Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion How imporant are exclusive gifted schools for PG?

Thank you, Grinity! That is great advice. I've been mentioning homeschooling a lot to my husband. He definitely is not for 100% homeschooling - he wants the kids to have the "school experience", which I totally understand and agree with (so long as that school experience isn't totally disheartening for them!) But a partial-homeschool situation might be something that could work, if needed. If we had a school that was willing to work with us, we could send them to school for part of the day and then homeschool them the other part of the day. So, yes, I am keeping homeschooling in my mind as an option if we need it someday.

My husband and I both feel a bit selfish for not wanting to move to a more populated area. We aren't making any decisions - we still have plenty of time for that. But we really enjoy the more rural lifestyle. Plus this area is closer to some extended family, and that has weight too.

I did recently find a nice public school that could be a contender. It is just over the state border. I have no idea if they would let our kids attend if we paid a tuition fee (some public schools allow this, others don't). It's actually only about 15 minutes from our house. I found that they have a gifted coordinator, so I wrote to her and asked a few questions. She wrote back the same day - and this was a Saturday!

I hope it's OK... I'd like to copy her response here to get your opinions. I think it sounds pretty great - very flexible. I'm taking out identifiers (like the school name, her name, etc.) just because this was a private correspondence and I don't want to get anyone in trouble.


I honestly thought these guys sounded more flexible than the private gifted school we visited. Plus with the money we'd save sending them to a public school (even if there was a tuition fee, it would surely be less than the private gifted school), we could afford to do a lot summer enrichment experiences later - like science camps, trips, and the like. What do you think?

Thanks again - you all have been so helpful to us in thinking this through!

That does sound verrrrrrrry interesting. Better find out if they allow out-of-state/district kids before you get too excited, but this seems like a better first step than moving to the private school. Extended family is very important - and as a nice bonus, there may be some cousins with similar 'gifted issues.'

It's wonderful that the GC got back to you on a Saturday. I would ask the specific questio of 'how many' kids were offered a full grade acceleration. But it is great that they have a system in place at all.

I would ask what the timeline is for your son to do an 'early enterance' and if they provide the testing. You can always decide not to 'early entrance' your son, after all the information is in. But I think the more accomidated he is the better - with your DD hot on his heels. He might need a running start.

Smiles,
Grinity

We spoke to someone at the school today, and she said that they definitely take out-of-state kids for their 4k, and she believed they take them for the k-8 (with a tuition fee, of course). So we are getting hopeful that this might work.

So fingers-crossed. This may be a good starting place for us. I'm still trying to not get my hopes up, just in case this woman we spoke to was mistaken. We are planning to tour the school soon.

Thanks for all your help and advice!!

Awesome! That's got to be much cheaper than the private school!

Hello, I am new to the forum myself. I Live in a small town where our options are very little. My son is legally in 2nd grade, however he is doing 4th grade work now. I have found that a lot of states now offer free online public schools. I tried for 2yrs with the school system here, they just did not know what to do with him. This summer the state of Tennessee passed into legislation that we may now have public online option. It has been wonderful for my son who is learning so fast it is some what hard for me to keep up. I would not change it for anything in the world... I just have late nights trying to get ahead of him. You might want to check this out in your state. Good luck and never give up!

Hi KateNevil - Welcome! Glad to hear that your son is enjoying his life.

Are you doing the online option now? Is he able to stay legally a 2nd grader and do 4th grade work on the online option? If you choose to send him back to a regular public school and wanted to make him a legal 4th grader, is that option open to you?

Sounds like a great program!
Grinity

Hi KateNeveil- welcome.

Tell us more about the online program!

We got confirmation! They allow out-of-state students (with a tuition fee). Yeeaaaaa!!! District students will have priority for enrollment, but we were assured that it will most likely be no problem to enroll our kids. They are nowhere near full capacity.

We are going to go and tour the school this week. I spoke with a parent who has been very happy with the school. So everything is looking good. We are so happy to have a plan, even though we know it'll be subject to change. We are very relieved to find this school that may work well without having to move.

Our son will be eligible to enroll in the 4k next year, and we'll just wait and see where he is at if he would be better accommodated by starting regular kindergarten.

There are gifted schools and gifted schools...Nearly as I can tell the gifted magnet programs in my district are set up to serve affluent children who like to do homework. My daughter has chosen to enroll in our magnet program this year, but already I'm frustrated with the fact that they don't have the faintest idea how to work with profoundly gifted kids, and especially not 2e. She's been repeatedly admonished for personal failings which are classic characteristics of both profoundly gifted kids and her particular disability. (The IEP meeting next week should be a rockin' good time...)

That's my impression of the private gifted school close to us, too.