My daughter attended Long Island School for the Gifted from Kindergarten through 9th grade. In this forum I have read many negative comments about the administration, but it is a private school, so you have to understand they have their own way of handling things. I have worked in the public school system for 15 years and my daughter is in public school now, and I would do anything to return to that environment. Sure, there were drawbacks. Not every school can offer everything. The music program has recently undergone a vast improvement and the art program is strong, but the school does not cater to students gifted in the arts, it is for academically gifted students. The students learn at their own pace. They are with similar minded peers. Traveling to parties in earlier years and getting the children together as teens was hard, but you need to work at it. Each teacher knows your child and his/her capabilities. The teachers are strong educators who know how to teach gifted students. You are not a number, but a student whose strengths and weakness�, eccentricities and passions are well known throughout the building. All the students from Kindergarten to 9th grade know one another. No one locks their locker, and things can be left in the hallway without fear of theft. Children switch classes from their first day, and everyone is taught at their academic pace, by grouping them with similiar ability students and then catering to their individual needs within the class. There is very little cattiness or bullying that children experience in other settings. It is a beautiful world that I am grateful my daughter had the opportunity to be a part of. I would highly recommend it to anyone who has a gifted child. LISG changed our lives, and gave my daughter a future she never could have obtained in the public school system.
