Do all of the DC elem. public schools have "gifted" programs?
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Anonymous
| Do all of the DC public schools have "gifted" programs (not sure if that is the correct term to use anymore)? If not, which elementary schools do have gifted programs? I'm in the situation where I need to move into a better school boundary next year for elementary school. Thanks |
Anonymous
| Not a single one has a gifted program in DCPS. No kidding. |
Anonymous
What??? Are you serious? What about VA? |
Anonymous
Virginia is NOT DC 
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Anonymous
| I'm sure Virginia county school systems have gifted and talented programs as do Maryland county systems, but you need to post on those forums for more info. |
Anonymous
I know, and I don't want to move to VA. But, what does DCPS do with the gifted children? |
Anonymous
| I think you need to do a lot more research before you move for the schools. Seriously, this is about as basic as it gets - DCPS elementary schools do not have gifted programs. |
Anonymous
| Really, the best you can do for a gifted kid in DC is send your kid to a "good" school versus a "bad" school, but there's little consensus on which schools are "best" for which kids. Or, still in DC, you could maybe send him to a charter where he does regular math but in french, chinese or spanish immersion (but you have to get lucky in the charter lotteries). |
Anonymous
| If they can afford it, they go to private. Or they move to Md or Va. |
Anonymous
|
Having recently relocated back to Washington with kids, the best thing--as a previous poster noted--is to find the best school for you individual child. There are actually some very good public/charter schools in DC, but a good school doesn't equal a good fit for your child. My DC was in the gifted program at her previous school. I found a good school here for her but what I learned was that the gifted program she was in, did a lot of expeditionary learning. So, when I put her in the good public school that was challeging but traditional, she just didn't enjoy it. I moved her to a charter that incorporates expeditionary learning and she is very happy.
DC requires a lot of research and diligence on the parent's part. It's not as simple as move to a great neighborhood (unless you have a LOT of money). You could be in a great (and expensive) neighborhood in DC and be in zone for a school that is awful. DCUM is helpful once you learn how to wade through the garbage and find the nuggets of gold. |
Anonymous
| DC is afraid of gifted programs. And we all know why. Everything in this town is race based. |
Anonymous
| I think that "gifted" programs are sometimes overrated and have lost their focus. In Montgomery County, where the Lake Wobegone effect seems in full flower (all children are above average), I've heard that some parents actually threaten litigation if their kid is not invited into the gifted and talented program. Having said that, DCPS historically has been hostile to anything that smacks of selectivity. In my child's elementary school, an LSRT member opposed a math enrichment program on the ground that it was elitist (and this is in Ward 3, mind you). If Michelle Rhee didn't start a DCPS gifted program during her tenure as chancellor, it sure isn't going to happen under Mayor One-City. |
Anonymous
| I recently read a WP article about "gifted" programs in VA and recall that the emphasis is on "higher order questioning". We have that at our local elementary school but of course not in the context of taking children out of their classroom into a separate program but within the context of differentiated teaching. Then again, my son, and advanced reader, is taken out of the classroom to participate in a book club for just the advanced readers. That may not be what you mean by "gifted program" but it certainly allows those who are ahead of the curve in some areas to further develop their skills. |
Anonymous
DCPS curriculum is about remediation, rather than enrichment. If you want alternatives, apply to an innovative charter and hope like crazy you get in. |
Anonymous
I don't disagree that MoCo gifted programs are basically to keep the upper middle class in the public school system. To be fair, the gifted programs are good programs. I'll give some details in case anybody gets inspired to do anything in DC (ha, ha, fat chance). You don't get "invited," instead it's a fairly transparent process (unlike, say, private school admissions which we've been through), and acceptance is based on grades, teacher recs, and a SAT-like test given to all kids in December. Only about 2% of kids get into the MoCo magnets, not half the county (although maybe 40% of the county is labelled "gifted," it's true.) Plus, I've only heard of a few cases of litigation, and they didn't get very far, partly because suing won't get you very far if there's only about 200 spaces between the 2 middle school magnets, for example. And partly because nobody sues until AFTER the acceptances and denials have been issued, by which time it's too late and the county has already given out the 200 spaces, so the best it can do is make a big concession and put your kid into the wait pool, and we all know how useful that is. But in MCPS, too, school officials are de-emphasizing gifted programs because their focus is on the achievement gap. |