GT programs in Montgomery County

[Anonymous]

Can anyone provide a quick overview of options available to elementary-age children, their strengths and weaknesses, and the application process?

[Anonymous]

Here's the county's page on Accelerated and Enriched Instruction in elementary schools:

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/enriched/elementary.shtm

Also, check out the GTA Letters yahoo group if you haven't already. One relevant threads:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GTAletters/message/18206

I'm sure if you posted your question there you might get some answers--there is also a ton of information in their archives.

[Anonymous]

Another useful thread:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GTAletters/message/17506

[Anonymous]

Thank you very much!

[Anonymous]

Are parents happy with MC GT programs? I have heard complaints that the programs are not focused, with LOTS of info just being thrown at kids in a non-creative way.

[Anonymous]

I'm the 9:29 and 9:33 poster, with theoretical but not yet practical knowledge of the GT programs since my kids are younger.

My understanding is that things vary GREATLY by school. Even the highly gifted centers (for 4th and 5th grade) are run by the individual school rather than the county, I believe. My guess is that looking for info on specific schools and the programs in their clusters is important. I know that talking with the principal at elementary schools we were considering also gave us a good sense of the specifics of each place.

[Anonymous]

It looks like there's a gap at third grade? The TP runs through 2nd, and the others pick up at 4th? Also concerned that there would be very little continuity in peer group given the need to re-apply at various stages, the remixing of kids, etc.

[Anonymous]

10:51: Which elementaries did you feel were most supportive of GT kids?

[Anonymous]

10:55 it seems like a mess when middle school comes too.

[Anonymous]

Can anyone in a child in one of these programs comment on his/her experience?

[Anonymous]

Helpful post from another thread:

Anonymous wrote:
PP: Do you have a sense of which elementaries in Mont Co are best at supporting GT children? I thought the highly gifted centers didn't begin until fourth grade, so I'm wondering what parents do before then.



PP here. It's true that the highly gifted centers in MoCo don't start until 4th grade (you apply in 3rd.).

Rather than say which school I thought was best, I'd like to answer this by describing what I'm looking for in a school, whether public or private. I don't want to perpetuate the whole "this school is the best" frenzy that seems to be the case in private schools (although I don't mean to accuse you of this attitude). Also, I only looked at public schools that fit my financial and logistical abilities. I have to be able to afford to live or rent in the school district, even if it is the worst house in the district. And, I have to be able to juggle work, multiple kids, other family responsibilities, etc. What I decided is the best is really only the best that I can do for my family.

I want a school with strong differentiation in the classroom, i.e. at least two if not three w/i classroom instructional groupings for math and reading. I would prefer there to be within grade regrouping, i.e. all the kids in preK who read are in the same class or group, but this seems to be rare. I would like to see opportunities for cross-grade regrouping, i.e. a child in second grade who reads or does math at a higher level might be in a 3rd or 4th grade class either with other same age kids or older kids where also socially appropriate. I would like to see a standing instructional program in reading that is tailored to different reading levels (like William and Mary in MoCo) or established varied math pathways (for example, in MoCo, a third grader can take 3rd, 4th or 5th grade math). It goes without saying that all grouping should be flexible, i.e. a student should be able to move up from one skills group to another based on skills mastered.

What I don't want -- I don't want enrichment to be "ad hoc" because then it never seems to happen. I don't want GT enrichment to be once a week or done by a parent. I don't want my child reading to himself in class for 45 minutes because he/she finished her math worksheet early. Nor do I want him to have to finish the regular lesson and then a second lesson at his level. I don't want "gifted" work to consist simply of more worksheets or books that are easy. I don't want him to be the only child in a group or class that can read or do math two or more grades above level, because then he/she starts to hide his/her ability in order to fit in. I don't want teachers and administrators to characterize questions about more "challenging" work as really reflective of a secret personal desire of "pushy" "resume-building" "helicopter" parents.

At the first parent-teacher conference, I don't want the teacher to tell me that my child is getting 95%+ on all his assignments, so he is doing great. I want a teacher to recognize that as a warning sign that the material isn't appropriate. I want a teacher and administration who doesn't mix up different categories of giftedness, insisting that only the profoundly gifted, who started reading at 18 months by themselves or solved advanced physics in preschool, are really gifted. I want a school that recognizes that giftedness varies -- from profoundly to highly to moderately and from academic to emotional to physical, etc. -- without using the excuse that "every child is gifted" to administer a one-size fits all curriculum. Because, while every child IS gifted in some way, not every child is gifted in the same way, and a one size fits all curriculum that fits everyone does a disservice to everyone, in my experience.

I will look at test scores and take them seriously. I want my child in a school which has significant achievement in the advanced levels when compared to other schools. Our experience has been that in a school with lower levels of advanced test achievement, the class lesson is pitched much towards a lower skill level, leaving our child bored. I don't care so much about the poverty/FARMS rate (which I have heard many other parents take, incorrectly I think, as an inverse proxy for achievement) as long as there is significant advanced achievement in reading and math compared to other schools.

I also want what all other parents want for their kids no matter what skill level -- schools that teach reading and math as well as science and social studies and life/social skills, schools that have music and art and PE and computers and language and after school and before school programs.

I'm sure there's more, but I'm too tired to write.

[Anonymous]

And one more:

04/22/2008 13:48 Subject: Re:GT children at independent schools
Anonymous



Unless you have an unusually gifted child, you really don't know what it's like, so please don't assume that teachers know more than parents about a child. My daughter also decoded our written language starting at age 2, and before kindergarten was already, by her own choice and by her own acceleration, reading Nancy Drew chapter books, a new one every day or so, writing in a journal, writing poetry, writing plays, inventing math games, asking us about infinity and negative numbers, and speaking in "complex" (multiple clause) sentences. She could remember the correct spelling of every word she'd ever read. She could memorize anything, and particularly enjoyed performing monologues. She invented amazing jokes and puns. And she was more emotionally mature than her age as well. She was able to translate for her younger brother, whose multiple disabilities include an inability to speak but do not affect his cognitive abvilities. It did not take the public school very long to figure out that she needed to skip to first grade, and then she was accepted into the gifted magnet 1st and 2nd grade program, but they would not accept her entry at 2nd grade and it made no sense for her to repeat first grade. She's now in a 4th grade highly gifted center and even though she is getting straight A's, she is challenged. And she is surrounded by peers who are fast learners and inventive and critical thinkers like herself. It is a very rich environment in many ways. And the teachers are truly awesome. Based on my experience, I think the public schools are best equipped to deal with highly gifted children. When we visited private schools before kindergarten to see how they would teach her, I did not hear a single thing that made me want to spend 20 to 25K per year. We have been very happy with the Montgomery County school system. My daughter went to Bradley Hills and is now at Chevy Chase.