What would a school have to have to consider it for your AL? What questions to ask?

[Dmmetler]

We're looking at a almost certain relocation and it will open up many more school options for DD11. So, basically, I want to pick your brain-especially those of you who have homeschooled extremely accelerated in some areas, highly asynchronous kids, and get ideas on what to look for, what to ask, etc. DD is very worried that if we move and continue to homeschool that she won't have any friends or be able to find them, and given the rate at which middle/high school age kids go back to PS or to university model schools here, I can see that as a real concern. But I also don't want to put her in a traditional or university model type school unless it's going to be a good fit and a positive experience. Particularly not if we're paying tuition, since I'd probably need to get a job to make that a really viable option, and that would make deciding it wasn't a good fit and going back to homeschooling more difficult.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[The Governess]

I've thought about this a lot, because Dd loves being in a classroom. Unfortunately, none of the many schools in my area have what I'm looking for for her:

 

1) teach Latin and Chinese to AP+ level

2) allow acceleration in a subject of more than 1 year (the schools I looked at, for example, would not allow her to take algebra until 7th at the earliest)

3) employ well qualified teachers

4) teach at least some of the classics in their humanities courses rather than just using excerpts or newer more "relevant" books

5) allow outside activities to count for PE requirements (she dances a lot)

6) don't assign 2 hours of homework per night (this is prevalent)

7) a good culture - involved parents, engaged students

8) reasonably priced (there are schools in my area with a price tag of $30+k per year!!)

 

I'd also want to know what the school would do if my student finished their highest level class in a subject and wanted to pursue it further - how would they accommodate that?

Edited April 28, 2016 by lovelearnandlive

[The Governess]

I once looked into a part-time option in our school district. It was a homeschool program but you could take up to three classes at the middle school or high school. They allowed no crossover between middle and high school. So even though they taught Chinese at the high school, Dd wouldn't be able to take Chinese 1 until 9th grade. No exceptions. So, I'd look for a school that has grades 6-12 all in one program, and allows crossover between the middle and high school sections.

 

You could also ask if they have any other accelerated students currently, and how they are accommodating them. Maybe if you give your contact number to the school they would be willing to forward it to parents of similar students and they could reach out to you.

Edited April 28, 2016 by lovelearnandlive

[amsunshine]

This is not easy -- we found that none of the schools (public or private) in our area were really ideal, and my dh was against all of them. We kind of stumbled upon a small, university model school that is very highly rated nearby.  It's not perfect, but it became the best compromise for our family.  Here are the things about the school that we like, if it helps:

 

1.  Classes are held only 2 days per week, with the remaining weekdays spent at home in independent study. Many students are formerly homeschooled. 

2.  AP classes with good performance from the students on the AP tests, and all APs are California a-g approved.

3.  School allows for acceleration of more than 1 year in math.

4.  Small class sizes -- no more than 18 per class.

5.  Upon visiting the school -- saw that teachers were really engaged with the students.

6.  Dual enrollment opportunities.

7.  Dance classes satisfy PE requirement.

Edited April 28, 2016 by amsunshinetemp

[Kathy in Richmond]

I'd want to see the "School Profile" (or something similar) for their high school students. That's where you can often find a summary of testing results (SAT, AP, etc). Not that tests are everything, not even close, but scores do speak toward the teaching quality, organization, and student levels at the school. Here's the AP score summary for PA Homeschoolers, which was a terrific fit for my kids. I'd personally want to see performance at that level for a PG kid's placement.

I'd also ask current families about the homework load. I pulled my own son out of a HG+ program when the (otherwise well-thought-out) homework started to exceed 3 hours per night in grades 4 & 5. Burnout worried me; it's difficult for us to keep our love of learning alive when we're always scrambling to meet deadlines.

[8filltheheart]

Have you connected with plansrme? She has an advanced dd who DE at GT. She might have some insights on resources in the Atlanta area for an advanced child.

Edited April 28, 2016 by 8FillTheHeart

[SparklyUnicorn]

Be willing to think outside the box and be flexible.  That's really what a lot of schools lack.  They have their rules and plans and they often don't have any imagination nor ability to work with a student to do things in a different way.

 

And any GT programming would not be about just piling on more work. 

 

 

[MinivanMom]

We've given this a lot of thought lately due to one of our children wanting to attend school. I've found that the list of things I would want is surprisingly short. We have "good" schools here, though, so it wouldn't occur to me to put something like "read the classics" on my wish list. I know that's happening in all accelerated, honors & AP classes locally.

 

If it's an elementary/middle school, we would want the school to have:

1. Latin and/or French.

2. The ability to accelerate in both math & language arts.

3. The ability to accelerate more than 1 year if necessary.

4. Intelligent, engaged, caring teachers.

5. Minimal homework and commute time.

 

We have eliminated both our local middle, the magnet middle, and the classical private school as possibilities based on this lists. Our local middle only allows students to be accelerated 1 year in 1 subject. The magnet middle has French and everything we would want academically (including serious acceleration), but would mean a crazy commute with crazy amounts of homework. The classical private school offers Latin and most of what we would want academically, but they limit the amount of acceleration and load the kids with 3-4 hrs of homework per night.

 

If it's a high school, we would want the school to have:

1. Latin & French to the AP level.

2. The usual slew of AP classes with a good AP pass rate.

3. Options for students who need something beyond AP (preferably university dual-enrollment).

4. Intelligent, engaged, caring teachers.

5. A school culture that supports learning versus cut-throat competition for valedictorian, class rank, & other honors.

 

Based on this list, we are seriously considering our local public high school. They don't have AP French (only up to French IV), but they have a fantastic Latin program that goes through AP Latin. I've heard consistently wonderful things about the AP classes and teachers (not so much the regular-track classes), and they have a good AP pass rate. They also allow dual-enrollment at our very good local university for any subject where your child has exhausted their AP options. We have some amazing private high schools here as well, but they are way out of our price-range. 

[mathnerd]

Some things that many in my area are looking for in high schools are:

1. Number of AP classes offered (many schools restrict the number of APs that a student can take each year)

2. Option of post-AP level work available for children who finish the APs earlier (this is one option for meeting the educational needs of an AL)

3. school mentoring for kids who want to compete in high profile competitions (Intel Science fair,  Math Olympiads, national spelling bees, national debate competitions etc)

4. Contest preparation classes for AMC, Olympiads etc

5. Diverse sports and performing arts programs

6. Small Student : teacher ratio (less than 10:1 is ideal)

7. Subjects taught by subject matter experts and not a random person with a few months of "in-house training" - this is a biggie for sciences and math at the higher grades (most private schools publish their teacher bios in high schools so that the parents can check out the quality of the classes offered)

8. Counseling and help for landing summer internships and summer projects at universities and research institutions (this is another option used by ALs to advance in their fields beyond classroom learning). Motivated kids are paired with postdoctoral researchers, university professors, top tech company technologists and they work on projects that they submit to prestigious competitions. 

9. electives that are diverse and can help develop a "well rounded child"

10. Performance history of a school over the years in the SATs and college admissions (being featured in a list like this:  http://www.businessinsider.com/smartest-private-high-schools-in-the-us-2016-3  )

11. school culture of nurturing and encouraging a child and providing them a nonthreatening venue to explore and learn and reach their potential

12. Religious or secular nature of the school

 

In my area, prep schools have a heavy homework load at the middle and high school level - it is a given. There is weekend homework too. Sometimes, there is additional weekend homework in the form of assignments for languages, book reports, science reports etc. Then, there is weekend travel for sports, dance, band and academic competitions. The saving grace is the fact that these schools are very well staffed and the ratio of students to teachers is very small (sometimes in the single digits) for the core subjects. There is ample support for the child and I have heard of anecdotes where kids get a detailed response to questions on assignments at 2 am from the teachers. 

 

But, your daughter and you will not know if the potential school is a fit for her needs or not until you make contact with them and ask the relevant questions. For your daughter, I recommend that you arrange a Shadowing Day for her with the potential school where they usually pair the applicant with a child of the same gender and similar abilities for a day or two and she sits through the classes to get a feel of the school.

Edited April 28, 2016 by mathnerd

[Runningmom80]

I think it would just need to be really flexible and non-traditional.  Use projects and ways of teaching where DS could go to a challenging level.  Possibly allow DE. 

 

 

I'm honestly looking at a farm school!  I think right now, on the cusp of puberty, he needs to be outside and working physically.  :laugh:

[slackermom]

My daughter went back to school this year to attend a middle school that is an "expeditionary learning" charter school. We liked that it relies heavily on project-based learning, and the projects seem to allow kids to really work at their own level. They put a big emphasis on meeting the social-emotion needs of the kids, and so far they have been pretty flexible about meeting my daughter's 504 accommodation needs.

 

We looked at about a dozen middle schools or combined middle/high schools, and this was the only one that allowed her to skip sixth grade math. They have a small group of kids that are placed together for math in grades 6-8, doing a truly advanced Pre-A/Algebra/Geometry sequence (the school doesn't offer Geometry in the regular math curriculum). Even private schools with really strong math programs said that NOBODY gets to skip sixth grade math, since the kids are coming from a lot of different math backgrounds, and they want to get everyone on the same page before they start tracking into different levels. DD reluctantly agreed that retaking Pre-Algebra was okay, since the other kids in her class are similarly advanced, but no-way no-how did she want to be in regular sixth grade math again.

 

When researching, I checked results of area math competitions. DD says she does not want to compete in math, but I think that has been helpful for finding good math departments.

 

We were also looking for French and arts programming, which DD really enjoys. She wanted to do theater, which she is doing at the school through their after-school program, along with lots of other interesting add-ons (web design, minecraft club, and writer's workshop are the ones she has done so far).

 

I have started to look at high schools for 9th grade. At the moment, our short list includes 3 very different options:

1-Large public exam school, admission based on ISEE exam and grades; super competitive, heavy on homework, lots of AP classes, DH and several cousins went there. (tuition=free!)

2-Small public arts school, admission based on audition only (dance, theater, or music); arts integrated though out curriculum, non-competitive classes, but regular use of dual enrollment at several nearby colleges for advanced students. (tuition=free!)

3-Small private prep school located within a large university; highly advanced students, taking most classes at the university in grades 11 and 12. (tuition=$40,000!, which we do not have)

Because DD is such an outlier, I honestly don't know which of these would be best for her, and even if I did, her needs could change again, so who knows? 

 

ETA: The middle school has a reputation for being lighter on homework, which fits our needs due to DD's other activities outside of school, including 5-10 hours of dance practice each week, and time to read, draw, work on her poems and a novel, and watch lots of you-tube, which is apparently the new must-see tv. 

Edited April 28, 2016 by slackermom

[TerriM]

Ditto on SparklyUnicorn:  Flexibility

 

Also, the ability to believe in your daughter's abilities and needs.  If a school doesn't believe she is who she is, they simply can't and won't meet her needs.

 

We are very happy with the choice of school for our oldest son, and it meets both of these criteria--they believe that he is who he is, and they actively seek to be flexible to meet all the students' needs.    Because of this, they have gone the extra mile for him, and I couldn't be happier.   

 

My mother also ran into a situation like this for me, and she chose the school that was willing to put me ahead in math (which involved syncing my schedule with an upper school campus that was a bike ride away--kudos to them for even considering it).

 

 

I'm sorry if I missed you mentioning this, but do you know where you're moving to?

[TerriM]

PS:  Personally, I would look for a school that does not try to follow common core and that minimizes homework, but I think those are philosophy issues that others could reasonably disagree with.

[Dmmetler]

Alpharetta area (north of Atlanta).

[Kerileanne99]

From looking at all of our local schools they ALL insist they are child-led, and will differentiate. The reality is very different from the propaganda. Talk to other parents!

 

That being said, you are not new to the game. In your situation I would be looking at how it can meet the things that cannot be met at home...and planning on after schooling her primary academics.

Edited April 30, 2016 by Kerileanne99

[eternalsummer]

Yes, I would read reviews of the school online and actually give some serious consideration to the negative ones.

 

Our local Waldorf methods charter told me they could definitely handle a gifted kid - they would differentiate, etc.

 

Nope.  Should have read reviews (not of this school but of Waldorf public charters more generally) and taken them seriously.

[Kate989]

Hey, we live in Roswell, just south of Alpharetta.  We love it here!

 

My DS, 13yo/7th grade, is good solid math student, above average in science, but working at a college level in the humanities.  We pulled him out of public school in 5th grade because he was deeply miserable, and have accelerated the heck out of his reading and writing, and now he's happy as a clam.  We would love to put him in a B&M high school for 9th grade, but so far we can't come up with any boxed curriculum that can accommodate him.  The state offers dual enrollment for high school juniors, but by that point he'll have eclipsed many of the humanities courses he'd be placed in.  We don't want to send him to residential college early. So we're staying the course for now and thinking of hiring a couple of grad students to direct his reading in philosophy and theology next year - DH and I have very shmancy university degrees, but we can't keep up with him anymore in those areas.

 

We have found the public schools to be kind and flexible to a point.  But there is only so much they can accommodate.  If your kid is a grade or two ahead, the school can totally work with that.  Beyond that, there's not much they can offer.  There are some very impressive private schools that might be worth looking into, but they are very (VERY) pricey.  We have a friend who is the dean of faculty at one of the best private schools in the city, and if you'd like I can ask him what they can offer a highly accelerated kid.

 

One thing to look into is Metro Academic Studies. (http://www.metroacademicstudies.com) It's a school for homeschoolers where you can sign up for courses a la carte. I know two people who teach there and they are fantastic.  From what I understand, there is some flexibility in terms of where you can place your kid.  Classes vary in difficulty level depending on the teacher and the students enrolled. There is a lunch hour, a prom, etc.  So there're definitely social options, and you don't have to commit to a full course of study, which might allow for you to enroll her in areas where she's less accelerated, and continue to fly free in her strongest subjects.  I am tossing around the idea of a class or two there for ds, but our logistics are tough & I'm trying to keep our driving schedule manageable.

 

My oldest DD, age 11/5th grade, gifted + dyslexic, will be going to a hybrid school for middle school next year.  They have classes 2 days a week and the kids work at home the other 3.  The program is challenging and there are lots of extracurriculars.  They offer dual enrollment rather than AP, and start that in 8th or 9th grade if the kid is ready.  (The college classes are taught at the hybrid campus, so the children can stay part of their school community - love that.) Classes are capped at 10. We're hoping it will be a good fit for her, because she really wants a social environment and she needs a small class environment due to the LD.  It also gives us the option to supplement a bit.  There are a few schools like this in the area, and they vary in academic rigor.  (DD is extremely, but not profoundly, gifted, which is much easier to work with.  My sense is that your DD is more like my son, and is thus a harder fit.  He is too accelerated in his strongest areas to attend this school.)

 

If you'd like to pick my brain, feel free to PM me.  Are you moving this summer? DD is super friendly and one of her best friends is both lovely and absolutely brilliant.  They'd like nothing more than to welcome your daughter to Atlanta.

Edited April 30, 2016 by Kate989