advice for family with profoundly gifted kid maybe moving to area?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Blair, and TJ will both be fine for high school. The problem is what to do before high school. For a PG child, I doubt either the AAP or HGC will be enough. Don't listen to those who said she will have peers. She will be lucky to have any in elementary school.

If they go public school route anywhere, they won't find a ton of peers with the same IQ, because profoundly gifted kids are so rare. But of course, they won't find a ton of intellectual peers anywhere, for the rest of their lives. For us, strong public schools offer our kids the chance to develop friendships with bright, interesting kids with similar interests. The public schools also offer a range of electives (starting in middle schools) and extracurricular activities, including sports, arts, and music. In our case, school is about becoming a well-rounded person with local friends. Of course, it's also a place for academics, but a smaller part. A lot of intellectual exploration happens outside of school. This won't work for every PG kid, but it's an option.

The pp you responded to. I am afraid I did not make myself clear. I am totally for public school. I don't think the gifted private school will work either. The MC HGC is the probably the most selective. I just want to point out to those who say this child will have peers anywhere in the W feeder schools. She won't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tons of gifted kids in MCPS "W" feeder schools.

Which is to say tons of highly achieving kids in W schools - not necessarily gifted.

People often confuse high-acheiving with "highly gifted".

My daughter is high-achieveing type student. In math, for example, she works hard and does her work so she gets a perfect or near perfect grade. My son, who has an IQ above 145 does not want to do his homework because it's too easy and fools around in class, but still gets every answer correct on the tests. (My daughter is, however, a very "gifted" writer and her teachers have been amazed since K of her abilities-I don't want to feel like I'm diminishing her intellect. haha! She has never been tested so I have no idea of her IQ...)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Takoma Park Elementary does more pull-outs than other MCPS elementary schools, as it host the (mostly fake) "gifted" program. I say it is mostly fake because parent pressure led it to be watered down and the curriculum spread to all the kids. However, it's still probably your best option before the Highly Gifted Centers start up in 4th and 5th. After that, your daughter will have great choices. The Takoma Park Middle School magnet is wonderful if her interests are in STEM, and then the Blair Magnet is one of the best in the country.

Your other option would be one of the progressive schools (but they are EXPENSIVE) for 2nd - 3rd and then take the HGC test and presumably get in.

Agree - the Takoma pyramid makes a lot of sense especially for a kid who is math or science focused.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Even if the job is in DC, you can live in Northern VA or Maryland. I don't know much about Maryland's GT program, but Fairfax County has AAP, Advanced Academics Program, starting in 3rd grade. You can post on the Maryland public school forum and the Advanced Academics Program forum to get more feedback.

I know it isn't your question, OP but I would start with looking at the job(s) your family will have and where that suggests you will live (distance and income). Choose District, VA, or Maryland and then start looking at the privates and the districts. DC is probably the biggest challenge with public school.

You should know that MOCO and FFX are enormous school districts, which you might like or not like.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Even if the job is in DC, you can live in Northern VA or Maryland. I don't know much about Maryland's GT program, but Fairfax County has AAP, Advanced Academics Program, starting in 3rd grade. You can post on the Maryland public school forum and the Advanced Academics Program forum to get more feedback.

I know it isn't your question, OP but I would start with looking at the job(s) your family will have and where that suggests you will live (distance and income). Choose District, VA, or Maryland and then start looking at the privates and the districts. DC is probably the biggest challenge with public school.

You should know that MOCO and FFX are enormous school districts, which you might like or not like.

Also, when looking at schools in Fairfax County, be careful not to pick schools in the eastern part of the county.

[Anonymous]

You guys realize the OP is a year old, right?

[Anonymous]

A PP mentioned Nysmith. A friend's kids are there, and they like it very much. Her kids seem pretty advanced, and are definitely doing things above grade level. But the tuition is pretty steep. (our child is also gifted, though not profoundly so, so we're sticking with publics.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You guys realize the OP is a year old, right?

Nope, they don't.

[Anonymous]

Why was this thread revived? People with bright kids are so dull.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm pretty sure your snowflake will be just fine in FCPS. Bring your family to the suburbs and find a nice house. A $650k mortgage and the local public school will work out just fine.

Yep

[Anonymous]

She's SEVEN??? Okay, just chill out.

[Anonymous]

Second applying to Davidson Young Scholars. Once she is accepted, which only takes a month or two, they will give you free assistance including with school selection. Getting advice about this special situation in a general forum is hopeless and PG kids are very different from one another.