Private School for Gifted Elementary School Child

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Public. Honestly. The strongest kids are in public. The bright kids who didn't get into the public programs? Those are the kids in the "private gifted schools."

Really? My preschooler can read, write, spell, add, subtract, multiply, divide and she is not yet in K. She can read clocks, knows days, weeks, months and years. She loves maps and even knows the 50 US states with capitols, the different continents and oceans. Public can meet her needs?

Oh dear god. You think this is unusual in Washington, DC? You are in for a rude awakening. I just hope it isn't hard on your child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why should a parent have to supplement an education at home if the parent has educational options available that cater to that very need? Do people also say that to parent whose child is old enough and qualifies for AAP?

Nope. But OP seems interested in private independent schools and not AAP. People have been encouraging her to look into public schools because private schools are actually LESS ready for profoundly gifted kids.

You keep asserting this, but I don't agree and don't think you would have any way of knowing this. There are obviously differences between a small parochial school and the independents with lots of resources.

So name the independent ELEMENTARY school that doesn't reject a profoundly gifted kid as an outlier and showers resources on him/her at their level? No one has done so yet. We looked and didn't find it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why should a parent have to supplement an education at home if the parent has educational options available that cater to that very need? Do people also say that to parent whose child is old enough and qualifies for AAP?

Nope. But OP seems interested in private independent schools and not AAP. People have been encouraging her to look into public schools because private schools are actually LESS ready for profoundly gifted kids.

You keep asserting this, but I don't agree and don't think you would have any way of knowing this. There are obviously differences between a small parochial school and the independents with lots of resources.

So name the independent ELEMENTARY school that doesn't reject a profoundly gifted kid as an outlier and showers resources on him/her at their level? No one has done so yet. We looked and didn't find it.

How about Nysmith?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why should a parent have to supplement an education at home if the parent has educational options available that cater to that very need? Do people also say that to parent whose child is old enough and qualifies for AAP?

Nope. But OP seems interested in private independent schools and not AAP. People have been encouraging her to look into public schools because private schools are actually LESS ready for profoundly gifted kids.

You keep asserting this, but I don't agree and don't think you would have any way of knowing this. There are obviously differences between a small parochial school and the independents with lots of resources.

Okay. I have not "kept" asserting that, nor can I fathom why you think your opinion on this has more weight than mine. I am speaking from experience, and not about "small parochial schools." I have three children in two different so-called "Big 3" schools, which I consider GDS/Sidwell/Cathedral schools. Those schools are wonderful and do have lots of resources. However, they don't do much, if any, differentiation in the lower elementary grades. They certainly do less than our neighborhood public, which is the school my youngest (who tested gifted) attended until middle school. Once students reach middle school, there are more opportunities for advance classes.

I think you hit the nail on the head. The early elementary years seem to be where many of these kids at most any public or private may have few options to challenge them at the level they crave or need. Absolutely, many gifted children have no issues and thrive in these places. Yet for others, a dedicated school may be the perfect fit. Or the parents may choose that from the beginning as they know what works best for their child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why should a parent have to supplement an education at home if the parent has educational options available that cater to that very need? Do people also say that to parent whose child is old enough and qualifies for AAP?

Nope. But OP seems interested in private independent schools and not AAP. People have been encouraging her to look into public schools because private schools are actually LESS ready for profoundly gifted kids.

You keep asserting this, but I don't agree and don't think you would have any way of knowing this. There are obviously differences between a small parochial school and the independents with lots of resources.

So name the independent ELEMENTARY school that doesn't reject a profoundly gifted kid as an outlier and showers resources on him/her at their level? No one has done so yet. We looked and didn't find it.

Feynman School has done a beautiful job at accommodating various levels of giftedness in their classrooms. At least from my perspective, formed during the three years our child has attended school there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why should a parent have to supplement an education at home if the parent has educational options available that cater to that very need? Do people also say that to parent whose child is old enough and qualifies for AAP?

Nope. But OP seems interested in private independent schools and not AAP. People have been encouraging her to look into public schools because private schools are actually LESS ready for profoundly gifted kids.

You keep asserting this, but I don't agree and don't think you would have any way of knowing this. There are obviously differences between a small parochial school and the independents with lots of resources.

Okay. I have not "kept" asserting that, nor can I fathom why you think your opinion on this has more weight than mine. I am speaking from experience, and not about "small parochial schools." I have three children in two different so-called "Big 3" schools, which I consider GDS/Sidwell/Cathedral schools. Those schools are wonderful and do have lots of resources. However, they don't do much, if any, differentiation in the lower elementary grades. They certainly do less than our neighborhood public, which is the school my youngest (who tested gifted) attended until middle school. Once students reach middle school, there are more opportunities for advance classes.

I completely agree. Elementary Schools aren’t geared towards gifted kids, not even private DC schools! I don’t understand why people argue otherwise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why should a parent have to supplement an education at home if the parent has educational options available that cater to that very need? Do people also say that to parent whose child is old enough and qualifies for AAP?

Nope. But OP seems interested in private independent schools and not AAP. People have been encouraging her to look into public schools because private schools are actually LESS ready for profoundly gifted kids.

You keep asserting this, but I don't agree and don't think you would have any way of knowing this. There are obviously differences between a small parochial school and the independents with lots of resources.

Okay. I have not "kept" asserting that, nor can I fathom why you think your opinion on this has more weight than mine. I am speaking from experience, and not about "small parochial schools." I have three children in two different so-called "Big 3" schools, which I consider GDS/Sidwell/Cathedral schools. Those schools are wonderful and do have lots of resources. However, they don't do much, if any, differentiation in the lower elementary grades. They certainly do less than our neighborhood public, which is the school my youngest (who tested gifted) attended until middle school. Once students reach middle school, there are more opportunities for advance classes.

This assertion has been made several times in this thread. I apologize if you only said it once. BUT, I did not say that my opinion counts more than yours, just that yours doesn't count more than others. You made a very firm declaration of truth, which you should be humble enough to recognize is from a limited experience. Your private school experience does not trump others' private school experiences. There is virtually no differentiation in MCPS in early grades, and even the elementary magnets are barely giving gifted education, so for me, your truth would not be true.