Reply to s/o - DC privates are not filled with gifted kids

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]

I'm the OP of this thread and my opinion is that private schools don't have to serve anyone they don't want to.  They aren't required to in any way and we shouldn't hold it against them for not doing so.  They should be up front about this when parents inquire and they might well be in most cases.

I do think that sometimes it would be relatively inexpensive to allow some of their students to progress to higher grade courses should it be appropriate or do more ability grouping to allow for deeper and broader instruction.  I wish they would be more open to that and maybe some are.

My main point is that if you have a child like this you should not assume that these schools are set up to accomodate such a child.  I think these boards give the impression that might be so but it's not.  [/quote]

I agree it would be relatively inexpensive to hire a resource teacher for 95th-99th percentile kids.  Once the school has paid for the new teacher's healthcare and pension and books and materials, what would this cost, about $100K or $120K?  Not peanuts, but probably doable.

I think this would be a great thing for these 95th-99th percentile kids.  And it might be a plus for the school too, because the school could make this part of its mission, and use it as a bragging point with prospective parents.

But I can totally see the downside for the school in doing this.  First, imagine the fierce lobbying from every single family to get their kids into the "elite" group, because of some assumption that the Ivies will pluck these kids first - I've seen this lobbying first hand, and it already happens with the existing, more limited ability groupings (leading to "teacher peeve" threads, but I digress).  Second, imagine the parents who want their fair share - "those kids got a resource teacher, so I want a resource teacher for my kid who struggles with ADD or executive function," which is a valid request, and how does the school respond given that money isn't unlimited.  Third, what about the kids who aren't put in the new, super-high ability group - do they think they aren't as talented, and will their parents complain?

So yeah, I agree with you that most privates haven't made this their mission, and I can understand why they leave this mission to the magnets. [/quote]

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