Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments Gifted Children and Free Schools

Does anyone have any experience regarding gifted kids in free schools? We have one not too far away, and I have no idea whether it would be a good match for a gifted child or not (of course, I know this varies depending on the child and the school). I was would love some feedback/insight from the lovely people of this forum! Thanks.

Sorry if I'm being dense, but by "free" do you mean public or some other school that is cost free? Or do you mean something like a Waldorf School, where they take sort of an unschooling approach?

By "free" I assume you mean tax-payer-paid public school?

We had our son in public school for one month in Kindergarten. It was apparent when the school placed him in the third grade classroom for reading that it wouldn't work. Not because our DS (five at the time) couldn't follow the reading, but because the teacher required a book report of him. His handwriting skills at the time couldn't have kept up with that.

Now we have him in the public charter in our district. That's also free, but the school only receives 60% of the funds normally afforded to a student, so there's a lot of fundraising to make up the deficit. I'm personally okay with that because I think it teaches community involvement, but I know a lot of parents don't have time/don't want to make time for that.

There's plenty of information on this board about advocating for your child within your own school district and the results all vary. Sometimes it depends upon how "gifted-friendly" your state is, and sometimes it doesn't make a bit of difference. Especially when you butt heads with a particular teacher and his/her preconceived opinions.

Assuming that you mean free school in the sense of Sudbury style school, We have been almost on schooling all along. Twice a week, my children go to a homeschool program that is essentially like a free school. There is an incredible cohort of PG kids there. It certainly works very well for my two. We focus on academics the days they are not there, though. There is plenty of time for them to pursue their own interests.

I'm interested to see what responses you get! In theory, it seems like the Sudbury model would be perfect for gifted kids, but I'm sure it depends somewhat on the kid's personality. (I think most of us are past thinking any one education model can work for all kids.)

I don't have any real experience with the democratic school model, but I'm currently reading the book Free to Learn by Perter Gray. It starts with a history of our current education system (going back to education in hunter/gatherer societies) and then moves on to a more detailed "defense" of the democratic school model.

There might be better books out there, but this is the first one I've read. I wanted to mention it in case anyone else wanted to learn more. If someone has better suggestions for reading materials, I'd love to hear about them!

oops, didn't realize the confusion - I meant free as in sudbury style (though I would LOVE free education that worked so well for a gifted child, come on now!)

kathrynH, that was my thought too, that since we are already kind of 'unschooling' DS, a free school would work well for gifted kids...including social interaction, different age groups, and child-led education. though sometimes I wonder why I would pay for something like that, when he could essentially do the same thing at home. Maybe for the teachers/resources? I'm not sure. This is why I'm so grateful for this forum.

Very interested in this! If your child is in one, I'd love more details about how it works (e.g. full time, private or public, percentage of gifted kids, requirements to go there, etc.)

I've been thinking of starting a similar program when my youngest (almost 2) is a bit more independent and I have more free time. From talking with other homeschoolers, I know that there is interest.

However, I go back and forth thinking about different types of things:

*Should it be like a drop-in center for homeschoolers?
*Should it be a regular "school" environment where kids come every day?
*Should it be a thing where parents have to pony up the money or should I look at making it a charter school?
*Should I make it a place that limits admittance to gifted kids (like a gifted charter school) or one that accepts everyone, with gifted kids likely gravitating toward it?

Would love to hear experiences or see links to the sites of schools you've been involved in.

We have free kindergartens (preschool 2.5 to 5). They seem to work OK for gifted kids. A lot of the questions will depend on funding. If you have no government funding you will need a broader range of kids because you will really be selecting by income. If you do have government funding presumably they will have the final say as to attendance requirements.

Lilmisssunshine, I was involved in starting just such a thing. www.talkingsticklearningcenter.org. We do charge families, but try very hard to keep it affordable. There are no admission requirements, but the population there skews heavily towards PG. We offer programs two days per week, and participants make a commitment to come either one of the days or both of them, so that the same cohort is there and relationships can develop. If you want more information, feel free to PM me.

We have one near us. I would say whether it is a good fit depends on the particular school: other kids there, philosophy of the teachers/administrators, etc. And depends if you have a child that can adapt to the system. It is a fascinating system but I think it only works well for a small subset of kids.

The mix of kids at the one near us is some who are extremely bright and then a bunch of others who just don't fit well into other systems, and perhaps a majority that are more average kids that happen to be from uschooler or homeschool families. In there are one or two who have behavioral issues that do impact the others, they might say mean things or act unfriendly and since the kids are "in charge" it's not easy for the teachers etc to limit those behaviors.

They have a core group of kids that attend as if it were a private full time school, and then also take homeschoolers on a hourly/daily basis also. So the mix of kids is in flux. A very open and welcoming community overall.

At the one near us all classes are optional. Kids are all mixed in age for all day in all the common areas. But classes are split into two main age groups, 5-9 and 9+. Some children do actually attend the classes. Many do not attend any classes and are simply there playing dress up or ping pong or whatever, which one can argue is worthwhile also. Or not. A few of the classes, especially for ages 9 and up, are reasonably rigorous. Most early elementary age kids there, being from unschooler type backgrounds, are not reading. From my perspective that less academic background limits what is taught or the expectations from the teachers for the classes that are targeted to the younger ages.

However, a few of the teachers are excellent at not being judgemental about the content or depth of what to teach and teach to all ages effectively. I would say from age 5-9 the average academic achievement is behind public schools. But then as one gets into the older kids there are more that are more interesting in terms of advanced skills.

As far as teachers, the one near me has a hodge podge of parents and paid people who teach one or two classes a week. On paper the classes all sound great but in practice there are some no one goes to. If that happens the instructor progressively dumbs it down or shortens the time to make it seem more fun. In the end some classes are great and well attended, some are more just passing the time with fun crafts, and others no one goes to so they stop existing.

Being child led, the rules and culture are defined by the core group of kids. It is a bit like lord of the flies as many of the kids are quite young. In the end the administrator guides the kids into making the rules. I feel the rules aren't much different than at perhaps some montessori schools, just more long winded and odd. It's a bit of an artifice to say the children are in charge. However, the kids do seem to personally feel a greater degree of control. The few that actually attend classes seem to be happy and motivated and are really learning things. The rest are not learning anything, but seem happy.

Is the one close by to you a full time option only? Or do they offer some or all classes to the greater community?