New member here, although have been reading posts in this forum for the last couple months as a guest. What a great resource of information!
Brief background: We knew early on that our DS (4.5), was doing things that other kids his age were not. Currently, he reads at 3-4th grade level and doing 4th-5th grade math. We did private testing over the summer to push for at least early entry Kindergarten. He had been at a Montessori school for the last couple years and was doing ok. The staff was accommodating, but although they have good intentions, do not have experience dealing with gifted kids. The kids were mostly �young� to him, & he did not have like-minded peers to interact with. I had planned on keeping DS at this school for K as I felt that at least they could differentiate his learning, it was self-paced, flexible with his sensory processing needs (allowing him to work outside, on the floor, etc), and accepting of his emotional intensity. The staff agreed to let him be in the K program (essentially hesitant, but eventually agreed it would be best so that he could move to 1st the following year) because of his abilities. But he started to exhibit some behavior the last few months that started to suggest that it was perhaps not the best and that he was outgrowing the environment. We made the decision at the last moment to put DS in another school.
The other school is a private school that caters to the gifted, with staff that are familiar with working with gifted kids. They also agreed to let him in early K. It is an extremely small school (less than 50 for K-8), but located in a somewhat remote business complex. Although it does not look or feel like a traditional school, I was willing to overlook it if it would be a better fit for my son. I�ve only heard good things about it, and the families there are very happy with the education they are receiving for the kids. Today was DS�s 3rd day, and things are going well so far (no phone calls from the office!). He rushes in every morning, excited about school.
Here lies the problem, though: a friend of mine who was visiting the school pointed out to me that just around the corner (but still adjacent to the office space that the school is located at) is a gun shop. I had not noticed it as it has a pretty unassuming name that would not suggest guns being sold, and my mindset just figured that there would not be a business like that next to a school. Looking into it (on the store�s website), you can pretty much get any kind of firearm there. Now, I know that it is unlikely that anything would ever happen, but just knowing that it is there makes me uncomfortable and nervous. From the entrance of the school, you cannot see the gun store.
So, as a parent, if you were in my shoes, what would you do? Would you keep your child in that school that actually gets your child & may be the best option for them, despite the setting? DH and I are both working professionals and I am still in grad school, so homeschooling is a last resort at this point. His Montessori teacher (who has also worked in the public school system) says the public schools may not be able to accommodate him, and I don�t think DS would do well there anyway as he is a little bit out of the box. Local private schools may not be enough for him either. Plus he wouldn�t meet the cut-offs for K in our state and it may be a long advocacy battle for him. We could go back to the Montessori school, but not sure that�s a good fit anymore. Just wanted to unload my thoughts/worries � any input would be appreciated, thanks!
