Reply to Differentiation in MCPS elementary

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[quote=pettifogger][quote=Anonymous]We're currently trying to decide whether our DD is going to stay in her private school or switch to MCPS for Kindergarten. Private is a stretch for us, but we want to support our kid as much as we can. My main concerns are two-fold: the class sizes (moving from ~15 to 30 is a huge jump) and differentiation. DD is reading and doing basic math (addition and subtraction of numbers up to 20). Both DH and I excelled at math as kids -- I was the kid that worked ahead in my workbooks and taught myself math to the point I ended up in algebra at 6th grade (also the only girl in my calc bc class in high school, but I digress). DH was similar and we're seeing the same thing in DD.

I don't want her to get bored or be forced to stay on pace with everyone else if she's beyond what is being taught. I know about the HGCs and the testing in 3rd grade (and the competition for that), but I'm wondering what is done for differentiation before that.

(and yes, before the trolls come out -- I know every parent thinks their kid is gifted, yadayada, that's not what I'm asking about. I just know how I was in school and I see the same things in DD).[/quote]

You know your daughter best, but if you truly believe she will continue to self teach, move at a fast pace, and not be able to handle boredom, then you should definitely not rely on MCPS for enrichment. As others said, (outside of the competitive CES/Magnet programs), I don't believe MCPS will fully appease her very much since they won't go that far beyond the classroom, or do too much depth in a topic even in "enrichment" sessions.

On the other hand I wouldn't suggest doing private at that cost either, especially if as you said, you're not comfortable with the cost. I know I definitely wouldn't have done it for my son at that age and for that cost unless I had a large budget, (or had no choice due to horrible public schools, which is not the case here).

I think you should try public school and see how she does. You can always do outside enrichment, especially in math. If you do want to "push" her ahead, you have lots of great choices for programs, as others suggested. Just don't overdo it or try to force stuff, at this age it can easily backfire and they can lose interest. Pick something where she is not only challenged, but enjoying learning new things. Don't try to do too much and don't be afraid to back off if she needs a break, keeping her interest is much more important than pushing toward some arbitrary level. Also be wary of the chicken and egg problem with how far ahead she is, it's likely going to be inversely related to how she feels about the same subject in school. But again, if she wants more you can't really stop that just because of school. If she gets far ahead you may indeed have to join the competition for the magnet programs if you choose to stay in public, or even homeschool as a rare last resort.

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