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DC Public and Public Charter Schools
Reply to "What elementary school did your gifted child thrive in?"
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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I can answer this honestly. The answer isn't great though. Our child thrived in our neighborhood school - a low-SES, Title 1 DCPS - until age 6. Our kid was recognized as having different needs, worked individually with multiple teachers, sent to special classes for certain subjects (for example went up to K while in PK4 for math/reading), and had their needs met academically and emotionally and socially every step of the way by virtue of being surrounded by excellent teachers and a bunch of great kids. ECE in DCPS for us was a heartwarming and valuable experience, and we do not regret sticking with our "underperforming" neighborhood elementary school. When "real school" started (1st grade) the situation began to change. It was no longer possible to do "special" things to keep our child engaged, motivated, and learning on par with their abilities, and this was complicated by widening divides in the needs of other kids. Skipping a grade didn't sound good to us, and not sure it would have solved all the issues. When a school focuses on teaching to a test, the bar for what schools want to accomplish moves, and making kids/families feel good and be their best in whatever way is right for them falls far behind making sure all kids can do A, B, and C tasks when it comes time to fill in those bubbles on a scantron. This isn't the teachers' fault: it's just the nature of most public schools today, and when schools serve populations that are going to have trouble with those tested objectives, the target objectives in the classroom necessarily become less advanced and there is not room for structured enrichment. High SES fancy schools don't have to worry about that stuff as much, so yeah, of course, they can serve gifted kids better because there is time/money for all that stuff. We moved to MD. It felt like a personal failure to leave what had been such a terrific school experience for our kid. It felt like a slap in the face to those educators, and even though many of them told me privately we were doing the right thing, I felt pretty bad. I still do. Now it's 5 years later and our child has thrived. They've been selected for magnets at each step of the way, and thrived within them, and that's made us feel like we made the best decision for our child in our situation. Was it the best decision for our old community? Nope. It wasn't. I guess it depends on if your child has a similar cohort and a school that can provide what your kid needs consistently so they don't stagnate and lose interest in school. If they can't do that, and you can afford to move, moving to a school that can do that is ultimately what's best for your kid. But it is pretty bad for communities. That sucks. [/quote] Wow, this could be me - having this exact issue right now with a first grader (this is so well written). Would love to hear where you landed in MD. [/quote]
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