DH called Option B's gifted coordinator. It didn't go well. Gems from this conversation included "There is no such thing as a gifted kindergartener" and "We never look at outside testing because parents can buy the scores they want"
Bummer! Things can be made to look so good on a website. Unfortunately, the truth is sometimes a bit different. That's such a strange comment for a gifted coordinator to say about "no such thing...." I guess if you ended up liking the houses in that district you could investigate further, trying to find out what they do with kindergartners who are working at x level (without mentioning the G word).
Any chance your state allows open enrollment? In MN, as long as there is space available, you can send your kid to any public school you want. We are also doing some school shopping, and I can relate to your frustrations. We are going to try to find a house that is sort of centrally located near a few decent school options. Our DS9 is currently in a full-time GT program that ends in 5th grade. This district doesn't extend the program after that, but does provide other options for the kids who have been through the program (many honors programs in middle school). I would prefer more of a continuation of the sort of program DS is in, so we will be looking around. The fulltime GT program, self-contained or clusters in the classroom, is very important to us. There is a huge range of abilities even within the HG classroom -- i cannot imagine that a teacher in a regular classroom would have much time to spend differentiating for the kid who already gets it. Also, in a FT program, the pace of instruction can be sped up, which many GT kids need.
But if those types of programs are unavailable, the best thing in my opinion is a flexible principal and teachers who are willing to work with you. Do they allow subject or full-grade acceleration? Are there other kids with similar abilities that can be grouped so that your kiddo has at least one peer? (Many schools deal out all the top kids to different classrooms.)
I hope Option C turns out to be better. Destination Imagination is a wonderful program, and the other afterschool programs sound great, if nothing else!
