my oldest 2 children are in 1st and 2nd grade in the royal oak public school system. my 1st grader has always been the sweetest sort of odd and marched to the beat of his own drummer since he started speaking in smaller sentences at 10 mos and making up invisible playmates before 2 and reading by 3. i was pretty sure these were all signs he might be gifted but as he got older, i couldn't decide. daily tasks and common sense seem to be more difficult for him than even a younger child. and socially, he's just like any other 6 yo. he recently started having probs w/ refusing to participate in school. i've seen him read high school level books and do his big bro's homework at a glance, so i know he's very capable...
so we had him tested last wk and the child psychologist was extremely excited about the results. he says my absentminded sweetie is very gifted. he was at jr high or high school level on anything related to reading and functioning at 3rd grade level for math ability, but math comprehension was also through the roof. he said my boy is a conceptual thinker and 6 yo's are not supposed to have that ability - in fact, most adults can't even do it. his instant recommendation is that we pull him out of public schools and enroll him at roeper or cranbrook or into waldorf education at the very least.
i am having such mixed emotions about this turn of events! i fell like someone just handed me (another) newborn. of course i'm proud and thrilled, but i'm also worried about being able to take care of and nurture it w/ all that's already on my plate. there's simply no way we can afford private education for one of our children - we have 5, born 7 yrs apart. the psychologist we used says public school will never be able to accommodate or even meet his potential and he will be bored and continue acting out if we keep him there ... and when we took the results to the school, they *were*, in truth, very much less than thrilled. it seems the only accommodations they can make are to skip him ahead a grade or 2 (which i don't think socially/emotionally he is mature enough for!) or to have the teacher give him separate.more challenging work than the rest o the class. i don't see how that can be done if he's still overall in that classroom and expected to participate w/ the rest of the class... i guess there used to be a gited program in our district that took kids out fo the class, but it's been shut down. so, has anybody gone through this? do you have any tips for me, we're at a loss as to where to even start ! thanks so much for any input and taking the time to read.
Troy offers School of Choice, but it may only be for K and 1st grade. No matter where you live, if there's room, your child can go there. And Troy does offer a gifted program called PACE. My kindergartner is also very bright and we are torn between leaving him in Troy or going to Roeper. There are a ton of great websites out there for more information. The most comprehensive is Hoagies: http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/. Hope this helps!
Jen
My husband works in the district and he believes that Northwood Elementary has a program right now however he's not sure if it's going to stay or if they are full soooo... he has promised to check into it for me and I'll get back to you. I let you know what he says.
God Bless
K.
Ok, yes they had to cut their gifted program because of the government budget cuts, however if you want to look into it you can see if you can get him a transferal to Helen Keller Middle School. However since it is a middle school you'd have to way the pros and cons, but it is an IB school and they offer a tougher curriculum for the smarter students. It is supposed to be much more advanced than the regular schools and can better handle giving him what he needs.
Definately have a talk with the principle (if you haven't already) of your school and see what they have to say. Maybe you can do a split where he goes for a hour or two to a different area to learn the more advanced lessons.
Sorry I couldn't offer a definate solution. Good Luck.
I would check into roeper... they do offer scholarships.. I was accepted at roeper as a young child.. with scholarships.. but I didnt end up going there..
It is supposed to be a fantastic school.
You might want to check into severl of the private schools and see if they might offer some scholarships to your son..
Also.. check into the other public schools around you.. Maybe some other nearby district has a program that will better meet your sons needs.
I would not let him skip a grade.. just because he is bright does not make him mature.. and it really becomes an issue when the child is in high school. My friends daughter started school early which ws fine.. but she went off to college right after her 17th birthday and quite immature..
Good aternoon M. T. I have not run into anything for gifted students in the elementary age group. I have a son who also was very bored and acting out in school. He still is and he's a junior. I don't think our society has anything, other than private, for kids like ours. My son now goes to a performing arts school in Fraser, but for now they are only high school age. They eventually want to expand k-12, but that does not help now. Love him for who he is and support his giftedness in any way you can. I get really frustrated because I know with minimal effort on his part, my son could be a straight A student, but at this point he really doesn't care about grades. That is the product of the wonderful public school system. Know that you'll probably have the I don't care attitude because he will be genuinely bored with it. I wish there were more positive info to share with you, but I've been searching since he was in 1st grade. Don't give in to the ADD and socially behind stuff that the school wants to shove down your throat. Let me know if there's anything I can do. L. S.
You may want to start investigating....most private schools offer scholarships and financial aid. Call schools counselors etc and get all the help you can. I don't know more than that. Good Luck.
why don't you homeschool??
