I did have a discussion with the assistant principal of our local public elementary school just this morning. It was rather disheartening. They do not allow students to skip grades. They say they differentiate curriculum for all students, but I imagine all schools would claim this. When asked if they have worked with other very gifted kids in the past, she said that they have had many students will "accelerated skills" go through their schools and the parents have been pleased with their progress. So, just using the term "accelerated skills" told me that she wasn't quite understanding what I was describing. I mean, when my son was two he had already almost mastered their entire Kindergarten curriculum (but he wasn't potty trained - LOL!) I have no way of knowing if my children would need to skip grades or not, but the fact that this school is unwilling to do it I think just illustrates that they aren't very flexible.
Through this website, I learned that a neighboring school district was easy to work with for one parent of a PG child. I checked them out and spoke briefly with their district office. They have pretty large gifted program in place which includes accelerated coursework and (maybe daily?) pull-outs, AND have a policy of allow children to skip grades. They are actually an award winning school district - great numbers, low student/teacher ratios, etc. So now my husband and I are thinking about it as an option. It would require a move, but just about 10 minutes from where we currently live. (They won't allow out-of-district students, unfortunately.)
So that is another option, perhaps. I think the flexibility of the district is what is going to be most important. This discussion with you all has been SO helpful to us in narrowing down exactly what we should be looking for. A flexible public school may be more accommodating to our kids than a private "gifted" school - and that is a concept than never really occurred to me before discussing things here.
While I am open to homeschooling them, my husband is less so. He wants them to have the "school experience" - at least to some degree. I understand this point, and I think we won't know until we try it if school will work for the kids. My husband is supportive of the idea of part-time homeschooling. So I can supplement the kids school education by exploring more advanced subjects with them at home. (If that seems to be what they desire- I wouldn't want to force a bunch of stuff on them.)
ETA: I have a tour scheduled of the gifted school at the end of next week. You all have given me some good ideas of what to ask, let me know if you think of anything else I should look for on this tour. With the cost and the location, there are two big strikes against this school so it will really have to impress us to make us think it is the right school for our kids.
Last edited by sweetpeas; 09/12/11 09:14 AM.
