Cold Spring HGC - please help us with some guidance

[Anonymous]

To our surprise, DD was accepted to Cold Spring HGC. She is bright, hard working, curious, creative but has a slower and more deliberate approach to her work. She does not have an official ADHD diagnosis, but we would not be surprise if she would be given one for her slow processing speed. Her current home school isn't necessarily challenging her, but it is not as though she is very bored. Most of the time, she finishes her work quite slowly but on time. However, once every so often, she does require her teacher's reminder to make sure she works to elaborate on her writing responses to reading group books. Otherwise, she scores extremely high on tests, is a great (but slow) writer. She does have peers at her school who are equally bright and motivated.

We are on the fence with the HGC, particularly since it is at Cold Spring (seems the kids there have such high test scores that it is a bit intimidating). I do think she will be fine and eventually adapt and meet her potential wherever she goes, but I am questioning if the extra stress this early in her academics lifetime is the right decision.

For Cold Spring HGC parents, can you speak to the dynamics at HGC? What are the biggest pros and cons you have experienced? How well do the kids interact with other HGC classmates and the other homeschool kids? How are the teachers -- I heard they have an older experienced female teacher and a very young mid-20's male teacher? Do the teachers work with the students' specific learning potential and needs, or is the class so large and the pace so quick that this isn't possible? I do worry about DD's slower speed. Is it worthwhile to go to Cold Spring when we feel DD's current homeschool has some equivalent performing peers already, which is not to say they will be appropriately enriched but hopefully they will still continue to be grouped together?

[Anonymous]

I don't have a kid in Cold Spring but your description sounds just like my DD who was recently accepted to multiple HS magnets including SMACs. I am very nervous too. Teachers say wonderful things about my DD who is very likely ADD. I "pretend" not to notice it because she's bright enough obviously to get by without medicine.

FWIW- We are giving it a chance.

[Anonymous]

Also PP, I think sometimes we underestimate our children because we know and see their limitations while the teachers see how our kids compare with their peers. Your DD is probably much smarter than you think. I know my DD is more likely to make mistakes when the work is boring so she might flourish at HGC...worse case you go back to home school.

[Anonymous]

Congratulations! Both Matt (male teacher) and Marjorie (female teacher) are superb. They are knowledgeable and they do care for their students, every single one of them, as far as I can see / hear.

Young children are great in learning and adapting to the environment. Given the fact that your DD is accepted, there is no doubt for her potential to thrive in the center program.

Parents have many chances to interact with teachers and school administrators. Teachers are very quick in responding emails. In addition, students are encouraged to talk to teachers. It is very easy to raise any issue.

It is a pity that there is only one center in Wootton/Churchill clusters where such a program is in great demand. There are many kids who are qualified but left out due to the limited seat number. Even based on a very conservative estimate, doubling the size of the program in W/C clusters is necessary to met the need of those highly able students.

[Anonymous]

Have a DC at Cold Spring HGC. OP, that is a legitimate reason for concern. My highly gifted DD is very meticulous and prefers to work at a more deliberate pace as well. We have always suspected ADD but, since she's bright enough to compensate, haven't pursued accommodations. The CS curriculum is wonderful and challenging, and the teachers are excellent, but the pace is swift and most of the time children must complete writing assignments during the school day. Teachers are attentive to individual student needs--if there is a problem they do their best to identify and support it--but the classes are large, which means one-on-one time is very limited. In the end children must perform to do well, and the kids are often shocked when they start getting Is and Ns for the first time. That said, most children adjust over the course of the first year and end up doing just fine. The occasional one will leave and return to their home school, which is really not that big of a deal. My advice: prepare your child to expect to work harder and faster, and be optimistic. Very likely your DC will adapt and find the experience very worthwhile!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To our surprise, DD was accepted to Cold Spring HGC. She is bright, hard working, curious, creative but has a slower and more deliberate approach to her work. She does not have an official ADHD diagnosis, but we would not be surprise if she would be given one for her slow processing speed. Her current home school isn't necessarily challenging her, but it is not as though she is very bored. Most of the time, she finishes her work quite slowly but on time. However, once every so often, she does require her teacher's reminder to make sure she works to elaborate on her writing responses to reading group books. Otherwise, she scores extremely high on tests, is a great (but slow) writer. She does have peers at her school who are equally bright and motivated.

We are on the fence with the HGC, particularly since it is at Cold Spring (seems the kids there have such high test scores that it is a bit intimidating). I do think she will be fine and eventually adapt and meet her potential wherever she goes, but I am questioning if the extra stress this early in her academics lifetime is the right decision.

For Cold Spring HGC parents, can you speak to the dynamics at HGC? What are the biggest pros and cons you have experienced? How well do the kids interact with other HGC classmates and the other homeschool kids? How are the teachers -- I heard they have an older experienced female teacher and a very young mid-20's male teacher? Do the teachers work with the students' specific learning potential and needs, or is the class so large and the pace so quick that this isn't possible? I do worry about DD's slower speed. Is it worthwhile to go to Cold Spring when we feel DD's current homeschool has some equivalent performing peers already, which is not to say they will be appropriately enriched but hopefully they will still continue to be grouped together?

Don't worry. My kid is also slow. He even did not complete all questions on the GT tests. I am sure they will find their ways out. That's part of the challenge they are asking for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have a DC at Cold Spring HGC. OP, that is a legitimate reason for concern. My highly gifted DD is very meticulous and prefers to work at a more deliberate pace as well. We have always suspected ADD but, since she's bright enough to compensate, haven't pursued accommodations. The CS curriculum is wonderful and challenging, and the teachers are excellent, but the pace is swift and most of the time children must complete writing assignments during the school day. Teachers are attentive to individual student needs--if there is a problem they do their best to identify and support it--but the classes are large, which means one-on-one time is very limited. In the end children must perform to do well, and the kids are often shocked when they start getting Is and Ns for the first time. That said, most children adjust over the course of the first year and end up doing just fine. The occasional one will leave and return to their home school, which is really not that big of a deal. My advice: prepare your child to expect to work harder and faster, and be optimistic. Very likely your DC will adapt and find the experience very worthwhile!

Your post makes me so nervous. How did your DD adjust?

[Anonymous]

Kids can be both very bright and also have ADHD or other learning disabilities, and with the proper supports can thrive in a challenging academic environment. The right answer with a very bright kid with ADHD, processing speed delays, whatever is not to hold them back to a lower academic level, but to get them whatever support and accommodations they need to reach their full potential.

I think it's worthwhile to go through a neuropsych evalution process to get a handle on your daughter's strengths and weaknesses. That way you can home in on what accommodations or supports your daughter might need, and have the teachers and administration working off a concrete plan. You can also then look into outside support services (like executive functioning coaching or similar) might help her.

Your daughter sounds a lot like my oldest. We had assumed our oldest had ADHD based on how spacey he was in school, but testing in early elementary didn't reach that diagnosis. We struggled a lot with the slower speeds, remembering homework assignments, etc. all through elementary, although it got a lot better in middle school.

In 8th grade, for a variety of reasons, we decided to go through a new evaluation process. After a full battery of tests and several meetings with the psychologist who administered them, we had a much better understanding of what his real issues are: specifically, slow processing speed. He is not a genius but he's pretty high up there on intelligence, but there's a significant deficit in his processing speed. As his psychologist said, both a slow computer and a fast computer can get to the right answer. His intelligence and intellectual abilities are separate and distinct from his processing speed.

I really wish we'd figured out the processing speed issue sooner. We could have, for example, gotten him time and a half on the HS magnet exams, because standardized/timed tests are one of the biggest problems for him. My son now has a 504 and is entitled to ask for extra time on tests. For regular school classes, he doesn't often ask for that time, but it's available if he wants it. He will be allowed to have time and a half on his AP exams as well as the SAT/ACT etc.

[Anonymous]

No need to worry about getting extra time for magnet test. Last year's test had no time limit.

[Anonymous]

We have a very similar DD in 4th Grade at another HGC this year. FWIW, we have run into more issues with organization and time management than with actual performance. In our HGC, though, the teacher is very forgiving of the "absentminded professor" antics of the kids, and always gives an extension or chance to improve work product for a better grade. If our DD is slow completing assignments in class, though, more work gets pushed to home, which can generate a lot of homework when there are also big long-term projects that require a lot of work at home. I do not know how Cold Spring works in this regard.
DD is not having any confidence problems or feeling that she does not belong with the peers. Its a good group of peers for her and she feels like a strong student. And it is the first time she has not been bored in her ES career.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have a DC at Cold Spring HGC. OP, that is a legitimate reason for concern. My highly gifted DD is very meticulous and prefers to work at a more deliberate pace as well. We have always suspected ADD but, since she's bright enough to compensate, haven't pursued accommodations. The CS curriculum is wonderful and challenging, and the teachers are excellent, but the pace is swift and most of the time children must complete writing assignments during the school day. Teachers are attentive to individual student needs--if there is a problem they do their best to identify and support it--but the classes are large, which means one-on-one time is very limited. In the end children must perform to do well, and the kids are often shocked when they start getting Is and Ns for the first time. That said, most children adjust over the course of the first year and end up doing just fine. The occasional one will leave and return to their home school, which is really not that big of a deal. My advice: prepare your child to expect to work harder and faster, and be optimistic. Very likely your DC will adapt and find the experience very worthwhile!

Your post makes me so nervous. How did your DD adjust?

She got a few Is in the first quarter, thought she was "the dumbest in the class," and had confidence issues. One part of it was that she had gotten used to coasting, and really did have to learn to work harder. She's up to Ps and a few ESs, and that's fine. We kept talking to her about being glad she had such smart peers that she could learn from, and she started to get excited about that. I think she feels like she belongs now, but still has some issues with speed and focus. And likely always will.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have a DC at Cold Spring HGC. OP, that is a legitimate reason for concern. My highly gifted DD is very meticulous and prefers to work at a more deliberate pace as well. We have always suspected ADD but, since she's bright enough to compensate, haven't pursued accommodations. The CS curriculum is wonderful and challenging, and the teachers are excellent, but the pace is swift and most of the time children must complete writing assignments during the school day. Teachers are attentive to individual student needs--if there is a problem they do their best to identify and support it--but the classes are large, which means one-on-one time is very limited. In the end children must perform to do well, and the kids are often shocked when they start getting Is and Ns for the first time. That said, most children adjust over the course of the first year and end up doing just fine. The occasional one will leave and return to their home school, which is really not that big of a deal. My advice: prepare your child to expect to work harder and faster, and be optimistic. Very likely your DC will adapt and find the experience very worthwhile!

Your post makes me so nervous. How did your DD adjust?

She got a few Is in the first quarter, thought she was "the dumbest in the class," and had confidence issues. One part of it was that she had gotten used to coasting, and really did have to learn to work harder. She's up to Ps and a few ESs, and that's fine. We kept talking to her about being glad she had such smart peers that she could learn from, and she started to get excited about that. I think she feels like she belongs now, but still has some issues with speed and focus. And likely always will.

Also, unlike PP at another HGC, CS is strict about completing written work at school. You either get it done, or that's it.

[Anonymous]

Interesting that CS requires work to be completed in class. Is there a pedagogical reason for that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No need to worry about getting extra time for magnet test. Last year's test had no time limit.

Which magnet test? I had one apply to Eastern and the other apply to Blair and both were certainly timed.

[Anonymous]

How are the dynamics between HGC students and the rest of the general ed students at Cold Spring? What is typically done to help new students integrate?

I was speaking with a friend who said that one of his friend's kids go to Cold Spring and there is some bullying going on. This is third person rumor, and I tend to be dubious unless it was directly mentioned from a parent of a student. It would be helpful to hear from any Cold Spring parents.