Anonymous wrote:Pp here. I realize you are looking for gifted programs. I just went through touring privates and we moved to McLean for their top schools not long ago. In my personal opinion, the best schools for the best students are as follows:

1. FCPS TJ
2. Big 3 Private - Sidwell, STA, NCS
3. MCPS - Richard Montgomery Magnet
4. Second tier Privates - Holton, Maret
4. MCPS - W schools
5. FCPS top schools - McLean, Langley, Oakton, Marshall

The Blair/Poolesville magnet and GDS both belong on that list, but you also don’t have any public elementary programs which is what OP needs.

Does your child have an IEP? MCPS has GT-LD programs that provide access to advanced classes while also providing organizational support. My kid was in Roberto Clemente MS Math, Science, Computer Science magnet and his neighborhood friend was in the GT-LD program there. He was in the same magnet math and science classes as my kid. Several high schools have the GT-LD program. Your IEP team would decide which is the best fit and your child would be bussed as needed.

Anonymous wrote:Pp here. I realize you are looking for gifted programs. I just went through touring privates and we moved to McLean for their top schools not long ago. In my personal opinion, the best schools for the best students are as follows:

1. FCPS TJ
2. Big 3 Private - Sidwell, STA, NCS
3. MCPS - Richard Montgomery Magnet
4. Second tier Privates - Holton, Maret
4. MCPS - W schools
5. FCPS top schools - McLean, Langley, Oakton, Marshall

Many would disagree with this ranking. PP should keep her personal opinion herself.

Commonwealth for High School in Alexandria. Don’t think you are going to get ‘fast cheap and good’ here and find house in cluster for entire journey - well, not if you prioritize education.We moved three times for schools - and homeschooled during pandemic. Found a public school cluster after a long journey of research and seeing how child responded for high school but it was heavy lift.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are in FCPS AAP program and I don’t think it is a good place for ADHD or twice exceptional kids. I have 2 kids who just finished 6th and 8th grades in the Advanced Academics Program. My children are neurotypical and do well in school. I don’t think the school is good with individual attention or differentiation. My kids have a few bright friends with ADHD and they don’t seem to be doing well.

NP. We are in FCPS and I have two kids with ADHD and ASD and the teachers are very experienced with ADHD and my kids are doing well. There are lots of kids with ADHD in AAP and also a number of kids with ASD.

+1 there are many 2e kids at our AAP center. Socially, it’s been very good for my kids as well.

Pp here. I realize you are looking for gifted programs. I just went through touring privates and we moved to McLean for their top schools not long ago. In my personal opinion, the best schools for the best students are as follows:

1. FCPS TJ
2. Big 3 Private - Sidwell, STA, NCS
3. MCPS - Richard Montgomery Magnet
4. Second tier Privates - Holton, Maret
4. MCPS - W schools
5. FCPS top schools - McLean, Langley, Oakton, Marshall

Anonymous wrote:We are in FCPS AAP program and I don’t think it is a good place for ADHD or twice exceptional kids. I have 2 kids who just finished 6th and 8th grades in the Advanced Academics Program. My children are neurotypical and do well in school. I don’t think the school is good with individual attention or differentiation. My kids have a few bright friends with ADHD and they don’t seem to be doing well.

NP. We are in FCPS and I have two kids with ADHD and ASD and the teachers are very experienced with ADHD and my kids are doing well. There are lots of kids with ADHD in AAP and also a number of kids with ASD.

We are in FCPS AAP program and I don’t think it is a good place for ADHD or twice exceptional kids. I have 2 kids who just finished 6th and 8th grades in the Advanced Academics Program. My children are neurotypical and do well in school. I don’t think the school is good with individual attention or differentiation. My kids have a few bright friends with ADHD and they don’t seem to be doing well.

Anonymous wrote:Part of my question is also about which programs are good, not just which ones we can be "guaranteed" to get in. We're not interested in just the gifted label, genuinely want something to help challenge the lil guy a bit more than the regular classroom

If you move to Montgomery County and he doesn't get into the gifted program, or gets in for one of the three levels and not the other two, how will that feel?

It's literally a lottery for ES and MS. Not in the way that people say that Harvard is a lottery because they can't figure out who is chosen. The kids in MD are literally chosen at random from the eligible group.

The MCPS programs are excellent. But understanding that they are randomly selected is very important. Fairfax's program are also good, and he is much more likely to get in.

Part of my question is also about which programs are good, not just which ones we can be "guaranteed" to get in. We're not interested in just the gifted label, genuinely want something to help challenge the lil guy a bit more than the regular classroom

Fairfax has an entitlement model of gifted education for 3rd to 8th grades, meaning that any child who meets the criteria can participate. This means your kid is much more likely to be accepted, but also that the program is not quite as selective. On the other hand, if his disability prevents him from performing well in the selective process, then the other classes will have fewer intellectual peers for him. For high school, students can apply to TJ, which is very hard to get into.

Montgomery County uses an eligibility model for 4th through 12 grade, where students need to meet certain criteria, and then be selected from that pool. So, the majority of gifted kids don't get services. The programs are really good, but there are also a lot of gifted kids who stay in their homeschools.

DCPS doesn't really have anything. I don't know anything about Arlington, Alexandria, or PG.

If you feel strongly that he needs to be in a gifted program, then I would go with Fairfax.

Anonymous wrote:Elementary school? High school?

Elementary, but we're interested to buy a forever home that will work for the whole school journey

Elementary school? High school?

DS is gifted, ADHD, Asperger's (ie a carbon copy of my husband). We want to find him a place that will challenge him, especially in math/STEM. Is there a meaningful difference between Virginia and Maryland in this, or public vs private? Sorry, we're total newbies at this, new to the area, and don't have many friends with kids.