Reply to Which lower school has the strongest academics?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP here - yes our DC needs to be pushed academically or else he's unhappy and can be a bit wandering - the harder the curriculum and the happier our kid and happier the teacher :)[/quote]

You realize this is all part of the learning experience.  A child needs to learn how to sit still and pay attention even when they aren't interested in what's being taught.  Every single child needs to be challenged in some way and all the schools (public and private) will do this on some way at every grade level.  Differentiation doesn't ordinarily come into play until middle school although I know MCPS used to have GT programs at the elementary school level and maybe they still do.  I don't know about Virginia public schools.[/quote]

OP here- of course!  He doesn't misbehave nor get out of his seat etc - he's just not super happy unless he's learning new things and has a teacher that is constantly introducing new curriculum. Just like we adults have different learning styles, so does he - so I want a school that is challenging and isn't teaching to the less advanced students - we looked at Nysmith and I think they clearly are pushing ahead and differentiating. Wasn't sure if any of the DC privates were also considered to be pushing ahead academically. . . [/quote]

Our DS attended an excellent school in DC. He started to show deep signs of boredom in 2nd grade and he just lost interest in school in 4th. The school differentiated, he was in all the most advanced groups but it was not enough. We moved to Nysmith for 5th: they do not differentiate, they accelerate, and they also provide two teachers per subject for a group of 15-16 students. All students from grades 5 and 6 have their math class at the same time and students are placed by level (6, 7, 8 and up). In English, the content and the way they study have nothing to do with what they did at my DS's former school. It works really well for our DS. Nobody pushes him at all (and we certainly don't as there is no need), he finds his own pace and teachers are really supportive. We heard many bad things about Nysmith before joining but as parents, we really appreciate the fact that the school actually provides the service they advertise for. It may not work for all children but our DS is extremely happy.

We looked around before moving to Nesmith. Private schools in the DC area are handling differentiation pretty much in the same way.  In most private schools, serious things do not begin before middle school and sometimes even high school. Good luck to find what works best for your family.[/quote]

This is extremely helpful - thank you!  Do you use the bus then?  Why is nysmith so far out ?? :([/quote]

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