New to DC, looking for a school for my "gifted" son (Kindergarten)
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Anonymous
| Op. Not being harsh but there are many smart kids at your sons age who are where he is at. Many of us do what you did in terms of reading and math. We have to hold back a year in md due to a September birthday. They will not even consider a child with minor delays even just what they consider social. The only reason testing is done here is for private schools or special needs. Otherwise you send your kid to school and supplement at home. In md there are a few private schools and day cares who will take a younger child to k but there is no guarentee you can transfer to public on the same grade. Your kid is smart but so are many others. Schools do not. Are. Only you do. |
Anonymous
| Just one more suggestion, Op. You may want to have an advocate look at your son's test scores and IEP to determine what he may or may not qualify for in FCPS or DCPS (depending on where you end up living). While advocates can get expensive, you may just need a consultation to help you determine what is different between your former state and DC or VA. I don't have personal experience with anyone but have heard good things about The Weinfeld Group in Rockville, MD. Although they are based in MD, I believe that they assist families in DC and VA as well. Even though your dc is not special needs per se, you may want to search the special needs forum for other advocate names. Good luck with your move. |
Anonymous
| Just fyi SN consultants charge several hundreds per hour. |
Anonymous
| I just wanted to add - OP - don't show your child's test scores to his teacher. You will find in Northern Virginia there are a lot of bright kids, and you might not find that yours is at the top of the class....teachers can tell pretty quickly who the advanced kids are without test scores provided by parents. My daughter scored in the 99% on a test this past spring and I'm not showing it to the teacher. |
Anonymous
| Yeah, I think that would be awkward to schedule a meeting with a K teacher to talk test scores. |
Anonymous
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I'm a fan of red shirting, especially if you have social issues.
Some preschools and private schools do some really great young 5 programs. It might be worth looking into. They were great for my younger son with a summer b-day and an iep. EVERY parent tells the teacher their kid is smart. Dont' do that. plan the meeting for the IEP. Trust me all kids read at K in FCPS (or at least the parents who claim thier kids are smart). My oldest figured out exponents in K, my with my youngest, I drink wine with the fun moms and compare IEP notes. (these moms are more fun) |
Anonymous
I want to move there! |
Anonymous
Sorry to tell you this OP, but this is not considered a full battery of neuro. testing here. The standard takes 3 days and runs about $3K. FCPS will look at your documents and will decide what additional testing or confirmatory testing they want to do. PPs are correct in that we have no IEP just for giftedness alone here - there usually is a comordity or two or three diagnoses but certainly can be high I.Q. or verbal I.Q. years above norm BUT you cannot get an IEP on "gifted" alone. Your child sounds like it may be High Functioning Aspergers based upon your description above (does he like to watch fans in motion as well?). To get an IEP in FCPS is a massive struggle, very costly and in the end you sometimes fight the adminstrators as well. Many hire lawyers to get through the maze. Others, like myself, bring in the psychiatrist, the psychologist, the private testers and the tutor to explain to the board why DC needs the extra supports. WrightsLaw as a PP mentioned is a good reference. Good luck! |
Anonymous
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I'm not worried about him being "normal". I want him to enjoy going to school. His scores seemed quite good to the people who assessed him... I don't know anything about the tests and their reliability, and haven't had time to read up on them. (It seems like they make a lot of conclusions based on a couple of hours of testing, of a four-year old!) Woodcock-Johnson III: achievement (99), reading (99), math (98), writing (>99.9), academic knowledge (81). RIAS VIX (99.74), NIX (58), CIX (95). So scores all over the board on the second one. OP, as a neuropsychologist I want to point out that there is some confusion about the testing. You would never say someone is gifted based on achievement scores and most schools want the WISC. Research has also shown RIAS scores tend to be higher than the WISC. If the RAIS NIX (reasoning and problem solving in the absence of any requirement for prior knowledge) was really 58 (and this isn't a typo) then you have a significant discrepancy and he needs to be evaluated further. |
Anonymous
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AAP doesn't start until 3rd grade in Fairfax County, which is supposed to have one of the best educational systems in the country. I have a 5yo son who is very bright. Many people on these boards flame parents for thinking their child is gifted. Even though I think my child is brilliant at home, I would not dare say he is gifted in public. I am not sure what you are looking for but kindergarten is kindergarten anywhere you go. Whether you drop $$$ to go to Sidwell, surround yourself with wealthy kids in McLean or Potomac or send your son to any average public elementary school in Fairfax County, your 5 year old will be in a mixed class with beginner and advanced readers. The kids will still be cutting, pasting and practicing writing their letters.
My 5yo is enrolled in science enrichment classes. He started piano last year. We are focused on sports and exposing him to swim, soccer, tennis, golf and t-ball. Our child is a sponge and we teach him constantly. We don't expect him to learn much academically in kindergarten. It is about adjustment to going to elementary school and developing socially and gaining independence. I'm a socially awkward Harvard grad. I wish I was mildly interested in sports. I feel I miss out on a lot of camaraderie in the office because my parents focused all their attention on academics. School was easy for me. That was never the problem. $1600 won't get you far in DC, VA or MD. If I were you, I'd try to rent a place in Alexandria or Arlington for the shorter commutes. Both are full of well educated professionals as well as economic diversity but your child will have other bright kids in his class. |
Anonymous
| Why not have the unemployed spouse homeschool if you are just going to be here a few years? There are tons of fun activities, a lovely homeschooling community, and you can go at his pace and let him learn what and when he likes. Then you can see where he's at when you leave and decide whether to continue HSing or drop him into a gifted/accelerated program when those start up in 3rd grade or so. |
Anonymous
Anonymous
Anonymous
Thank you!!! This a million times over. That and why does OP keep putting gifted in quotes? My special child is "gifted" and your child should thank their lucky stars for the opportunity to be exposed to him and his greatness? |
Anonymous
Oh get over the defensiveness. She put it in quotes because she realizes it's a term of art with an imprecise meaning. If you read upthread, you can see she comes from another state where they do IEPs for "giftedness". Just because they don't do it here doesn't mean it doesn't happen elsewhere. She never said anything about anyone needing to be grateful for her kid. Geez, you don't have to dump on anyone who shows up with gifted education questions. |