Norwood for student working several grade-leves ahead?

[Anonymous]

Ditto.
This was our experience and the public magnet programs have resolved our children's predicaments.

[SAM2]

Anonymous wrote:... no private school in the DC area will accommodate a child in the 150+ range functioning multiple levels above grade level. I have more than one such child. We have tried various private schools for themand researched others pretty thoroughly. Public school is a better bet. .... For what it's worth, I have 2 extreme kids at Norwood, and they are happy.

I think it's great that you have two high-functioning children, and that you've found a school that you like. I'm not so sure though that your personal experience with two children no older than 8th grade is applicable to every high-functioning child in the DC area. But it's definitely interesting advice to hear. Thanks for sharing.

[Anonymous]

I had assumed that most expensive private schools provided some type of differentiation (ability groupings in math and reading), but have learned that Norwood is distinct in this regard. It is a real strength of the school in my opinion. However, I agree with other posters who state that most private schools probably do not adequately serve the "profoundly gifted" and perhaps Nysmith or Edlin (both in Northern Virginia, I'm not sure what the Maryland counterparts are) would be better fits for these students.

[Anonymous]

We actually think taht teh differentiation at Norwood stinks. The kids who are not in the top groups get the worst teachers and the little princes and princesses get the best.

[Anonymous]

I think it's great that you have two high-functioning children, and that you've found a school that you like. I'm not so sure though that your personal experience with two children no older than 8th grade is applicable to every high-functioning child in the DC area. But it's definitely interesting advice to hear. Thanks for sharing.


Pretty snarky, SAM2. What was the point of your post? PP has kids at Norwood who are what you call "high functioning" ( are you aware that is a term used for the disabled, I think you are) which is basically the topic of the thread. Do you want to contribute something about the academics ar Norwood?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but no private school in the DC area will accommodate a child in the 150+ range functioning multiple levels above grade level. I have more than one such child. We have tried various private schools for themand researched others pretty thoroughly. Public school is a better bet. That said, my impression is that Norwood does a better job at providing some differentiation than any of the other schools. In addition, the nonacademic programs are extremely strong there and can provide stimulation for a kid who isn't getting it elsewhere. For what it's worth, I have 2 extreme kids at Norwood, and they are happy.

agree

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but no private school in the DC area will accommodate a child in the 150+ range functioning multiple levels above grade level. I have more than one such child. We have tried various private schools for themand researched others pretty thoroughly. Public school is a better bet. That said, my impression is that Norwood does a better job at providing some differentiation than any of the other schools. In addition, the nonacademic programs are extremely strong there and can provide stimulation for a kid who isn't getting it elsewhere. For what it's worth, I have 2 extreme kids at Norwood, and they are happy.

This is not just experience of PP, SAM2; this is the experience of most, if not all, parents of highly gifted children and it is frustrating.Please note I am not talking about my DC, just sharing what I've read on the subject. Imagine what would have happened to Einstein if he hadn't had the lucky break of a math scholar move into his family's home early in his life. The boredom of his school drove him nearly mad as a child.It is very painful for a parent to see their child struggle in an educational environment geared for the average and it is extremely lonely for a highly gifted child to be in such a situation.Imagine you, SAM2 , having to work at a factory on an assembly line 8 hours a day Any good parent would struggle with this. It is a special challenge as a parent to advocate for such a child . Let's try and be supportive and not snarky.

[Anonymous]

I'm the PP who revived the thread....

Thanks so much to the current Norwood K parents and parents of older Norwood children for your input on how they handle differentiation and the K cohort. Very helpful and much appreciated.

I do realize that there is no perfect-fit for these kids - especially at early ages (when MoCo public magnets are hardly an option) - so it's all about finding a well rounded environment with other subjects and ways to learn combined with a decent differentiation strategy.

As for the detractors...sorry...but this is a valid issue for some kids/families...hope your kids are happy where they are and love to go to school. My DC does currently and I would like it to stay that way!

[SAM2]

13:33 wrote:Pretty snarky, SAM2. What was the point of your post? PP has kids at Norwood who are what you call "high functioning" ( are you aware that is a term used for the disabled, I think you are) which is basically the topic of the thread. Do you want to contribute something about the academics ar Norwood?

I think you're confusing me with someone who does subtle snark. That's not me. If I disagree with you, I will make it pretty apparent. "High-functioning" was my short-hand way of paraphrasing PP's "150+ range functioning multiple levels above grade level" statement, without tying it so closely to some simple test score. If you think I am somehow suggesting PP's children are learning disabled, you're completely off-target. If you'd like to suggest a better paraphrase, I'm happy to use that instead. If PP's feelings are hurt, I apologize to her.

To be perfectly clear, my contribution was meant to be polite disagreement with PP's statements that (1) "no private school in the DC area will accommodate a child in the 150+ range functioning multiple levels above grade level," and (2) her suggestion that no other private school besides Norwood is capable of providing a proper environment for such children. I think those are overblown claims without any support other than PP's personal experience with her own two children. I've seen plenty of posts on DCUM from parents of similar children who are happy with other private schools. I think different children will thrive in different circumstances, and if PP is saying that only Norwood+public are proper environments, then I think she is wrong. Maybe I completely misunderstood her, and she's actually just saying those are two excellent options she's found (without closing the door on other options) -- if that's the case, then I apologize for misunderstanding her, and would agree wholeheartedly.

14:05 wrote:This is not just experience of PP, SAM2; this is the experience of most, if not all, parents of highly gifted children and it is frustrating.Please note I am not talking about my DC, just sharing what I've read on the subject. Imagine what would have happened to Einstein if he hadn't had the lucky break of a math scholar move into his family's home early in his life. The boredom of his school drove him nearly mad as a child.It is very painful for a parent to see their child struggle in an educational environment geared for the average and it is extremely lonely for a highly gifted child to be in such a situation.Imagine you, SAM2 , having to work at a factory on an assembly line 8 hours a day Any good parent would struggle with this. It is a special challenge as a parent to advocate for such a child . Let's try and be supportive and not snarky.

I think I must not have made myself clear, since two posters are now accusing me of snark. I actually agree with most of what you wrote, so I'm surprised by the accusation. As stated above, my whole reason for posting was not to suggest that 150+ (or high-functioning) children don't deserve a great school environment that is tailored to their talents, but rather to make that point that Norwood and publics are not the only great school environments out there. There are other options, and different children might respond better to different environments.

I apologize for inadvertently coming across as snarky to these two PPs. Now that I've clarified, I hope you'll retract your inaccurate accusation.

[Anonymous]

SAM2, don't worry, I wasn't offended. I should clarify a few things. I have more than 2 children, including a high school student. I have had kids in 5 local schools.

It would have been accurate for me to say that based on extensive inquiries, it is my belief that no local independent school will provide the accommodations which a very gifted child functioning multiple grades ahead of his age mates generally needs, prior to 9th grade. Some schools provide math acceleration for very mathematical kids, but they don't provide adequate acceleration in other courses or grade skips, much less radical acceleration. Oneness Family School might be an exception?

Some local independent schools have counseled out their brightest students, suggesting that they go to public school, rather than accommodating them. Some high profile independent schools won't accept a kid who is too much of an outlier, or so I was told by an educational consultant.

It does seem that at the high school level, some of these kids have been accommodated at some local independent schools.

If anybody knows of a school that has adequately accommodate such a child, I would love to hear about it. Maybe it has happened, but I don't think so.

Some local public schools will radically accelerate kids and seem to have a better understanding of pg kids and their needs.

I didn't mean to suggest that Norwood was the only school that could provide a "proper environment" for my kids. I'm well aware that every school in the area has its good points. Norwood isn't perfect and doesn't provide the sorts of accommodations that extreme kids tend to need. It is a happy place, though, and based on my limited experience, better than some other independent schools for a kid like that of the op.

[Anonymous]

SAM2-Thanks for the clarification. I do retract my accusation of snark.

[Anonymous]

Having had a very high functioning kid at Norwood, I can say that they did somethings right, and other things you have to do on your own. And some parents of other really smart kids did not have good experiences - constant struggle with the school. Norwood does not see itself as a school to work with extremely smart kids - it prides itself on having lots of what I am going to call 90-95% kids [just using loosely, so try not to lose it folks]. It prepares these kids very well. How well this outlook translates to the really exceptional kids depends, to some degree on the child, on the personal chemistry between parents/school (sad to say), and on the number of smarter kids in the class (both for social cohort for the child and how fast the top classes go). So this thread's reviver is right on, but I also believe that there is no singular experience to be had at Norwood.

[SAM2]

Anonymous wrote:... lots of what I am going to call 90-95% kids [just using loosely, so try not to lose it folks] ...

I laughed at this. That description really is like throwing raw meat in front of starving wolves. I hope your editorial comment can keep everyone restrained!

[Anonymous]

Doubtful ....!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is not just experience of PP, SAM2; this is the experience of most, if not all, parents of highly gifted children and it is frustrating.

How could you possibly know this? My highly gifted child has been very happy in a local private that doesn't differentiate. It offers challenging material, intelligent and supportive teachers, a cohort of kids who are smart, curious self-starters, and assignments that are open-ended enough that a kid can be as ambitious as s/he wants to be.