Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments Anyone Start a Club at School?

I'm not certain if this should go in learning environments or advocacy, so I apologize in advance if it's in the wrong place.

I was daydreaming of the gifted magnet schools in our county, a 40+ min drive one-way, and talking with DH about all those programs and everything they do that is focused on giftedness.

I feel to commute that much would not be right for us at this time, but maybe I could replicate some of their fun programs.

A lot of clubs they advertise have national websites and look like they could be started anywhere: Lego robotics, Odyssey of the Mind, Math Olympiad, etc. And if that's what I think is so neat about the school, why not just start one at ours to make ours neat too?

Is this possible? Does it take a lot of time to do or implement? Would politics of school make it not worth the effort?

I was telling DH that even if I can't do it "officially" with the school, I might be able to start some club on meetup.com or something else in the community. DS5 is still young and can't benefit from the older age competitions, but maybe I could start something. The public school here is large (1,000+ students), and I heard 10% are in G/T, so I think there may be desire for it.

What do you think? BTW, I am meeting with the G/T people soon and will ask them, but I'd like some idea of the possibility before I even go in.

This is a bit different than what you were thinking but you can't work out something within the school it might be an idea.

Here's a group that organizes activities on weekends, one 6 week session in the spring and another 6 weeks in the fall. They would have to have some sort of insurance to rent space as MON mentioned. If you click on the brochure at the bottom of the page you can see the types of activities they run.

http://www.abcontario.ca/ottawa/44/

I've heard good things about the program and chances for kids to meet up with others that have similar interests. I've also heard parents praise the impromptu parental discussions that go on in the hall while the kids are in the activities. We tried to sign up last year but we were ~200th in line and the one DS wanted was full before we got to the front. Since then DS hasn't wanted to do it so I don't have any personal experience. They are very popular and I believe the main thing holding them back from doing more is lack of people to design and run the classes.

If your school has a PTA, I would definitely talk to them. It's possible that such a thing has been tried in the past, so they might have some good advice on how to go about starting a club.

You might also talk to your local library to see if they have rooms available for free or low-cost. That way you could start a club without going through the school and without it being in your living room.

How much time are you personally willing to put into creating and running a club? As a PTA board member, I hear suggestions all the time for after school programs we should offer. The people making the suggestions, however, aren't willing or don't have the time to run the programs themselves, though, so it doesn't happen. I'm not trying to put you off, but unless you're willing to put in most of the work (at least initially), you may have trouble getting traction with an otherwise fantastic idea.

As far as how much work and time is involved, I think it depends how much you want to get out of it. Scouting takes up a fair amount of time for the leaders and the (more involved) parents. The DIY club we belong to takes relatively little time for everyone (but we're pretty relaxed about it).

For private "clubs", you might also consider looking for or starting a 4-H club dedicated to a project of interest: for example, a 4-H robotics club. That would put you under the umbrella of a non-profit for purposes such as perhaps using public school space for meetings, as well as provide curriculum, competition opportunities, etc.

I have started numerous clubs. It really depends on how determined you are. For Girl Scouts I called around to many churches until someone said that we could use a room in the church. I had to go to a training to become a leader. For chess club, I found a local chess organization which offered to do all the work/coaching for the club. I had to run the details past the principal and then write a proposal which was given to the PTA. The PTA approved it with the promise that the there would be a certain number of scholarships offered to kids who otherwise could not afford to join.
Starting a club is usually possible - it just takes someone who will do lots of legwork.

Thank you to all for the feedback. I'm still interested in making a club, but I must admit the wind has died down a little bit. It seems like a lot of work. Unless the school were super easy-going about it, probably having one at the local library would be our best option. I may have more time next year as our afterschool stuff is mostly remediation at this point. Over the summer the goal is to get ahead and let DS just soar ahead in academics for next year, leaving me all the time in the world for an after school biweekly or monthly club