Gifted and Talented Program

[Jrae]

Hello everyone. I'm usually just a lurker here, but I have a quick question.

If your child was offered a spot in an all day Gifted and Talented program at the local public school, would you enroll them? Why or why not?

This program is supposed to be top-notch. The class only has 14 children in it. My husband and I are considering this and would like a little feedback. Our daughter is nine, loves social situations, has never been to school, and we think she would do well.

She is very sensitive and she gets easily frustrated if she doesn't get a concept right off the bat.

Thank you for any feedback.

[cdgni]

Does all day mean everyday? 1 one day pull out of the regular classroom wouldn't be very good. What does the program involve? Is it more than you can can offer? Is this the first year of it or is an ongoing class? What is the likelihood of her being in the same classroom for the next few years or will she be in the public classroom in the next couple years?

[HSHS]

A gifted & talented program means different things to different people so you should ask whether it's academic or not if that's important to you. You could also ask if she could go in for a couple of hours & if she likes it, she can stay and if she doesn't you can leave. Good luck. (:

[EKS]

I would seriously consider it, especially for my younger son, who does well in groups and is motivated by them. As for the sensitivity and frustration, she may not display these traits as much in a group of her peers. I know that my son will get very upset with me about not getting something, but I am quite certain that he would *never* act that way in a school situation.

I would love for my son to have to opportunity to interact with a group like this. I would want to know what the curriculum is though, especially if it is a self contained all day program. I'd want to be sure that they go both deeper and faster. If it is just the standard program with extra work then I wouldn't be impressed.

Good luck with your decision. It sounds like an exciting opportunity.

[cimhog]

We have a self contained all day gifted program in our school district as well. Kids in that class (~30 kids) are very competitive. Most kids are aggressive as well. If you think academic is important to you, go ahead. If at this age, how to interact/socialize with normal kids is more important, you may not want you kid go there.

[melmichigan]

I would carefully evaluate if the program would met your DD's needs. As mentioned, GT programs mean different things to different people and different schools. I would love for my DD to be able to participate with like peers but it won't happen in our district anytime soon. What are the opportunities? How flexible is the curriculum and placement? Is it truely faster pace and deeper views? Then sit down with pros and cons and decide if it something you would want to try, and I would definately try first. It truely depends on the child and the program.

[nmoira]

It depends on the program. We live three blocks from our system's HG/EG/PG magnet school, yet chose to homeschool DD the Elder. There was too little in the way of P.E., art, and other "extras," far too much homework, and limited course choices in the middle grades. Portland Public Schools doesn't participate in the EPGY Schools Program, and only one math program was offered in the magnet school. There were other, social concerns, but it's a long story and academic considerations were enough to rule out participation.

[Aurelia]

I would definitely consider it if it were an all day everyday thing and not just one day a week. I would want to know more about the program before enrolling her, though.

[SoCal Sandra]

We too live close to our ps gifted magnet and could have pursued that. Dss have gained so much more from homeschooling and it has been good for our family as well because academics alone cannot provide the richness of life that we seek.

If there are any non-academic reasons that you chose to homeschool, remember to weigh those as well.

Academics aside, if you are comfortable with your daughter spending the bulk of her day in that setting, then you could always give it a try and resume homeschooling if the program doesn't work out for your daughter and your family.

[Jrae]

I just wanted to say thank you to all the responders.

Yes, the program is all day, every day. I had a chance to look at their math program yesterday, and told them that she was beyond that math and she gets very bored if she is not being challenged. I was told that that was the math book, they would work through it quickly and then go on to the next one. For advanced reading they were reading The Secret Garden, which she has read for fun several times. So, we decided that while it would have it's benefits, she would get frustrated and bored.

Thank you again for your input. It helped me go into the meeting with some clear questions.

[cdgni]

I just wanted to say thank you to all the responders.

Yes, the program is all day, every day. I had a chance to look at their math program yesterday, and told them that she was beyond that math and she gets very bored if she is not being challenged. I was told that that was the math book, they would work through it quickly and then go on to the next one. For advanced reading they were reading The Secret Garden, which she has read for fun several times. So, we decided that while it would have it's benefits, she would get frustrated and bored.

Thank you again for your input. It helped me go into the meeting with some clear questions.


I'm glad you received your answers. I'm putting myself in your shoes and saying Secret Garden Again! My DD, only 1 year older than yours, read that book starting in the 2nd grade, and like yours, read it many times over. I find it very hard to know what is normal when I only have one child.
It was refreshing see your post and knowing what the schools consider advanced.

Cathy