Will Deal challenge a smart kid?

[Anonymous]

My child is in 5th grade in a JKLM and has coasted through elementary school.
Just got PARCC scores back (for what they're worth) and for the second year scores are 96-99% for her school and the city.
I don't think she's a genius by any means but a reasonably smart kid who has yet to meet anything in the classroom that she didn't master the day it was taught.

Will Deal challenge a bright kid? I'm perfect happy she hasn't been challenged yet (I think elementary school is about being a kid) but I think middle school
should begin to stretch a kid and what they're capable of.

[Anonymous]

Also would like to know!

[Anonymous]

Somehow, she'll get by. I feel confident she'll surmount the awful disadvantage of being bright in jr high.

[Anonymous]

Yes. Deal will challenge her. There are many bright kids at Deal and the teachers are for the most part engaged and amazing. There will also be many opportunities for her to pursue her interests through extracurricular activities. She will be fine.

[Anonymous]

Go to the open house and ask your question. Then decide if it's enough.

But if your child is bright / smart / well above average they will be fine. If they are truly gifted in one or another area, you may want to consider other options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Go to the open house and ask your question. Then decide if it's enough.

But if your child is bright / smart / well above average they will be fine. If they are truly gifted in one or another area, you may want to consider other options.

In DC, there really isn't options for the truly gifted. None of the privates are geared for the truly gifted either.

[Anonymous]

OP here.
I don't think my kid is "truly gifted". Just never challenged or pushed in elementary school.

There have to be a lot of kids like this who breezed through elementary school. No studying, finished homework daily in school, aced all exams, etc. Has yet to come up against anything that she didn't get right away.
I think this is great for elementary although i know many parents who would have taken this kid right to Kumon for extra supplementation. We didn't and didn't want to. Feel strongly that a kid should be a kid.

Just looking ahead to middle school at Deal I'm wondering if kids like this (I'm sure there are many) are challenged or stretched by the material or it will be more of the same.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here.
I don't think my kid is "truly gifted". Just never challenged or pushed in elementary school.

There have to be a lot of kids like this who breezed through elementary school. No studying, finished homework daily in school, aced all exams, etc. Has yet to come up against anything that she didn't get right away.
I think this is great for elementary although i know many parents who would have taken this kid right to Kumon for extra supplementation. We didn't and didn't want to. Feel strongly that a kid should be a kid.

Just looking ahead to middle school at Deal I'm wondering if kids like this (I'm sure there are many) are challenged or stretched by the material or it will be more of the same.

You may feel like a kid should be a kid, but at some point the kid stops being a kid. Most parents with bright kids that I know feel like this stops in middle school. At that point, parents start supplementing. Supplementing can be whatever you think your kid needs to be truly challenged -- whether that be Kumon or community activities that promote leadership and responsibility. The point is, if you really feel like your kid needs extra, don't put all that responsibility on the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here.
I don't think my kid is "truly gifted". Just never challenged or pushed in elementary school.

There have to be a lot of kids like this who breezed through elementary school. No studying, finished homework daily in school, aced all exams, etc. Has yet to come up against anything that she didn't get right away.
I think this is great for elementary although i know many parents who would have taken this kid right to Kumon for extra supplementation. We didn't and didn't want to. Feel strongly that a kid should be a kid.

Just looking ahead to middle school at Deal I'm wondering if kids like this (I'm sure there are many) are challenged or stretched by the material or it will be more of the same.

Op, think back to the dark ages when you were in elementary school. Were you challenged? Did you find homework difficult? Wait, did you even have homework?! We didn't really until 6th. It's elementary school, OP! Quite honestly, I would be slightly concerned if my kid was finding things challenging. It is ok for kids to be kids, DC Parents!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here.
I don't think my kid is "truly gifted". Just never challenged or pushed in elementary school.

There have to be a lot of kids like this who breezed through elementary school. No studying, finished homework daily in school, aced all exams, etc. Has yet to come up against anything that she didn't get right away.
I think this is great for elementary although i know many parents who would have taken this kid right to Kumon for extra supplementation. We didn't and didn't want to. Feel strongly that a kid should be a kid.

Just looking ahead to middle school at Deal I'm wondering if kids like this (I'm sure there are many) are challenged or stretched by the material or it will be more of the same.

I get what you are saying, but there's more than one kind of challenge that kids can experience.

What about sports? Does she do them? Do they come as easily? Acting? music lessons?

If your child finds academics easy, enroll her in something now that she will need to work hard at to improve or get better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here.
I don't think my kid is "truly gifted". Just never challenged or pushed in elementary school.

There have to be a lot of kids like this who breezed through elementary school. No studying, finished homework daily in school, aced all exams, etc. Has yet to come up against anything that she didn't get right away.
I think this is great for elementary although i know many parents who would have taken this kid right to Kumon for extra supplementation. We didn't and didn't want to. Feel strongly that a kid should be a kid.

Just looking ahead to middle school at Deal I'm wondering if kids like this (I'm sure there are many) are challenged or stretched by the material or it will be more of the same.

You may feel like a kid should be a kid, but at some point the kid stops being a kid. Most parents with bright kids that I know feel like this stops in middle school. At that point, parents start supplementing. Supplementing can be whatever you think your kid needs to be truly challenged -- whether that be Kumon or community activities that promote leadership and responsibility. The point is, if you really feel like your kid needs extra, don't put all that responsibility on the school.

OP here.
Yes, I want my middle schooler to be challenged. Which is the point of my post.
My question being:
-will that happen at Deal? I.e. is the curriculum challenging/engaging for a kid who hasn't had to work to succeed before?
-will it be fine but I will need to supplement at home or consider private options?

My intent wasn't to really ask those second questions but rather to just ask that if typically bright but not genius level kids (there have to be many of them in Deal feeders and beyond) are challenged/pushed/etc at Deal if they never were before at the elementary level?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here.
I don't think my kid is "truly gifted". Just never challenged or pushed in elementary school.

There have to be a lot of kids like this who breezed through elementary school. No studying, finished homework daily in school, aced all exams, etc. Has yet to come up against anything that she didn't get right away.
I think this is great for elementary although i know many parents who would have taken this kid right to Kumon for extra supplementation. We didn't and didn't want to. Feel strongly that a kid should be a kid.

Just looking ahead to middle school at Deal I'm wondering if kids like this (I'm sure there are many) are challenged or stretched by the material or it will be more of the same.

Op, think back to the dark ages when you were in elementary school. Were you challenged? Did you find homework difficult? Wait, did you even have homework?! We didn't really until 6th. It's elementary school, OP! Quite honestly, I would be slightly concerned if my kid was finding things challenging. It is ok for kids to be kids, DC Parents!!

Plenty of kids find it challenging. I'm not saying it should be challenging but about a zillion kids in our upper NW DC public get private tutoring to get through the elementary material.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here.
I don't think my kid is "truly gifted". Just never challenged or pushed in elementary school.

There have to be a lot of kids like this who breezed through elementary school. No studying, finished homework daily in school, aced all exams, etc. Has yet to come up against anything that she didn't get right away.
I think this is great for elementary although i know many parents who would have taken this kid right to Kumon for extra supplementation. We didn't and didn't want to. Feel strongly that a kid should be a kid.

Just looking ahead to middle school at Deal I'm wondering if kids like this (I'm sure there are many) are challenged or stretched by the material or it will be more of the same.

You may feel like a kid should be a kid, but at some point the kid stops being a kid. Most parents with bright kids that I know feel like this stops in middle school. At that point, parents start supplementing. Supplementing can be whatever you think your kid needs to be truly challenged -- whether that be Kumon or community activities that promote leadership and responsibility. The point is, if you really feel like your kid needs extra, don't put all that responsibility on the school.

OP here.
Yes, I want my middle schooler to be challenged. Which is the point of my post.
My question being:
-will that happen at Deal? I.e. is the curriculum challenging/engaging for a kid who hasn't had to work to succeed before?
-will it be fine but I will need to supplement at home or consider private options?

My intent wasn't to really ask those second questions but rather to just ask that if typically bright but not genius level kids (there have to be many of them in Deal feeders and beyond) are challenged/pushed/etc at Deal if they never were before at the elementary level?

Some bright kids are more challenged at Deal than they were in elementary -- with 'advanced' math, more projects, a foreign language and somewhat more homework. And some still breeze through. It just depends on your kid, and it's pretty impossible to predict.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here.
I don't think my kid is "truly gifted". Just never challenged or pushed in elementary school.

There have to be a lot of kids like this who breezed through elementary school. No studying, finished homework daily in school, aced all exams, etc. Has yet to come up against anything that she didn't get right away.
I think this is great for elementary although i know many parents who would have taken this kid right to Kumon for extra supplementation. We didn't and didn't want to. Feel strongly that a kid should be a kid.

Just looking ahead to middle school at Deal I'm wondering if kids like this (I'm sure there are many) are challenged or stretched by the material or it will be more of the same.

I get what you are saying, but there's more than one kind of challenge that kids can experience.

What about sports? Does she do them? Do they come as easily? Acting? music lessons?

If your child finds academics easy, enroll her in something now that she will need to work hard at to improve or get better.

yes, my kid takes instrument lessons and also plays on a sports team 5-6 days per week (which really has been what she's been spending her time doing because school has taken zero effort outside of attending 8:30-3).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here.
I don't think my kid is "truly gifted". Just never challenged or pushed in elementary school.

There have to be a lot of kids like this who breezed through elementary school. No studying, finished homework daily in school, aced all exams, etc. Has yet to come up against anything that she didn't get right away.
I think this is great for elementary although i know many parents who would have taken this kid right to Kumon for extra supplementation. We didn't and didn't want to. Feel strongly that a kid should be a kid.

Just looking ahead to middle school at Deal I'm wondering if kids like this (I'm sure there are many) are challenged or stretched by the material or it will be more of the same.

Op, think back to the dark ages when you were in elementary school. Were you challenged? Did you find homework difficult? Wait, did you even have homework?! We didn't really until 6th. It's elementary school, OP! Quite honestly, I would be slightly concerned if my kid was finding things challenging. It is ok for kids to be kids, DC Parents!!

Plenty of kids find it challenging. I'm not saying it should be challenging but about a zillion kids in our upper NW DC public get private tutoring to get through the elementary material.

Yes well IQ is said to be a bell curve. Your child will encounter challenges along the way; it just may take longer.