Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Recommended Resources Denver Colorado- 2e resources and school info

Good morning everyone.

Just hoping to grab some quick info from anyone from this area or anyone who has researched this area.

I have a few post about a month ago for anyone interested in the back story ( cory post here)
But the jest of it: DS(10) just received the dx of ADHD-I and dyslexic. He has in the past and currently been id'd as gifted (but scores are right on the borderline range).

We are currently in a great school district (Fairfax County)but feel that our son's needs are being greatly overlooked. He sits in a bad position it seems. Does well enough to were he doesn't seem like he has any issues (decent grades) - but does not do well enough to get into the really great programs.In Ohio- he was in the gifted program, but in Virginia he doesn't make the cut off. So he is adrift for lack of better words.

We have an opportunity to move to the Denver Colorado area and so just trying to see if that may be a better fit. It is our choice for the most part so we can go or stay.

It seems crazy to intentional leave one of the best school districts in the nation for something else- but I am wondering if another place may in fact be a better fit. There are no great local resources for my son here (private tutoring is about it)and it would be awesome to find a place that has set resources and schools meant to deal with exactly my sons issues.

So basically- would we be crazy for leaving the great school district and any info about Denver would be appreciated.

Jolene,

My dd11 also has ADHD inattentive type and I've wondered about something else in the reading area. She is HG and we live north of Denver. I can't recommend my area for a 2e child. Getting her any services at all has been a huge challenge. 15+% of the kids are ided as gifted where we are (more like 30% at her middle school -- the higher income schools have a ton of GT ided kids), and most of the placement is based on achievement and teacher recommendations. The GT services are a fit for bright high achievers who think in the box but not so much so for divergent kids, 2e kids, or kids who are 2+ SDs away from the mean.

I do believe that the closer you get to Denver, the more options there are, though. Unfortunately, a lot of the options are charters so you are not guaranteed placement. Westgate is one school that comes to mind that has a reputation of serving 2e kids well (http://www.westgateschool.org/).

I am one of the GCCs for my local Mensa group, but like I said am not in Denver proper so my knowledge of the Denver schools is more limited than the other two GCCs. You may want to try e-mailing the other two to see if they have any other insight (http://www.denver.us.mensa.org/contactus.php).

Ultimately, I don't think that it is crazy to leave a great school district b/c great school districts often are great for bright kids, but not always great for gifted kids or certainly 2e kids.

I'm not in Denver so I can't help you there, but I'm curious about something - do you feel like your ds is getting help with his dyslexia? Even if you don't ultimately move, once he's had some success with remediating his dyslexia, you might find his abilities start to shine across the board in a way that helps him become eligible for gt services and/or acceleration etc wherever you live. Elementary school was a really frustrating experience for our dd, but by the time he was in middle school he was finally in a place with accommodations where things really started coming together in a way that he was able to show teachers what he was capable of intellectually without stumbling over the 2e side of things.

That said, finding a school that was willing to let him use his AT and also willing to give him a chance to be accelerated was also a huge part of the key, so no, I don't think you're crazy to think of leaving a "good" school district. I'd just be really careful about it and be sure to talk to as many parents of other 2e kids as you can at the new schools you are considering.

Best wishes,

polarbear