Money to burn, not quite! But it doesnt break the bank at this point. I'm more worried I suppose about going into the future--seems like this is a better age (first grade) to transition to public than, say, 4th. That said, I was a military brat, so I am probably projecting my own issues with changing schools.

money to burn? Go for it!

Anonymous wrote:I would do public and supplement with tutors.

I highly doubt any supplementation will be needed. Seriously.

OP - How much of a financial stress?

My kid is bright. He's fairly normal. He doesn't have ADHD or anything like that. In fact, the school decided he was gifted (go figure). When we got to 8th grade, it was clear his executive function abilities were interfering with the learning and we ended up hiring a fairly pricey tutor. I have nothing but good things to say about the tutoring, but it wasn't cheap.


My recommendation: Think hard about private if you can't afford the extras. It was really nice to be able to have the tutor come once and sometimes twice a week. It was even nicer to hire that same guy for ACT tutoring.

Put him in public school in MoCO. He will easily get into the HGC program for 4th and 5th grade, and then should easily get into the magnets for MS. This will save you tons of money. If he does not get into HGC for whatever reason, you have plenty of time to reconsider the private schools. With the IQ you are describing, you should only consider the private schools that are very academically rigorous: St Albans, Sidwell, GDS.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Too many pros and cons to list but my 2 cents is I have one in a top private and another in a top public. You mention your child of "gifted" in math. My public child also 6 does the same basic math as yours. The math is public is hands down better. The reading and writing is hands down better in private. We supplement for each child in those designated areas. Hope this helps.

This is very helpful--thank you. Just curious, how do their social/emotional experiences differ? Our *gifted* kiddo has a lot of reluctance to engage socially. The K he is in now has small classes, so that has helped a ton...if I share any concern of DH it is that when/if he goes to a public with larger classes, he risks withdrawing into himself and getting lost in the social flow.

One benefit to consider of larger classes is that your DS has a better chance of finding his people when there are more people to connect with. In K kids are still pretty much just friends with everyone but finding the social group you fit with can be more challenging as you get older and even more so if there is a small group to interact with.

Moved to attend top PUBLIC, not private! ^^