Which school best supports children who are advanced academically?

[Anonymous]

OP,

Have you applied? If so, then you should pursue this with the schools that have offered your child a slot. If he's four grades ahead in math, he may need to work with an outside tutor or maybe he'd be fine plateauing for a year and developing him/herself in other areas. I don't think schools like to get into specifics until they've accepted your child. GDS has a very strong math program.

[Anonymous]

OP here again. I have been around these boards enough to know that I would very quickly be told to look at the public magnets and would be asked whether we've already applied and to pursue this with the schools that accept. Fellow posters, I want to remind you that this is a discussion board. I have a very specific and pointed question, and I am still hoping to hear from more parents who have experience with the question I am raising. Once again, I know about the magnets and their superiority. I do want to hear if your child went through the elite private schools in DC and ended up in a magnet, and I want to hear about the process. But beyond that, it would be great if you stayed on the question. Thank you.

[Anonymous]

The deafening silence on this topic, on a particularly "loquacious" board, tells the whole story. Special accommodations for truly gifted (> 2 grade levels) is a rare concession at D.C. area private schools. The only options would be insistence on skipping a full grade or two for accommodation or supplementing at home with private tutoring. The latter is what most of my colleagues are doing with kids in private school. Subject acceleration to higher grades in Math, Science or languages is not an option.

[Anonymous]

The answer is none of them. If you have a math genuis, you do TJ, or Stuyvesant, or Bronx Sci, or you get your kid into MIT at 16 from whatever public is available to you. And yes, I know somebody who did this. When he became a parent, he tried private for his math wiz kid (must be nice to have those genes to pass on!) in another large city north of here, but ended up pulling out for public because none of the available schools in the area had decent math instruction. Unfortunately, TJ, Stuyvesant or Bronx Sci were not options because of where that family lived.

I know a number of off the charts MIT math people, so hopefully you will find me qualified to have some basis for answering your question despite the fact that you seem unwilling to accept that none of the privates, and only one or two of the publics, are prepared to handle someone that advanced in math.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here again. I have been around these boards enough to know that I would very quickly be told to look at the public magnets and would be asked whether we've already applied and to pursue this with the schools that accept. Fellow posters, I want to remind you that this is a discussion board. I have a very specific and pointed question, and I am still hoping to hear from more parents who have experience with the question I am raising. Once again, I know about the magnets and their superiority. I do want to hear if your child went through the elite private schools in DC and ended up in a magnet, and I want to hear about the process. But beyond that, it would be great if you stayed on the question. Thank you.

Yuck.

[Anonymous]

I know a number of off the charts MIT math people, so hopefully you will find me qualified to have some basis for answering your question despite the fact that you seem unwilling to accept that none of the privates, and only one or two of the publics, are prepared to handle someone that advanced in math.

The MoC publics, magnet and non-magnet, do make accommodations. Before moving to CSES we were at another MoC public that placed my child in the appropriate math class comensurate with his achievement, performance and test scores (4 grade levels higher). I suspect that NOVA publics are not much different.

[Anonymous]

The answer is none of them. If you have a math genuis, you do TJ, or Stuyvesant, or Bronx Sci, or you get your kid into MIT at 16 from whatever public is available to you. And yes, I know somebody who did this. When he became a parent, he tried private for his math wiz kid (must be nice to have those genes to pass on!) in another large city north of here, but ended up pulling out for public because none of the available schools in the area had decent math instruction. Unfortunately, TJ, Stuyvesant or Bronx Sci were not options because of where that family lived.

I know a number of off the charts MIT math people, so hopefully you will find me qualified to have some basis for answering your question despite the fact that you seem unwilling to accept that none of the privates, and only one or two of the publics, are prepared to handle someone that advanced in math.[google]


What's the big deal here? You don't have to go to New York, Massachusetts or California if your child is a gifted musician, talented and accomplished athlete (e.g. swimmer), voracious reader and accomplished writer? Why is it necessary to flee the district or State if your child is accomplished in math, science and computers?

Bizarre.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know a number of off the charts MIT math people, so hopefully you will find me qualified to have some basis for answering your question despite the fact that you seem unwilling to accept that none of the privates, and only one or two of the publics, are prepared to handle someone that advanced in math.

The MoC publics, magnet and non-magnet, do make accommodations. Before moving to CSES we were at another MoC public that placed my child in the appropriate math class comensurate with his achievement, performance and test scores (4 grade levels higher). I suspect that NOVA publics are not much different.

Perhaps that's right. OP doesn't say how advanced and in what. For my friend, the only way to get his needs met was going to MIT at 16. I'm not sure even TJ would have done it if it had been an option, but it may have and would have been better than the "regular" public he was in.

[Anonymous]

What's the big deal here? You don't have to go to New York, Massachusetts or California if your child is a gifted musician, talented and accomplished athlete (e.g. swimmer), voracious reader and accomplished writer? Why is it necessary to flee the district or State if your child is accomplished in math, science and computers?

Bizarre.

[Anonymous]

A lot of yak-yak here, and no one answering the question asked.

[Anonymous]

We did a limited private school search (looking at two of the schools you list) and tried to get answers about how the schools would address kids working well above grade level. So I'm quite curious to see if OP will get any useful responses. (In our case, moving for good public schools seemed the best choice.)

[Anonymous]

A lot of yak-yak here, and no one answering the question asked.

As a previous poster has professed, the answer resonates in the deep and reflective silent response.

[Anonymous]

I bet someone that has used one of those highly paid area educational consultants must surely have an answer for you? If not, I would ask for an immediate refund.

[Anonymous]

OP, you are insisting on an answer that doesn't exist. These four schools (why these four specifically?) do not advance children a grade and offer very little extra attention that you seek. Asking over and over again will not change the answer.

Fine: If you send your child to Sidwell, they will give him one on one tutoring and send him to classes in the upper school. Satisfied? Of course not, because although that may be the answer you are seeking, it isn't true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here again. I have been around these boards enough to know that I would very quickly be told to look at the public magnets and would be asked whether we've already applied and to pursue this with the schools that accept. Fellow posters, I want to remind you that this is a discussion board. I have a very specific and pointed question, and I am still hoping to hear from more parents who have experience with the question I am raising. Once again, I know about the magnets and their superiority. I do want to hear if your child went through the elite private schools in DC and ended up in a magnet, and I want to hear about the process. But beyond that, it would be great if you stayed on the question. Thank you.

You are not getting a response because the answer is, "none of them." Go public.

Our child went from a Big Three to a MC magnet and the difference is astonishing. Leagues better than the Big Three school DC previously attended.