My daughter starts school next year, and I'm getting ready to start looking around at the schools in our area. She is very advanced. A neighbor who taught school for 20 years says she's at about the level of a 1st grader academically, already. So, what sorts of questions do I need to ask the schools? First, questions for any kid who is starting, so decide if it's a good school, but also questions specifically for my daughter since she is so advanced. I don't want her to be bored. She is so excited to go to school, and I want it to be a great experience for her.
Hi, Mama:
Sad to say, schools today are not like they use to be.
Look at Virginia Department of Education website for the schools you
want to learn about.
They will give you statistics about the school.
Good luck.
D.
a place that wont break the bank that is close to home?
i wouldnt concentrate on how advanced she is. preschool is mostly about socializing.
my daughter was told the same before preschool. the head of a preschool we interviewed with said they thought she was verbally gifted...she falls right in with her peers now in first grade though...stinking liars=)
Send her to your local,schhool. May not be as advanced as you think. K is so much more then academics. It is about listening, following directions, making friends and learning to be a kind person. A friend was told her son was gifted. They moved to another district, he is not gifted. So I would sign her up for K and let her enjoy herself.
Ask questions re: curriculum, academic testing, and personalized enhancement activities. Make sure that the environment is warm and caring, inquire about the level of communication/ parental involvement required and make sure it is the right fit for you and your family.
Good luck to you and yours,
F. B.
PS - if the school falls short, there is nothing to stop you from pursuing enrichment through extra-curriculars.
Unless you are looking into private schools you are not going to have much of a choice.
In the public school system she will be assigned a school based on your address. So contact the local school district and find out which school she will go to. You can then call the school directly and ask about the dates for K registration and visits.
If you don't like her assigned school for some reason, you can apply for a transfer to another school within the district, but there aren't any guarantees she'll get in. And even if she does, you have to repeat the process every year, again with no guarantees.
My advice? Send your daughter to your neighborhood school and see how she does. K is about a whole lot more than academics: social skills, focusing and listening skills, emotional maturity, fine and gross motor skills, all the things that get her ready for first grade. And kids come in at ALL different levels, so be assured that your child will not be "bored." If she's truly gifted she will have a chance to participate in the gifted and talented program (here it's called GATE.)
Are you seeking private schools? Because if not -- you do get that you'll have to send her to her assigned public school based on where you live--? You won't have a choice, unless you are willing to move to a new home in a public school district you have researched and prefer.
Just asking because it's not clear from the post if you are shopping for a private school, and will have a lot of choice and the ability to ask a lot of questions, or if you are trying to shop among the public schools -- which is not really an option unless you pick the school first and then move house. In many systems you do get more choice a little later in elementary if the child can move to a "gifted and talented" center school in public, or to a public magnet school, but otherwise, you will have to either move or take the school you are assigned because of your home's location. (All moot if you're going private, of course.)
Still, you can find out a lot about what's available in any school, even one your daughter has no choice but to attend. Find out what the curriculum is; find out if there is a GT (sometimes also called "advanced academics") program available later on (these generally do not really kick in until about third to fourth grade); find out whether the school has, for instance, a reading specialist who not only helps remedial readers but also provides enrichment for early and advanced readers; find out if kids get pulled out of regular classes for any forms of enrichment, more advanced reading or math work, etc. Also look at the school's overall "culture" -- is a place that tends to welcome parental involvement and has an active, vibrant, welcoming PTA? Or is it a place where a small group of the same super-parents seem to control everything? Are there events throughout the year that make school life richer (and yes, that keeps the smart kids from being bored just as more academices does), such as holiday events, charity clothing and food drives, a student government that actually does things, an emphasis on volunteering, and so on? Look at the school web site but also the school PTA's web site (if the PTA has one), ask to see flyers that go home to kids announcing events, talk to parents of kids at that school, etc.
By the way, I know she's advanced, but don't jump to the conclusion that she will be horribly bored in kindergarten. She will be so excited by the new environment that she may not have much time to feel bored, even academically.
The K year, even for the academically smart kids, is still very important for learning socialization and firming up what they learned at preschool -- how to move with the group; listen to an adult who is not mom or a warm-and-fuzzy preschool teacher; how to stop one activity that's fun to move on to another activity that isn't; deal with kids who are not nice to them all the time; and so on. Those are vital skills -- the most intelligent child must have those skills as well as academic abilities, or the child will still struggle in school. You don't say if she is in preschool but if she is not, at this time, I would enroll her in one right away because preschool really is important to teaching those social, move-with-the-class skills before K. Many K teachers no longer have any time to teach these things much, because they are judged on fulfilling the curriculum and, yes, getting good standardized test scores from their K students. So if your child is not in preschool, get her into one for this year.
I agree on Montissori. Best thing I ever did.
Just my opinion, but i WOULD PUT HER IN THE PUBLIC SVCHOOL THAT SHE IS ASSIGNED TO. tHE SCHOOLS NOW ACCOMODATE KIDS THAT ARE MORE ADVANCED THAN OTHERS, THEY HAVE GROUPS FOR ADVANCED READING, MATH ETC. sHE WILL BE GOING TO SCHOOL WITH KIDS FROM YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD FOR THE NEXT 13 YEARS, AND SHE SHOULD GET TO KNOW THEM NOW, OR SHE WILL BE ON THE OUTSIDE OF THEIR GROUPS LATER. sOCIAL LEARNING IS JUST AS IMPORTANT AS ACADEMIC.
I would put her in the school that you are in the area for. She will make friends that will last her whole life. She will want to go visit them all the time after school and all the breaks. This will allow her to have a "normal" childhood.
If you are planning on private school her entire childhood then finding the one that suits your beliefs, non-beliefs, academic needs, etc...will of course be important. If you are NOT going to pay for private school then you need to do local assigned public school.
try to put her in a Montessori school.... Public schools will only bring her down..
