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To answer the other questions that popped up while I was posting my last response, I wouldn't consider this if everything else about our current location were fairly satisfying. We do live in a nice community and it is a good place to raise kids. However, we are isolated.

Dh and I are both from the west coast originally. Our entire families live in CA, OR, and WA. Some of them we actually might not want to live closer to, but it is more "home" in some ways. We have lived here for the kids' entire lives, though.

The job market here is the most difficult I've ever found in any place I've ever lived. I am very unsatisfied with my work situation and am pretty sure that I'd have better career options in Seattle although it would be a huge adjustment to have me working ft out of the home, which I haven't done since dds were born.

Dh also has a very hard time with the weather here. He hates driving in snow and complains about it regularly.

That said, we've been in this house a very long time and it would be costly and hard to do all that is necessary to move.

Hi a quick note about the program in Seattle. We are also researching the program. We attended SENG this year and they had a panel with a few kids from the early entrance program. They seemed pretty happy. They accepted less than half of the people who applied last year. They want the students in at least Pre-calculus when they enter. My DD13 is pretty jazzed about the idea and it is what prompted her taking a college course this year...Test the waters... So far so good. We would also have to move, but we would not move solely for her and it would not be a career change or employer change for my DH. So it could really work for us but we are not making any decisions at this time. I do encourage a trial run with a college class to see how she takes to it. Good luck!

I am planning a move in 2 years. We were planning to do it in a few more years as the school starts in 7th grade, but now I am looking at combining a grade skip with the move and then having her apply to the school. It is the U of Toronto school, which a great gifted school, though probably cost about 20K a year.

I'm running out the door, but FWIW, that's not what the director told me when we spoke the other day. She said that the requirement is that they've completed at least Algebra I and that 6 of the 18 kids who were accepted into the program this year took a summer stretch program to get a little Algebra II and trig under their belts b/c they hadn't taken either yet.

What she told me what that most of the kids are coming in from middle school not high school b/c you can't turn 15 before the program starts. The first year in the transition school consists of a precalc class and physics along with other late high school classes preparing the kids to enter the mainstream uni population the next year. The kids who come in not ready to take precalc (so probably less than Algebra II completed) would likely take some classes through their summer stretch program to get caught up and ready to go in the fall.

The first year in transition school the kids are not in the uni classes. They are all taking classes together that first year.

Hey flower, just a quick note. Since the kids have to be under 15 to start this program, I assume that you are looking at next year as well. It sounds like our girls are close in age. Mine turned 13 about a month ago. Keep in touch if you wind up deciding to apply and I'll do the same. It would be nice to "know" someone if we wind up out there for a visit or if both kids actually do apply and get in!

Hi, yes we are looking at next year. Mine turns 14 at the beginning of next year. So it has to be next Sept or never... I guess I should not say never as they have the later early entrance program for juniors and seniors... There are a lot of programs in Seattle, but I have no idea how easy it is to get into those programs. One thing that I am finding in the college course with my DD is that she feels an extra pressure to prove that she can do it that kind of clamps her up. I am watching that pressure closely. The college class only recently started so I think some of it is normal. Its a wait and see kind of thing. One thing that I liked about the transition program was that it gave them a base to work from. Almost like a senior year in high school. It may give them a place to have a reunion. I do not have a high school diploma but did obtain higher education through being let in on merit. The one thing I have missed is the reunions later in life.

I think it would be great to stay in touch and see where things go. Good luck with it all.

I did speak w/ someone in the Seattle public schools to ask about those programs b/c we have a younger dd as well. My youngest is 2e with 99.9th percentile GAI on the WISC and very erratic achievement. They have two programs: Spectrum, which takes kids who scores in the 87th percentile + on the CogAT and APP, which takes kids who score in the 98th & 99th percentile on the CogAT. The Spectrum program is "space available" and teaches one grade up in most subjects. If they don't have space at your school, you are not guaranteed a spot, though. The APP program teaches two grades up in most subjects and is a guaranteed placement.

They, however, could not guarantee my youngest a spot in APP b/c she isn't necessarily needing two grades up in most subjects and isn't being taught that way right now. She is doing one grade subject acceleration in math. Their suggestion was to try for the Spectrum program in a lower performing school where there was space in it b/c there weren't tons of kids in the program. I'm not sure how I feel about that, but it doesn't sound like her IQ scores would guarantee her placement. They did say to send what we have if we get to the point of being sure we're coming and they can see what they'd likely do with her.

Great advice. We are doing the same here until we know where Mr W will end up.

We're not sure if we're going this route yet, but thank you very much for the further info. I have such mixed feelings about dd11. Part of my hesistancy in placing her in a program like Spectrum or a private school (other than cost there) that has lower cuts for GT placement is that she really isn't low level gifted. She has a definite HG+ side to her and programs like what she's in right now that are full of high achievers and kids who are probably btwn 1-2 SDs above the mean aren't full of peers for her.

Due to the 2e stuff and personality, she isn't like her sister and doesn't need massive amounts of academic acceleration but she does need peers and the ability to learn in a manner that honors her extreme strengths in abstract reasoning, out of box thinking, etc. Programs that are geared toward 87th percentile kids who are achieving highly enough to do one grade up work or private schools that take 120s type of IQ scores aren't really geared toward dd11 anymore than a std non-GT classroom.