Gifted classroom?

[ondreeuh]

My son will be in 3rd next year and just got a letter that he qualifies for TAG based on his recent testing. My district started a self-contained classroom for gifted children in grades 3-5. It looks amazing - run by a teacher with 28 yrs experience - photos show the kids making their own mathematical codes, playing chess, doing science outside, using SCRATCH programming, etc.

 

It is hard for me to fit in those things here. He does them on his own except for chess which he did in a small group for a few weeks. Much of the day he spends alone (doing school with me, reading, playing with Legos while listening to audiobooks, programming, watching Mythbusters, etc.) He does lessons outside the home but doesn't have any good friends.

 

On the other hand, he is used to a flexible schedule and I'm not sure how he would adjust to a classroom.

 

The classroom is open to gifted kids, and in my district that means kids above the 91st % in both achievement tests and IQ. My son scored in the 97th for achievement (although at the time he took the tests they told me 98+%) and 99.5% in the KBIT IQ test. I'm not sure if the difference between him and the kids in the 91st % would be important.

 

I am going to submit an application to keep our options open, but wondered if anyone here had thoughts or warnings. I have no idea what curriculum they use or how flexible they are. I would still afterschool as needed to meet my own goals.

[MASHomeschooler]

I would definitely apply, look into it, hear what they have to say, talk to parents currently in it if possible, and consider your son's personality.

 

I would be concerned about the IQ disparity. Even in our district's gifted classes with a 97th percentile cutoff, my two highly gifted (99.9+) kids were as out of place as those kids are in a regular classroom. They chose to homeschool. My youngest is less gifted (99), less driven, and more social. We are sending her next year to the same classes that were not a good fit for the older two, and we expect it will be a good fit overall. Our gifted classes are 1 year above level across the board, no differentiation except reading groups, which was a big part of the problem for my older 2, so I would definitely want to know if that's the way your program works if your son is more advanced than that.

 

ETA: There are definite benefits to programs like this, and when I see Facebook posts from parents of kids they went to school with about the cool projects they do, I do have thoughts of wishing they could be part of those things, even though I know they would be bored 90% of the time, and not really connecting with the other kids, since that is what happened when they did go.

Edited April 20, 2016 by MASHomeschooler

[ondreeuh]

Thank you! I had my MIL look at the website (she was a tag teacher for like 30 years) and she gushed about how wonderful it looked. I took over the application this afternoon and they still have room, so he is in! since it is a multi grade classroom, I am hoping they can be flexible with materials and levels. I will send an email to the teacher in charge and see if I can get a meeting.

[Mike in SA]

We've found it doesn't hurt much to try for a year at this age.  If he's happy there, and adequately challenged, then you have an option.  If not, well, home is still there.

 

Disparities can be a real issue, as mentioned above.  Even in a GT group, DS was a distant outlier, and was just as bored as in the regular class.  All cases are relative, so ymmv, whether your child registers MG, EG, HG, or PG.  Every one responds to their environments uniquely.

[MASHomeschooler]

I missed that it was one multi-age class. So I would think he could definitely be accommodated next year, and may connect better with the older kids as well. And, like Mike said, you could go ahead and give it a try, and just bring him back home if it doesn't work out. Even if it does, you might have trouble in a year or two, though. If he's working at the highest level of the class next year, then it might not work as well when everyone else is working 1-3  or 2-4 years below him. Some (rare) teachers can pull it off, though, and if that teacher is one of those, and he enjoys the environment and activities, it could continue to work.

[TerriM]

Given that it won't cost you anything, and that most likely you won't get in again if you change your mind, I would absolutely give it a try.  There's no cost to backing out or leaving, right?  Since you're not giving up a slot at another school, you have a lot of freedom.  I know people whose decision was to give up a coveted position at a highly rated school to try out another promising school--for them, there was a lot to lose because the first school wouldn't take them back once they left, but thankfully that's not your situation. 
 

We considered moves for two of our kids last year.  For one, 3rd grade is the entry point to his school, easy to get into 3rd grade, but as the kids get older, the waiting list gets longer (something like 35 kids for the waiting list for 5th and 6th grade).   I met a mom in tears when she  found out her older kid had no chance at getting in because of the waiting list.  Why she didn't try earlier, I don't know--maybe their school was working out for them earlier.  We made the transfer.  It's been ok.  I don't regret trying, though, because now we know what the school is like, and it will help to form our decision regarding our youngest's path.

 

We also moved my oldest son this year, and it has been the best decision ever.  He is the happiest camper ever.  If it hadn't worked out though, we'd have homeschooled, so we didn't have anything to lose except tuition, but definitely, I would be full of regrets if I'd continue to follow the school's newsletters and realized what he was missing out on.    There were a lot of questions and uncertainties about what we were getting into, as the school is new, and losing the tuition would've hurt if we pulled him out mid-year, but in retrospect, it was absolutely the right decision to try, and I feel very lucky and very grateful that he got in and we pursued the opportunity.

 

So at this point, I'm all for trying, especially when there isn't much to lose.

Edited April 20, 2016 by tiuzzol2

[ondreeuh]

Very good point that we don't have anything to lose. If we decide it really can't work, then I will go back to homeschooling him.

 

Well, I guess the only thing I really have to lose is the time with him. He is an awesome kid! I hope he can adjust to the long days - but I think it ultimately will be good for him to be more productive. And he really wants friends.

 

I've emailed with the teacher a bit tonight, and she sounds amazing. She has to use GoMath! (district adopted curriculum) but she already supplements with Singapore Math and ALEKS. She tries to stretch each kid from where they are at. And she believes in minimal homework - she tries to keep it to a reading log and some math practice.

[daijobu]

I like to tell people considering homeschooling that public school will always be an option if they need it.  To you I would say, homeschooling is always an option, and if the school isn't a good fit, you can drop it.   You may as well give it a try.

 

[bluedarling]

We tried our local program this year for my dd, full-time self-contained.  She is bored.  Its been good for her socially, but that's about it.  And the best friends she made were on the gifted bus, and 2 years older than her, not in her classroom (where the kids respect her, but don't want to play with her.)  Dd readily admits she no longer listens to the teacher, but engages in talking out of boredom, and to help her social situation.  Adjusting to the schedule was no issue for dd, and she likes going to school, but has requested to return to homeschool next year.  I don't regret letting her try.   Our program was new this year, and they thought they'd just use regular curriculum and get it done faster, allowing more time for fun.  What I saw was it pretty much just a regular classroom, with some "mind traps" and interest clubs added.  I've not been overly impressed, but it was the first year and they are still learning.  Her teacher explained that there were mildly gifted kids whose needs were being met, and then there were about three kids in her classroom that were "light years" from the other kids, and she admits she had no way to address the needs of those kids (my daughter included.)  I knew my dd was a smart cookie, but I didn't know where she was comparatively (other than compared to her siblings.)  It has informative to me, though testing would have provided that information without taking away an entire year!  I also learned that the amount of time ps spends on science and history at that level is really small!  Most of the day is spent on reading and math.  In the gifted program, reading means LOTS of silent reading of books students select from the library.  My dd because of her reading level was reading books that imo are not appropriate to her age, though I've admittedly relaxed those standards considerably.  I don't regret my decision, so I guess my advice would be go for it, with the understanding that you may find homeschool a better fit.  You don't know  until you try, though!