Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments Gifted kids in Illinois. Recommendations?

We have 3 boys (2, 4 and 5) and recently moved to the Chicago suburbs (Park Ridge). Our oldest is very bright (just tested IQ 142) and has a lot of energy leading to some misbehavior in the school when he gets bored/unchallenged. He currently is in Kindergarten and they have a gifted program for reading and math where they pull him out, but even that seems a very low level to him and not sure this is a good long term system for him. We worry him being bored, while seeing other kids struggle will make him feel superior. Being taken out of his class for a couple hours a week might make that even worse and we feel it could also lead to him getting labeled as special, leading to other kids not wanting to play with him.

Financially not easy on us, but we are considering sending him to a private gifted school. (e.g. Des Plaines - Science and Art Academy, Downers Grove - Avery Coonley...). We are not super happy in Park Ridge either and open to moving to another suburb if that would be necessary (Looking for younger people, newer houses, commutable to downtown Chicago (preferable by train) with good public schools for our other kids). Our 4-year old is also very bright and not far behind, having to pay private tuition for 2 kids is currently just unthinkable, but we also don't think it's fair to only give 1 of them the chance.

What recommendations would you have for us? Is a private gifted school worth it? What would you do in our case and why?

We tried two different private schools, and two different public schools before finally settling down in a small town in Oregon, of all places. ( We moved from NC) No gifted program at all here....and the system didn't know what to do with ours. As such, they agreed to our recommendations of grade skipping. (neither the public nor privates would do that as they "have gifted programs" ; skipping wasn't a possibility.). I have to tell you, it was the best move we ever did. The gifted programs they had in NC were terrible, and, just as you described were just an hour or two of being pulled out of regular class.

So ironic that a school system that says it doesn't know what to do with an EG kid has the best option. The best option being listening to the parents for advice.

As per a recommendation I read somewhere on this forum, Read "A Nation Deceived", and Miraca Gross's longitudinal study we chose to grade skip.

No recommendations about schooling from here, on the other side of the world, but I definitely would advise against any decision that may be perceived amongst your kids as inequitable. For EG/PG kids, the closest kindred spirits they may have could well be siblings, so encourage camaraderie rather than divisions.

You've received great advice above. I'll just add a link to a thread on acceleration (pros and cons), which may be where Alannc44 had found the info mentioned in their post (A Nation Deceived, and Miraca Gross):
https://giftedissues.davidsongifted...ration_Roundup_grade_ski.html#Post248163