Anonymous
Post 07/28/2014 21:26     Subject: live in DC, plane don public schools, learning that DC might be gifted - what now?
I went to a G/T program in MoCo (started in 3rd grade) - by middle school, kids that had been in the G/T program weren't necessarily any better off than those in the so-called regular classes and according to my parents, they weren't any different really than the 'regular' track classes of siblings - and didn't necessarily correlate even with those in the honors classes at Whitman. There are so many 'gifted' and well off kids with advantages in this area. I wouldn't uproot to move from any of the JKLM schools for a so-called G/T program in MoCo.
Anonymous
Post 07/28/2014 20:12     Subject: live in DC, plane don public schools, learning that DC might be gifted - what now?
I was where you are about 3 years ago. Preschool teachers flagged that my older DC had a remarkable ability to recall anything DC read, heard, or saw. At home, I saw that he picked up on reading early and had a facility with numbers. I worried that he wouldn't be challenged by the local public and would just start misbehaving, so I went the private school route.

Well, guess what? In K, he was still pretty bored in his well-known private. Teachers sat me down to tell me he wasn't engaged all the time and that he's still quicker than pretty much the rest of the class. That's when I realized that I had such unrealistic expectations for early elementary education.

I don't think it matters where a gifted child goes for K. We were very conscious not to teach ahead, but my DC picked up concepts taught over months in a few days. At that age, the real challenge is socializing, mastering self-control, and learning how to be a "big kid."

Now, although my DC is still generally ahead, the difference between him and his peers is not so great because everyone is reading and everyone is doing math, etc. I kind of feel like the first few years were not worth the sizable investment and would have gone public first if i had to do it again. But YMMV.
Anonymous
Post 07/27/2014 10:57     Subject: live in DC, plane don public schools, learning that DC might be gifted - what now?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:OP, I'm in the same boat. Not the testing, but my kids' pre-K teacher sat my spouse and I down to tell us that our son is very advanced -- she described an "encyclopedic brain" and a strong thirst to always learn more that she said we should encourage. She said we need to make sure we are keeping the child challenged. We are in a WOTP school and plan to see how things go the next couple of years and plan to get some music lessons and other enrichment outside school. And if we feel like this kid needs more, we would move to Montgomery County. I do think it's a real weakness of the DC system that there's no gifted program -- or adequate services for kids with special needs on the other end -- and if I could do it over again, I wouldn't have bought a house in the district because of it.


In our WOTP school, the key is to make sure you and the PreK teacher have input in the next year's placement and make it clear that your child needs to be placed with a teacher who is strong at differentiation on the high end. Do the same each year. This is not PITA parenting, the school asks for this input. The school wants to make good placement choices with the kids, but it takes the whole team to get it right for some kids. The one year we dropped the ball on this it was a fun but mediocre year; every other year, DC has been well placed with a strong cohort and great differentiation.


You can ask for this (at least in VA) but you will get who you get. Differentiation isn't hard but for some reason it is not done, isn't done routinely, isn't done as completely as it could be, etc.
Anonymous
Post 07/26/2014 17:37     Subject: live in DC, plane don public schools, learning that DC might be gifted - what now?
Anonymous wrote:OP, I'm in the same boat. Not the testing, but my kids' pre-K teacher sat my spouse and I down to tell us that our son is very advanced -- she described an "encyclopedic brain" and a strong thirst to always learn more that she said we should encourage. She said we need to make sure we are keeping the child challenged. We are in a WOTP school and plan to see how things go the next couple of years and plan to get some music lessons and other enrichment outside school. And if we feel like this kid needs more, we would move to Montgomery County. I do think it's a real weakness of the DC system that there's no gifted program -- or adequate services for kids with special needs on the other end -- and if I could do it over again, I wouldn't have bought a house in the district because of it.


In our WOTP school, the key is to make sure you and the PreK teacher have input in the next year's placement and make it clear that your child needs to be placed with a teacher who is strong at differentiation on the high end. Do the same each year. This is not PITA parenting, the school asks for this input. The school wants to make good placement choices with the kids, but it takes the whole team to get it right for some kids. The one year we dropped the ball on this it was a fun but mediocre year; every other year, DC has been well placed with a strong cohort and great differentiation.
Anonymous
Post 07/17/2014 18:25     Subject: live in DC, plane don public schools, learning that DC might be gifted - what now?
1. What type of academic assessment? You realize that if you pay, they'll tell you what you want to hear, right?
2. you and 50,000 others - In MCPS something like 80% of white children (yes, white) are GT, which basically means nothing.



Anonymous wrote:I really don't want this to come across as a humble brag.

A couple of years ago I signed DC up for an academic assessment - they assess his progress every 6 months, part of a larger study. Every six months he gets assessed on his "academic" skills, and we receive results as a percentile, compared to a national sample. The categories are things number fluency, receptive language, etc. So it's not an IQ test, as I understand it, more an assessment of where he is. As it happens, he is consistently scoring just above the 90th percentile in all categories. Which is great - we know he's great, we think he's awesome, etc, but we're also pretty laid back and not pushing him an any area, just enjoying seeing how quick and bright he is. He's a great kid.

But now, after getting a series of these results, and spending too much time on DCUM, I'm starting to wonder a couple of things. First, he's just going into K. So I'm trying not to overanalyze things. He's going into a good public school west of the park, where a great deal of kids seem to be advanced. We all know DC doesn't have a gifted and talented program. But we had planned to stay in DC, doing public school, for the duration. Given his high scores, though,I wonder if at some point we're doing him a disservice. Our plan thus far is to take it as it comes, and I am definitely keeping my eye on schools like Basis or Latin or others where there might be more differentiation. We're really not in position to send to an elite private school - where I think a kid like him would excel. I also have little desire to move to a county that has a gifted and talented program, like AAP or Montgomery County. But are we being short sighted?

A related question: DC has an older sibling who appears to be a bright kid, but bright in the way all DC kids of highly educated parents are. Older sibling is slightly above grade level in reading and math, but mostly right on track, according to teachers. I am wondering if we should have older sibling tested in some form or fashion to have a better handle on where older sibling really is. But what kind of testing would that be, and where would we get it? I'm wondering if there is a way to get more data that can help us focus older child to excel, if that makes sense.
Anonymous
Post 07/16/2014 13:14     Subject: Re:live in DC, plane don public schools, learning that DC might be gifted - what now?
Move now, you should get a higher price for your house. Hope you like the G/T program.
Anonymous
Post 07/16/2014 12:41     Subject: live in DC, plane don public schools, learning that DC might be gifted - what now?
OP, I'm in the same boat. Not the testing, but my kids' pre-K teacher sat my spouse and I down to tell us that our son is very advanced -- she described an "encyclopedic brain" and a strong thirst to always learn more that she said we should encourage. She said we need to make sure we are keeping the child challenged. We are in a WOTP school and plan to see how things go the next couple of years and plan to get some music lessons and other enrichment outside school. And if we feel like this kid needs more, we would move to Montgomery County. I do think it's a real weakness of the DC system that there's no gifted program -- or adequate services for kids with special needs on the other end -- and if I could do it over again, I wouldn't have bought a house in the district because of it.
Anonymous
Post 07/15/2014 15:02     Subject: live in DC, plane don public schools, learning that DC might be gifted - what now?
See if your kid likes school. If not, you have a sign that tells you it's worth investigating other options.
Anonymous
Post 07/14/2014 23:06     Subject: live in DC, plane don public schools, learning that DC might be gifted - what now?
Ha ha! this thread is hysterical!
Anonymous
Post 07/14/2014 14:18     Subject: Re:live in DC, plane don public schools, learning that DC might be gifted - what now?
90th percentile is not unusual for the DC area with all the intelligent and highly educated parents around here. Gifted programs usually use the 95th or 97th percentile for a cutoff. But you are wise to keep an eye on this as your child gets older. We bought a house in our district before we realized that our child would need more than its gifted program offers.
Anonymous
Post 07/12/2014 08:11     Subject: live in DC, plane don public schools, learning that DC might be gifted - what now?
Just wait and see if he is bored later in elementary school. Then adjust if you need to.

Anonymous
Post 07/12/2014 07:50     Subject: Re:live in DC, plane don public schools, learning that DC might be gifted - what now?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:90% is not that special. unless he is extraordinary in other ways, it's not enough for a top 10 , and probably not even a top 20 college.


This must be a kid. You are so ridiculous. Guessing what kind of college a kid will get into based on their achievement test percentile in Kindergarten. You clearly aren't getting into a top 10 -- or even top 20 -- college.
And this isn't an IQ test, it's some other kind of test. I bet your assessment is based on 90th percentile on an IQ test.
OP -- testing at this age is notoriously unreliable. Which is not to say your kid isn't very, very bright. He might certainly be gifted, or just very bright, or not. Either way, it's just too soon to tell. Impossible to know at this point which school would serve him best, but wait and see seems like a good approach.


I took the PP to be using it as an illustration of how significant 90% is, not as an attempt to literally debate OPs child's college prospects.


True. While top 10% is a very good score, it's not like it's particularly rare. A class of 25 kids will have 2-3 kids at this level or higher. In the more affluent parts of the DMV you would probably have 20% of the class at this level. I think most public schools are geared to accommodate kids like this. On the plus side, a kid that smart will have almost any career option available to them when they get older.
Anonymous
Post 07/11/2014 23:40     Subject: live in DC, plane don public schools, learning that DC might be gifted - what now?
Wait. Stick with the best school option you have in DC and see how your child makes out in the early years. Then you'll know.