after Green Acres

[Anonymous]

I am thinking of applying our child to GAS. She has some difficulty in school, though she tests fine. Would GAS provide a loving and supportive environment?

[Anonymous]

PP - you might want to post your question as a new thread - it is a great question - but not in line with the discussion here about true academic challenge at GAS esp for super bright kids

FWIW - GAS seems very nurturing..but I am still looking from the outside like you are

[Anonymous]

OP, this might not answer your question, but that place gave me the creeps. I applied there years ago when the numbers were in their favor. There was no way that they would consider taking a child born in the spring for the incoming K class. Our dc was born in April, too late for them. They said it is just the way they do things. However, I met someone a few weeks ago whose 4 year old was admitted to K there! She said that they were so desperate for students that they overlooked her age! To me, they were gaming the system. Get the old kids in K when numbers are up so that teachers can put their feet up and relax, but when times are hard, scramble for any students and forget your philosophy.

[Anonymous]

Never ever heard of GA not taking a born-in-spring-kid for the age appropriate year. That's really counter to the idea of developmentally appropriate education. In fact, unless the child seems very young and just not ready, summer birthdays are OK at progressive schools. It's the more traditional schools that are more likely to prefer way older kids for the grade. Were there other factors?

[Anonymous]

Green Acres has a fairly firm deadline of September for pre-K and K. Outside of that, it's very developmental. Lots of kids repeat PK or K if it makes sense. I can understand being touchy about October, but a K student who won't turn 5 until April is ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The problem I have accepting this is that, anecdotally, I have heard this is not the case -- that there are "enough" smart kids and they are valued for this. But nobody seems to have the info (or guts) to put up numbers. Sidwell, GDS, Blair, Montgomery IB -- anywhere!

This is lunacy. Outside of comparing the numbers to other places like a scorecard, what possible purpose would this serve? If you want a scorecard, GAS isn't the place for your family. Move on already. "Guts"? Have the guts to pick a place that looks at education like you do, rather than reading a school's stats like the Monday quarterback ratings.

People have already explained that GAS kids go to all kinds of high schools, from "average" to hyper-competitive. Nobody disputes it. If your kid is smart, she'll probably get in somewhere appropriate -- IF her parents stop getting their panties all in a wad come admission season. If she's not, what good are "numbers" from 10 years before she graduates going to do?

[Anonymous]

Uh oh - a little touchy aren't you? Is it typical of GAS parents (or administrators) to engage in ad hominem attacks?

Before I go unwad my panties, as youso delicately put it, I'll make one more observation. Nobody has "explained" that kids from GAS go "all sorts of places"; posters, with a couple of exceptions, have merely asserted it.

[Anonymous]

Another GAS parent here -- yes, we all engage in ad hominem attacks all the time! That's what we do! Okay, haha... just kidding.

I don't understand the difference between explaining and asserting the high school out-placements. I read the previous posts. Do you think somebody's lying about it? I agree with the previous poster. It's not a score card. If you don't like the school, nobody is forcing you to apply. We love it, but it's not for everybody.

[Anonymous]

We GASsers don't do a lot of ad hominem. Not the culture. But at the same time, we're not going to push our kids too much. That also is not the culture - now you have to decide if that is for your child or not.

[Anonymous]

I totally understand that culture - and I really appreciate it. But you should remember that there are parents with super bright kids that love GAS for what it is and don't push their kids.

It doesn't preclude them from having a child who, on top of the well rounded nurturing world that GAS creates through variety/depth of subjects and wonderful social curriculum, might still want to push themselves higher. I'm not talking about a head in the books, work, work, work kid - but one who is well rounded, socially and academically - but who can plow through subjects in variety and in depth at an amazing pace and ask for more.

Unlike the OP - I don't care about exact outplacement numbers. But I do want to know that if my child is eager to learn that he/she would not be discouraged from advancing just because she/he is getting "too far ahead" or because "we don't do that here". I also care that our child would have some other kids around that may have the same love of learning and abilities.

In the end - who knows how our child will progress or what he/she will want from school - but it'd be nice to know she/he has the freedoms to do so and that his/her love is not squashed.

[Anonymous]

GASsers? LOL.