Tell me why you think public school would be in DD's best interest if...

[Agla]

First, I want to confirm your suspicions that your school may be promoting a specific set of beliefs. It even happens in public schools. I once worked in a public school in which the administration was enthralled with Buddhism. This came out in school celebrations, the school paper, decorations etc. The secular approach or the balanced approach was just not complied with. It happens. Their was an administration change and the new head had to enact policies right away to prevent legal problems.

I have children that are accelerated in some areas and right on target in others. Knowing how schools schedule and staff I could not see how they could accommodate my kids.

I would talk to your school and bring up your concerns. For example, when the administration change happened in the school there was a teacher that was surprised that a classroom decorated with Buddhas might be off putting to some students. He had never considered it a problem until it was discussed with him.

[kimb96]

Our son is in 2nd grade and far ahead of the american curriculum. He went to a private british school in thailand where kids worked at their own pace. Ds excelled in literacy, reading and science. If he likes the subject, he dives into. If he doesn't care for it, he will do it but he doesn't go out of his way to learn more. So while he is ahead in math, not nearly as much as reading because he doesn't care for math. We chose a private christian school because we felt they would be more willing to work with ds's challenges in changing to a whole new curriculum. He struggled with phonics because he was taught an entirely different way in thailand. As the english would say, he was taught proper english, not american english. He speaks with an english accent and you will never convince some words are not pronounced a certain way even though dh and I say it that way. We met with the principle and teacher and showed them some of his work in thailand. Since he is reading independantly, they agreed to drop the phonics completely for him. That he didn't need it and it was too confusing to introduce a new way of doing phonics. So they came up with something else for him to do while the other kids are working on phonics. Now he still has a bit of phonics because they do some when they break into reading groups. They didn't want to pull him of reading groups as he is a strong reader and it's good for the other students. So the bit of phonics they do in groups does not count for grade at all for him.

My friend is having all sorts of problems with the public school she went with. Her son is ahead and the teachers advised that he be tested for the gifted program. The school refuses saying they only test in the spring. My friend was still living in thailand at that time and they will not make an exception for her son. So he has become a behavior problem at school because he is bored.

Our private school does not have a gifted program but I dont necessarily believe ds is gifted. I think learning comes easy for him and as I said before, he will dive into a subject that interests him but not go out of his way for one that does not. He does the same curriculum as the other kids but the teacher gives him extra more challenging work to do as well so that he does not get bored. So far it is working very well and ds is transitioning very well into his new school.

As a pp said, pray about it. I think the public school offers more in the way of a gifted program but private schools are more likely to tailer a curriculum specifically for your daughter.

[cassieJJ]

Originally Posted by Agla I have children that are accelerated in some areas and right on target in others. Knowing how schools schedule and staff I could not see how they could accommodate my kids.

OT but my kids private school does cater to children's needs when they are behind and ahead. My dd is behind in reading and ahead in math for example. They have two 2nd grade teachers and split the kids to their level so each teacher ends up with kids who are only 2 - 3 levels apart instead of being 6 levels. Anyways so far it's working wonderfully.

[Agla]

Originally Posted by cassieJJ OT but my kids private school does cater to children's needs when they are behind and ahead. My dd is behind in reading and ahead in math for example. They have two 2nd grade teachers and split the kids to their level so each teacher ends up with kids who are only 2 - 3 levels apart instead of being 6 levels. Anyways so far it's working wonderfully.

I should have stated public school. My private school experience has varied.

One private school they attended for a couple of years did place them exactly where they needed to be. The first private school they attended refused to admit there was any such thing as advanced and everyone stayed in their age appropriate grade for all subjects. I believe it was a staffing issue as well as there was only one class per grade with no extra staff.

[mcpforever]

OP, what state are you in?

You've gotten some great answers. I would look at the specific public school you are zoned for, what they offer, what your DD qualifies for, etc. Do the same with your current school and any private schools that could be an option for you. You really have to compare school to school rather than public vs private.

FWIW, my DS1 is also twice exceptional: he has ADHD and qualifies for gifted services. Aside from the 4 hours/week gifted services he receives, he has ALWAYS been required to test (several times throughout the year) and then read at his tested reading level. The science curriculum at his school is awesome. It is very hands on and he loves science. There are also band and choir opportunities starting in 4th grade. (He is about as interested in music as I am in a root canal.) He still has to do plenty of "regular" work, but nothing in life is without a bit of necessary tedium and the self discipline that goes along with it.

We did look into a private catholic school for him and got the whole "every child is exceptional" speech. Then asked around the community some more and got an anecdote about one family pulling their ADHD child out (left the NT sibling there) because that private school was demanding conformity that wasn't possible from the ADHD child. Pulled child is attending the same public school DS1 is.

[Vivhop98]

Originally Posted by dauphin Fortunately, she will qualify for an IEP based on having ADHD, but then they are only required to meet her needs in THAT area, not WRT her academic advancement, right? My impression with gifted programs in our area is that they are WONDERFUL opportunities for challenging, stimulating learning. For a few hours a week. When you are pulled by the gifted teacher. The rest of the week you are receiving instruction consistent with the rest of the third grade classes. And _maybe_ the gifted teacher might provide a few worksheets to the regular ed teacher for your child to do when she finishes her work early. Or she may be told to read. Just don't disturb the other kids. As far as getting along with a diverse population of students and teachers, I think she can get that in any "public" (non-homeschool) seting, can't she? She is especially getting that now by being the older kid in her multi-age classroom, and in fact that is part of the Montessori philosophy - that this is your opportunity to be the one who helps others who are coming up behind you, in every sense. That just is more of a sacrifice, it seems, for a kid who is in a serious holding pattern academically if she's only getting 3rd grade (or below) instruction and is ready for 6th grade instruction.... I think other private schools are definitely an option, and that's why I'd love to hear any additional feedback, but I didn't want to eliminate public school as an option as I felt I was apt to do, without considering it from all sides. I guess that might be a separate thread. But in short, I am concerned that they will similarly lack flexibility in meeting my daughter where she is at academically (i.e., in 3rd grade she will be presented with 3rd grade materials and receive 3rd grade instruction), and will lack even the option of IEPs for ADHD and the supports of the gifted program that at least are available in the public school setting....

This is my first year of homeschooling my son, however, last year in second grade, he was placed in the gifted program and it created a lot of stress for him. Basically, he was just given more busy work/homework because of it. He would bring home the regular reading assignment of 2nd grade level, and then in addition, he would have 4th grade reading to complete as well. They wanted to retest him for the gifted program again before going into 3rd, but I refused to sign the waiver for the test because as I told his teacher, I didn't think the program was necessarily that great. What ended up happening was that he was always able to finish everything easily, but instead of giving him extra time to just play/read, he would have more worksheets and or homework. While Ds is very bright, this was doing the opposite to his love of learning, it burned him out. Now that we are homeschooling, I have been able to allow him to just go to the library and get the books he wants to read, do a lot of hands on projects and trying to reinstill the love he once had for learning. I don't think punishing kids with extra worksheets is great just to bring test scores up. If they think they have kids who will boost their scores, they work them extra hard, which is sad.