Hello all, after DD8 scored quite highly (FSIQ 140) on the WISC-IV, and with a DS5 who will likely follow in her footsteps, we are seriously considering the possibility of relocating from our very small rural area where there are no GT services to speak of to a larger area. We are essentially looking at the Front Range area from Denver north all the way to Cheyenne and Laramie, including Ft. Collins, Longmont, Boulder, etc. My preference would be Wyoming, actually, but that's because of proximity to my hometown and family.
We are not considering any private schools, nor is homeschooling an option, nor do I wish to enroll my kids in online programs. I want them in brick-and-mortar schools.
To that end, it seems there are three general options with elementary schools:
1) GT programs that function inside of a "normal" school; the GT kids generally have their own classrooms and mix with everyone else at lunch and recess and so on. Some schools have only one classroom of GT kids, some have more, but on this model, GT is just one facet of a larger school. The whole range of non-academic activities (sports, music, theater, etc.) are available.
2) GT-only schools. For instance, the Aurora Quest K-8 school in Denver, which are only for GT kids. These schools tend to be much smaller in terms of student population, and offer much less in terms of extracurriculars.
3) Charter schools which are a mixed bag - like University of Wyoming Lab School, for instance. These tend to have small student populations and lots of individualized instruction, but not GT programs, per se. Tend to not offer much in the way of extracurriculars.
In addition to extracurriculars, I am also worry a bit with Options #2 and #3 that the "hothouse" environment. I believe there is real value in rubbing shoulders with kids from all walks of life on the playground and the cafeteria; I worry that, especially with #2, my kids might get the impression that all kids are gifted like they are, or, worse yet, develop elitist attitudes that they are somehow "better" than more average kids. The world is not filled with gifted kids, and I worry further that there is an "institutional" effect, where GT kids get so accustomed to the postive feedback loop of a GT school that they find themselves unable to function well without it - which is to say, in the real world, no one is giving you grades for how well you do on tests, right? (Unless you remain in an academic environment.) You need to be able to succeed outside the academic world, too.
Having said all that, there is some definite synergy that I'm sure develops when you put a group of gifted kids together, and in the case of DD, I feel like she could explode like a rocket ship if given the opportunity to go as far as she could go every day. Further, there would be real value for her in learning how to be frustrated and work her way through difficulties, and to not always be the smartest one in the room. In many respects, she'd be able to function to her highest potential ...
... in the classroom, at least. What about outside the classroom? Will soccer practice and 4-H (or whatever) be enough social acculturation for her to learn how to live in the real world, too?
I'd really appreciate any insights you have.
