not mandated in MA, but there are a number of private gifted schools that are considerably more affordable than any in NYC and not necessarily rat run places either. There are some towns like Brookline and Melrose that are starting to offer a g & t program as well.

It depends what you're looking for and your child's needs and how they learn.

I know it is a pain in the butt but hearing other stories on this forum, a lot of other places are not so great either. Some places, like MN, sound like they have great options but in MN you have to put up with 9 months of winter and a 1 month of summer.

Seriously, as I look at what DD has now -- and it is interesting that comparing her curriculum with tracey in Queens, she is nicely challenged -- except in math. And the science classes at the museum are so good and no one has posted about weekly science classes in another area. Yesterday they had tsunami simulation tanks. Who has that for 1st grade students? They had a whole staff to clean up after them. They had sheets where they had to display the before (lego buildings and plastic trees and animals) and after.

I have some friends with kids in Anderson and I know it isn't the best solution but it is accelerated, they will even do multi-year pullouts for math, for children that need it. I do not think Anderson is responsible for social skills, only parents can be blamed. I see all kinds of stuff DD experiences socially, friends that lie and boast, bully etc. It is up to me to help her sort through and learn what is acceptable and when to smile and walk away. And to make sure she doesn't imitate what is unacceptable, just to hang with certain kids.

And she is really learning in her Chinese language class. Her oral exam is next week. Yes, for $600 per year, 2.5 hours every Sat morning from Sept to June 4th (not holiday), online homework and review and oral exam. You can't get that anywhere else. And the teacher makes it fun. During snack break, they go outside and run around for a few minutes to clear their heads.

About high schools. Stuyvescant got 26 kids into Harvard last year, I think; I was just told it was 9 this year.

We had a topic a while back that talked about best high schools via US News list and then someone posted the HS ratings based on National Merit Scholars. I think if the school is large enough to provide the resources to AP or college level courses, mentors for science or other types of projects, where the students has lots of options, then it can be a good HS.

Someone mentioned DA and I remember the article profiling the students. Majority were science project kids. One was a literature kind of kid and she mentioned she felt a little out of it. I think you need all kinds of different kids to provide examples of options. It never crossed my path growing up that I could have a career on Wall Street. Most of the kids I know went to dental, medical, law school or became an accountant or an engineer. These were the things our parents or our friends' parents did. No one was an investment banker. It was purely accidental that I had my career.

Just think that if you expose a PG kid to that world in high school. Limosines, best restaurants, flying around the world in the front of the plane and staying in great hotels and everyone greets you like you are big shot and you get to ask all kinds of questions about their companies and decide if it is worth anything or what you could do with it. Or, like DH mentioned that he called a former Harvard classmate in his fundraising efforts for them. The guy has his doctorate in biology and is a professor in some small university in Maryland and is really angry that Harvard, or MIT or even Columbia didn't offer him a job and he has to struggle to get research money.

If you give the PG kid that kind of mentoring and options, how many would choose the science research? So what makes a great high school is a lot of things I think.

Ren

Well, I've struggled with understanding this gifted PG lark and what to do about it. My son is more the creative, visual spatial, divergent thinker than the orderly, linear, auditory sequential student. He's also not motivated externally, which poses another set of challenges.

I think if you have a child who is more motivated from external sources and learns in a more traditional classroom way, then Anderson and some of the programs you've mentioned would work. But if you've got another type of child, like my son, then they are not necessarily going to work. Believe me, I know. I placed my son in one gifted school, only to remove him within 3 months and place him in another due to his learning style and rapid acceleration. At the end of the day, you cannot put a square peg in a round hole no matter how hard you try.

One part of learning is exposure but that's only one part. There's so much more to learning than stuffing kids with facts and details, which we can get obsessed with. I actually think it's more important to get kids engaged and motivated internally with learning and being able to share their thoughts and ideas.

It's fine and dandy to have the fancy degrees, but I wonder if it's not more important in life to be able to relate to people, have confidence, take chances, and trust your imagination and big picture thinking. I mean where's the joy in some people's lives if we're constantly chasing degrees, money, and material objects? Are we not losing sight of what makes us human in the first place?

To be fair, NYC can provide a host of opportunities that are not available (or so readily available) elsewhere. Still, there's a limit to what you can do within a day, week, month, or year.

I'm not even thinking about high school yet (grin). I'm just trying to get through the end of this academic year. My head spun enough with NYC and moving to MA, switching gifted schools within a 4 months, etc.

We are well preserved in MN.

There is so much more to life but I am not sure school is expected to teach all of what you mention. In my head, a lot of the rules comes from things I remember my parents said to me.

Making me read a map at 5 and telling me I can get to anywhere from anywhere, I just have to find the path. Even how to bargain, set your price and walk. I did that with DD6 when we were in Egypt a few weeks ago. She saw them put the stuff away and say no and then when I was walking down the street they ran after me and agreed. Little things but all those things add up.

Taking her snorkeling and seeing how much there is underwater. No school is going to do that for 4, 5 and 6 year olds. Walking the dog through the woods after dinner and looking for monarch caterpillars on milk weed. Showing her why they call it milk weed. All of it, makes you see the big picture. It is a way of all the little things. As much as these schools like Speyer profess to teach our gifted kids the big picture, I think it is a day to day habit we teach our kids. Just like our kids tend to walk like we do. Watch parents and older children and you will see a very similar walk.

What school is going to teach my kid to trade in 7th grade. I can do that. Not that gifted schools are not good in many ways and they are all different. But as I mentioned about that kid in 11th grade at Hunter finishing math at Columbia. He was Hunter elementary reject. So what is the peer group? I only hope for the best and try what is available and supplement.

Ren