Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments How to find a school? help

I'm looking for charter and montessori school options. If anybody has some searching tips, please help.

I had been searching gifted school. It didn't occur to me until recently to search charter school. I thought this info might help others here.

U.S. Department of Education�s K-8 Charter Schools
Guide:

I'm also searching blue ribbon schools, This is a award to top 1% in the country. http://www.ed.gov/programs/nclbbrs/2009/index.html

Does anybody know the best approach to find a better learning environment? How to find the best school within reach driving and $?

I was trying to figuring out what he needs for education. Now I want to focus on where he could go to have those needs met.

I have NO idea. I'm having trouble with that here. Do you know people in the area that you can ask?

Good luck!

Sometimes a "good school" is good for HG+ kids. But don't assume that "good school" = "good school for GT kids." We have a "blue ribbon" school, and the GT kids have left it in droves. Those who have stayed whom I know are not too happy with it. It's definitely not a great place for HG+ kids.

"Blue ribbon" just indicates that the school has met certain benchmarks, I believe. I don't know for sure (so check this out before assuming I'm right), but I doubt any of those have a thing to do with GT education.

I'd ask other parents, especially those of other GT kids, where they have their kids. Word of mouth is the best starting place in my experience.

Do you know what kind of learning environment you are looking for? Highly academic? Very child-focused? Something in between? Something else?

I think more than anything, the classroom teacher matters. A good teacher who likes GT kids and wants to teach your son can make virtually anything work, but a teacher who doesn't want to work with your son can sink the best of arrangements.

I don't know if that helps...

I agree with Kriston. Blue Ribbon schools does not mean that it is a good school for GT kids. Teacher makes everything works (or not works). DS7 had a very good teacher in KG. She loved GT kids and loved to challenge him. However, he had a bad teacher in Gr 1. She did not like GT kids. She really just wanted him to "go away". Teachers matter a whole lot in school.

After this experience, I decided to homeschool, partly because of his WISC IV score and the recommendation of psychologist who administered the test, partly because I cannot control who is his teacher and who will be his teacher next year.

We had a thread about Montessori schools for GT a few months back. It was a good thread. You might want to read it.

I always keep my ears open about new schools in the area. I have also found information in the local Yahoo group when new schools pop up.

I agree with the opinion that Blue Ribbon schools do not mean a definite good fit for your child. We are in a Blue Ribbon school district and we moved here partly for the school's reputation. It did not take long to find out from other parents that the schools focus their teaching material on what is on the state standardized test. The school's goal is to mainstream everyone (at least at the elementary level). Very little, if any attention, is paid to the academically advanced students.

A couple of our friends who have older gifted children ended up either home schooling and/or private school. For private schools: they go visit the school, try to find other families with children in that school (or have tried the school) and talk to them. Sometimes, you can ask the school to see if there are any parents who are willing to talk to you from the parents' point of view. Or even better, talk to some students while you are visiting the school. Students tend to be more frank about their opinions.

Another option that I tried was to post my questions on:
http://www.mamapedia.com/
The advantage is that you can specify an particular school area. Obviously, always take the advice with a grain of salt.

Hope this helps.... and good luck!

Thank you for your comments.

I am expecting a call from this Blue Ribbon school Principal today. He has 35 years experience with Gifted. There population is about 400. That sound very good to me. They said they don't have a gifted program but do differenciation in the class room. This is a school that is not too far and also has Sports, Science Olympiad, Chess club. Money may be an issue. They have some finacial aid so it may work.

I feel strongly that the sports are a big way for him to fit in with the general population and he loves it. I want him to feel challenged without feeling too odd. We have lots of local Sports teams out of the school but it's not as easy to form freindships. We don't do many playdates - that's a whole other issue. There are lots of kids on our street to play with.

There is another option that is a free gifted school that sounds like they would get the academic just right for the indivuals but no sports and a unpleasant commute. The population is very small, 130 k-6. I wonder if he would have more peers than at a bigger school.

The deciding factors needs to be what is best for him socially. Social is a weak area for him but not very bad. I do think academics effect social becuase if he is underachieving too much it hurts his selfimage. So I'm thinking I would go for a little less perfect academics if the sports are there and the school is in a better location.

I have talked to some parents about some schools and was then wanted to try a prove the school to be a good fit. I'm not sure if this is realistic. One school does the SCAT test every year. I was thinking if my son does the same test then we would see where he fits in? One school is working 2yrs ahead. I'm not sure if they could prove this. Maybe I could show them his school papers and then they could estimate how much ahead they are.

A Mom of a gifted child told me about a montessori school K-8, Population 200(seems very small), no sports but they can be very flexible and accomidating to gifted. Everyone works a different levels. I'm not sure about how many intellectual peers.

If anybody has comments to help me figure this out I would appreciate it.

Have you browsed the schools and reviews on the Davidson site?

http://www.davidsongifted.org/db/browse_by_topic_resources.aspx

They're under Educational Options and Day Schools. That's how I found our school.

I'm not sure I can answer this question properly. I don't know about different environments.

I would like him to be in a school where the kids enjoy being there.
He should be a teacher's dream student - interested, questioning, motivated, fast worker, creative and smart. He will probally need someone to help him slow down for accuracy.

I would like my son's education to feel like he is challenged and not constantly being asked to study what he knows already. Instead of being told to study everynight for the test he should study until he knows it and move on. I would like him to use his brain instead of just remembering anwsers and filling out worksheets. I would like an environment where trial and error could be apart of the learning process. I don't want the learning to be a high pressure situation. He should enjoy it. I don't want a lot of homework.

I like some of the Montessori ideas that develope the innerself to be one's best self, work hard, be kind and a good citizen. He certainly could thrive in a place that promoted him taking responsibility for his education. He is very self motivated with many interests. I would like him to be in a creative place. I would like more 3d in his learning world - like sculpture, diagraphs, microscopes, manipulative math, ect. I would like more freedom to talk, express ideas and more physical time. He needs work on his social. It seems like he has wonderful friend choices smart and athlectic.

I hope I don't sound bitter. I do think Our school is a caring environment. It just that they have limitations of time and money. And perhaps have not been exposed to a different way of thinking. I'm feeling blessed to know the difference. Even if I don't have all the anwsers.

THANK YOU! I'm off to check it out.