Reply to Do all of the DC elem. public schools have "gifted" programs?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]What VA or DC private elementary schools have "gifted programs" ?   [/quote]

In the early years, I don't know of any that specifically cater to "gifted" children except Nysmith, which we did not consider. Too far away and too remote from real life for our family.

We seriously considered our neighborhood public school but it didn't seem like a great fit for several reasons. Of the private schools, many might work depending on your family's preferences and your perception of your child's strengths/needs.  We looked at GDS, WIS, Maret, Sidwell, all of which seemed likely to do a great job for our particular situation. It's hard to get into any of these, even if you have an extremely precocious child. (Many of the children applying are advanced in some way, to the extent that this is a real concept for 4- and 5-year-olds.) Ended up at one of these and have been very happy. In general, for extremely bright/academic children and/or those who seem to be unusually motivated at a very young age, I would recommend language immersion programs (public, private, or charter) or schools that have a curriculum that lends itself to easy expansion and differentiation (Cap City would be one possibility to consider).

I agree with some of the other posters that it's time to move beyond the "gifted" education model. (An extreme case such as a child studying particle physics at age 7 is really outside the scope of most public schools, and as such could be handled on a case-by-case basis). Most of the"gifted" children referred to in these discussions seem to be reading and understanding Harry Potter in K, or multiplying in their heads at pre-K. While this is fantastic (I experienced it so I know!) and these kids' achievements and talents should be as celebrated as those who are soccer or singing prodigies, in a better school climate, these would not be skills that would require children to be isolated in an exclusive environment that focuses only on those with the highest IQs. Instead, it's high time to expect the highest standards of all public and private programs, and to focus on developing specialized programs (language immersion, expeditionary learning, classics) that can expand to challenge the needs of all learners. [/quote]

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