gifted kids at dc private schools

[Anonymous]

i was told today by the principal of the river school that their students are so precocious that almost all would qualify as "gifted" by montgomery county standards and therefore they don't differentiate. i know that dc private schools cherry pick the brightest students based on assesment testing, but given the natural percentages of giftedness in the general population, this doesn't sound right. if administrators just assume that all of their students are "gifted" how do they differentiate and accommodate those kids who are profoundly gifted in a certain area? i'd love to hear from others who have experiences from some other private schools. thanks.

[Anonymous]

There has been discussion on other threads about the possibility that profoundly gifted children are often not accepted during the admissions process. The schools want kids who are super smart but who do not need differentiated instruction and - since admissions is competitive - they can select out for it if they wish. Not sure of how true this is, but just fyi.

At any rate, if you believe or know that your child is highly or profoundly gifted and likely to need differentiated instruction, then the River School has let you know it's not the place for your dc.

Ironically, despite your report of the River School AD's comment, Montgomery County schools are said by many to be the best place for these children.

[Anonymous]

Maybe the River School is actually located on Lake Wobegon. What a bunch of tripe.

[Anonymous]

That River School principal is full of bull. How embarrassing.

[Anonymous]

As Montgomery County's gifted "program" includes kids with scores of 120 and up (91st percentile and up), if the River School's kids all need the same level of differentiation they must be picking from the low end of the range.

[Anonymous]

I would vote for MoCo gifted and magnet programs over almost any private school, including the "elites". The academic programs are fantastic, way cheaper than private (obviously) so you have something left over to retire on, and plus to read these boards you get the idea that your kid has a better chance of getting into "the college of his/her choice" from public than private.

[Anonymous]

Saint Anselm's is the only private school I know that actually ONLY teaches truly gifted kids. Every other private school is doing the best they can with a mixed bag.