How is your local DCPS elementary treating your 99th percentile child?

[Anonymous]

Some of my neighbors send their children, their really, really smart children, to public school in Ward 3. They like it, their kids say they like it .... it's free ...

Is differentiation a given in each school, per a DCPS policy (that I can't find on the website)? Is it more school-by-school, or even subject-by-subject?

Does DCPS even have G&T programs within its schools?



(I've read a lot here about MoCo schools, which many believe are better for the very gifted than most independent schools in terms of challenge, but I don't recall ever seeing anything on DCUM regarding gifted kids in DCPS)

[Anonymous]

No G&T programs. We've had a hard time getting differentiated instruction for our DC. Some teachers have handled this well, most offer a not-so-thoughtful token response, and a few have completely ignored our requests. This is in a highly regarded Ward 3 elementary school.

Indep. school is not an option for us, and we tell ourselves that living in the city offers a degree of stimulation that Moco doesn't. Still, DCPS will need to cater more to all it's generally high achievers or risk losing the majority.

[Anonymous]

PP here. Clearly, this high achiever's mother shouldn't attempt to use punctuation marks until she's had a little coffee. Sorry.

[Anonymous]

07:22 was right about DC losing bright kids. The lack of G&T programs in DC schools was a deal breaker for us. We moved to Montgomery County...

[Anonymous]

A fewquestions here from a mom of a pre-schooler who beleives that her child is at the 99% (but don't we all)

At what point in the education process are children identified as high achiever / 99% etc?

At what point / grade have you seen the need for differentiaion? For example, were K and 1st fine - but by 2nd grade child bored, losing interest, and love of learning?


Just trying to have some nuggets stored away for the fututre.

[Anonymous]

I am "gifted" and went to a school w/o g&t. I was fine until about 8th grade. boredom hit hard. i ended up taking college classes jr and sr year in high school for an independent study in english and history (but still had to go to the AP classes). 8th-10th were pretty tough for me, but once AP classes were introduced it was a tad better. I wouldn't worry about elementary as much as the older years

[Anonymous]

Much depends on the level of the standard curriculum at a particular school. If all kids are high achieving (reading in kindergarten, etc.), a really gifted kid might get enough stimulation, particularly if individual teachers are engaged. If the regular instruction is below grade level, what's a bright kid to do but be bored?

As for how kids are identified, we had our child take the WPPSI from a private tester for applications for private pre-K. I'm guessing that's how most people know at this age. But in general, people get more accurate results at age 6-7. The standard advice is to wait until then unless you need a number for a particular reason (e.g. private school admission, or troubles in your current school for which you need further info).

[Anonymous]

Many schools that have G&T programs begin the instruction around third grade. But, as another poster mentioned, if the 1st and 2nd grade classes are mostly kids who are working below grade then your child will probably become bored. In some MoCo elementary schools the majority of the kids are above grade level, so your child may be getting a form of G&T teaching even if they aren't in the actual program.

[Anonymous]

The nice thing about money saved in DCPS is that you can offer enrichment outside of school in a more tailored fashion for your kid. But that requires even more from us parents.....sigh....

Just think how much enrichment 27K could get you?

[Anonymous]

Answer to 9:46. In MoCo, there is a magnet gifted program for 1st and 2nd grade for highly gifted children who are identified in K (Takoma Park ES). For my daughter, her public school had already skipped her to 1st after a couple of months in K (this is extremely rare, but in her case necessary), and the magnet wouldn't take her for 2nd because she hadn't been in 1st there. She's now in a highly gifted 4th/5th program. Her giftedness was apparent from the time she was a toddler (speaking very early, and in paragraphs when she started to talk) and especially in montessori preschool, where she started a journal at age 4, writing poetry and plays. The summer before K she was reading Nancy Drew chapter books, faster and faster, so that by the end of the summer, she could finish each new one in a couple of days. We will keep her in regular middle school (luckily we're in the Pyle/Whitman district) because I think gifted kids that age should kick back on academics and focus on emotional development while they're going through so many physical changes.

[Anonymous]

Another thing to consider about MoCo: "giftedness" means 99th percentile. So if you're in the 95th percentile, you don't get to go to the special programs, although most likely you can do "honors" at your home school.

Also, the amount of parental lobbying for kids to get into these programs is pretty horrifying (from a parent of a kid who got in without any help from us, but I've seen and heard tons of stories). Parents insisting on retests, parents gaming race on the application (and I mean really exagerating), parents lobbying the MoCo bureaucracy in Rockville, et cetera. I've seen all of these influence the decisions. Plus, it really seems to help if you're a SAHM who can volunteer and get to know the teachers who will be making recommendations for your kid (I myself work, but it's fairly well known).

Just something to bear in mind if you are considering a move.

[Anonymous]

To answer the original question, we send our child to a Title I school downtown. It's a terrific school, but low-income, so generally it's passed over... They've done a terrific job with our 99% child, but that's strictly because the principal gets GT and is really driven to meet every child at their level and move them to the next one. It's her personal mission, but there is no support from DCPS in general for GT. We're lucky to have him in a place where the principal and the staff understand GT and happen to care about children.

The school only goes to the 5th grade, so we'll most likely be moving to the suburbs for middle school.

[Anonymous]

We live in DC with 3 school aged kids and I've spend some time looking into MoCO (for various reasons) and it seems the gifted program is only 4th and 5th grade? Maybe it depends on the cluster as some elem go to 5th and some 5th. Can someone really explain how it works? I see that some kids get sent to special schools as some stay within a normal school too. Also once they hit middle (and high) school then they go to AP/IB type programs? Thanks!

[Anonymous]

13:54, this is 13:33 responding to you... I had no idea such a thing goes on, but I don't think the kids who actually end up in the 4th/5th program got there that way, based on the parents I've met. The parents of these kids all seem so laid back and sincere and very nice. The kids in the program all clearly belong in the program... you can almost see the wheels turn while they soak it all in and integrate what they're learning with what they already know. The comments the kids make in class are wise and sometimes startling in their ability to relate seemingly unrelated concepts.

[Anonymous]

OP here. It sounds as if GnT is completely ad hoc in the District, based on what a couple of you said.

It also sounds like I need to go meet with the principal at our in-boundary school and see what her vision is. Of course, she could get sacked at any time depending on what Michelle Rhee eats for breakfast that day, and so there are no guarantees.

This also really bothers me (and it's as I suspected) -- "We've had a hard time getting differentiated instruction for our DC. Some teachers have handled this well, most offer a not-so-thoughtful token response, and a few have completely ignored our requests."

Any other DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA experiences out there?