Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments private school concerns

Hi all!
We are considering a private school for 3rd grade for 1 or both of our twins. (most likely just one as i don't see the other wanting to make a change- and he's doing well where he is!)
This school would be a GT school where the kids work at their own pace per subject. I do have concerns regarding what basics would be missed and how important ( if at all) that is in the long run. Does anyone have suggestions on questions to ask about curriculum? How difficult is it to re-acclimate to a traditional school setting for high school or college? Any suggestions or advice welcome.

I'm sure this varies from school to school, but I will share our experience with you.

I think 3rd grade is not an issue, because it is easy to go back to traditional schools at lower grades. I think you need to be more careful once the kids are in middle school.

My DS was in a private GT school for part of his middle school, and it was a huge disappointment. The kids were supposed to work at their own pace. This works well only for kids who are strongly motivated. But for anyone who is not, there is little accountability and many kids there lacked very basic skills and basic work ethic. DS was very frustrated in an environment where everyone talked the right talk but the kids didn't learn anything. He did a lot of self study and was academically advanced. But when he came back to a traditional school, he did briefly have a tough time getting into the routine (following rubric, etc).

When we looked at the private school, we asked to see their students' work samples and the school refused. Some academic information that they gave us was also misleading (we found out later). I'd say you can ask to see their homework assignments, textbooks if any, student work samples, and maybe even standardized test scores if they have any.

I would ask if there are parents you can speak with (often, some have volunteered to share their experiences) before making a decision.

Do the students really work at their own pace, or are they placed into a level and then work at the pace of the class they're in? If it is the former, I wouldn't worry about missing basics because presumably they will start at their level and move forward in a sequential manner. If it is the latter, then there is a possibility of gaps--but there is an even bigger possibility that the class ends up moving too slowly. For whatever reason, many gifted schools/programs think it is enough to put kids in a class one or two levels up and then move at a one year per grade pace from there. Also, make sure that their idea of having students move at their own pace isn't just sticking them in front of a computer and watching Khan Academy videos. I'd also ask for a resource list.

As for reintegrating into a traditional school setting--if the kids really are allowed to go at their own pace, many of them will be working 2-4 (or more) years ahead by the time they finish middle school. Many high schools have strict rules about what freshmen can take--for example, the high school in my town didn't until recently allow freshmen and sophomores to take AP classes or math higher than Algebra II.

And regarding the curriculum--I'd ask to see their curriculum map (it will probably be a large document so they might just let you look at it on site). You want to know whether they have an overarching plan both within each level and from grade to grade. You also should ask to see a resource list (which might be part of the curriculum map--but a separate document that you can take home would be better). You want to see that they have been thoughtful in the selection of the resources they use. The other reason to ask for a curriculum map and resource list is that their ability to produce them lets you know something about how organized the administration is and how well they are translating their vision into action.

The school will probably let you talk with parents who really like the school... We talked with a couple of parents when we checked out the private school that turned out to be a big disappointment. We later got to know families who disliked the school and those those who have left (because they were disappointed).

Certainly a possibility, but we had a good experience -- a lot comes down to what it is you are trying to learn, perhaps. In our case, there were very specific things that had been issues at the last school we were trying to avoid.

I have heard of this in number of high schools. So what do kids do when they subject accelerate and you hit high school? Assuming you do not grade skip do you just repeat all the subjects all over again. It would be painful for a number of kids.

They didn't have to worry about subject accelerated kids from within the district, because they didn't allow subject acceleration (with the exception of allowing a few kids to take Algebra I in seventh grade). I'm not sure what they did with kids coming in from out of district or from private schools. My guess is that very few people ever challenged the policy. The district only changed its policy a few years ago because the state finally mandated that that gifted students be given opportunities for acceleration.

See if the school allows parents to shadow the class that your child would be going into too... I know the school that DD is at required all parents to shadow in all classrooms of relevant age and DS's school encouraged parents to shadow (I had seen parents once shadowing his class - their child ended up enrolling into his room). If they don't allow shadowing, that would be a concern to me.

Most private schools will still do some type of assessment (ERB's) to make sure there are not any large gaps in their curriculum. Could you ask about ERB results? I would want to know about class size - in a large class it might be difficult to identify what any given child already knows/ needs to know.... a smaller classroom will better help teachers identify any gaps in knowledge. Our GT school has special classes/ sections of classes for transfer students to help bring them up to speed.