What elementary school did your gifted child thrive in?
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Anonymous
| Lots of gifted folks on both sides of the family and DC is appearing that way at age 5. I know it’s early, but wondering if you had a similarly bright child who did well in a DC elementary, where did they go? What made the school a success and would you recommend it for others? |
Anonymous
| LOL |
Anonymous
How does your 5-year-old child appear gifted? 
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Anonymous
| My child who appeared "gifted" at age 5 is doing just fine in a regular elementary school. The other children have caught up. Don't mistake being slightly advanced for being truly "gifted". There's a lot of variation in child development and it truly doesn't matter when they learn to read, etc., as long as they get there by 3rd grade. Our family tree is festooned with Ivy League parchment. Don't get ahead of yourself. |
Anonymous
+1 What do you mean by "appearing gifted?" Definitely do not send them to school with poor folks. It will certainly lower their IQ. |
Anonymous
I’m sure you were being facetious but it still is a nasty comment. |
Anonymous
| I would suggest you choose a school with a social skills program such as Conscious Discipline. And if you're looking for differentiation, I found it was stronger at our Title I DCPS school than at the charter we ended up at. |
Anonymous
| Honestly OP if your child is actually gifted, move or go private, because DCPS doesn't really handle actual giftedness. If your child is just regular smart, any school is fine for preschool and any school that has like 10% of kids scoring a 5 on the PARCC will be fine. And even if your child really is gifted, any well-performing school will be fine for K. You don't need to figure this out now. |
Anonymous
Truth hurts? |
Anonymous
|
My kids were ahead of their peers in academic subjects and ability to focus, so what we did was supplement at home, and offer interesting extra-curriculars. All primary schools, whether public or private, will be dull at some point for academically advanced kids, because the curriculum is built to go very slowly, so as not to miss less-advanced children. Thankfully the more social kids will just treat school like a play space (like my daughter did), and the less social kids will retreat to the library (like my son did).
Don't let them skate along though. What some parents don't realize is that kids need to excel in all core subjects by middle school to take the most advanced classes in high school. By high school, instruction goes along at a rapid clip and woe betide the student who missed some key concepts in math or lacks a bit of maturity in writing. All the foundational work is in elementary and middle. |
Anonymous
The DC privates (even the top ones) don't accelerate or differentiate for giftedness. They actually move at a slower clip than DCPS. |
Anonymous
| OP, I wish I had good advice for you, but the best I can say is that this conversation may give a glimpse of what you're in for in the elementary school years--somehow "gifted" has become a dirty word equivalent to "snowflake," instead of the actual clinical range of characteristics (may include social immaturity, "atypical" interests from peers, etc.), that make this journey a not-so-easy one despite what people might imagine. Our best answer so far has been a school where my kid is accepted for who they are (strengths, challenges, quirks, and all)--and values others for who they are as well. National Association for Gifted Children has been a good resource for giving me language to use when advocating for my kid and scared to use the word "gifted" due to conversations like this one. Good luck, and rooting for you and your kid! |
Anonymous
| It’s because everybody assumes it’s the Lake Wobegon Effect, if you know what I mean. |
Anonymous
|
There are in fact plenty of gifted kids in DC. If you go to any of the higher performing elementary schools your kid will have gifted peers. My child with a 130 IQ attended one of the desired Capitol Hill schools and was always among the best performers (emphasis on among, as there were others). She’s now at BASIS and challenged.
If your child has an IQ well above 130 you can supplement for elementary, go private or move. |
Anonymous
| DC is so interesting. Gifted children only exist in high performing schools. |