GT schools in Austin (credit, top school, live in)

[krishnamoorthy.gayathri]

Hello,
We currently live in Seattle and might move to Austin before end of year. I have an 8yo son and 3 yo daughter. I am looking for information regarding if any public schools in Austin provide a full time GT program in elementary. Also, I am looking for good GT private schools. Any info is appreciated. Thanks a lot.

[blakely]

As far as I know, none of the public schools have a full-time gifted program. More often, it's a pull-out class for part of the day- some are 1/x day, others less frequent, varies a lot by district and funding.

Ace Academy is a private school focused on the education of gifted children. Reviews have been mixed, with some families quite happy and others leaving the school within a year or two. Search this forum and online for more specifics about why. Last I checked, Ace was not accredited, but that may have changed.

Some private schools here attract a fair amount of gifted students, but aren't exclusively targeted at gifted education. Some of my friends with gifted students have sought out enrichment and targeted programs outside of school (for example The Davidson Institute). Giftedness can also be accompanied by other issues ("2e" kids) who need support, so there's no one-size-fits-all option that works for every family.

[ashbeeigh]

Look into some of the magnet programs within Austin ISD to include Kealing's Fine Arts Academy, Anne Richards Young Women's Academy (for your littlest), Fulmore's Humanities and Law Magnet and the Liberal Arts and Science Academy (LASA). As blakely said, there is not a one stop school for "gifted" students. There are plenty of gifted kiddos in Austin, though.

Find out where the job is, what your budget is , what is important to you in a home, etc and then you can get down to searching for the right schools for your kids. All these schools are open to Austin ISD students pending acceptance into the program.

(Crossing my fingers that this isn't a drive by poster).

[krishnamoorthy.gayathri]

Thanks everyone, your responses are very useful.
I am researching every aspect as you have mentioned. My kid cannot get into DYS due to the residency requirement though he has qualifying scores. He does receive support from other organizations that do not look for this requirement. I was thinking the magnet programs are only for middle schoolers. I will check on those that you have pointed out. Like you all say, there is definitely not-one-size-fits-all. Totally agree. My kid is PG and goes to a full time GT program here. So, just concerned that he should not be underchallenged or feel bored in the new setting.

[krishnamoorthy.gayathri]

I will check on Ace academy. Please also provide your feedback on Joule school at Cedar park.

[ashbeeigh]

If your kiddo does well in pull out GT classes in elementary then he’ll be a shoe—in for the middle school magnets.

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by krishnamoorthy.gayathri

Hello,
We currently live in Seattle and might move to Austin before end of year. I have an 8yo son and 3 yo daughter. I am looking for information regarding if any public schools in Austin provide a full time GT program in elementary. Also, I am looking for good GT private schools. Any info is appreciated. Thanks a lot.

Laurel mountain is effectively a school for gifted and talented. Or at least parents that push their kids really hard.

The population is about 60% asian, entering kindergarten most kids are reading and can do math. In our year there were kids that could write full paragraphs and do long division.

They use a tracking method for math and divide the kids into about 4 or 5 groups based on skill level. The levels are broken into blocks so a kid could be at the top level in one block and a middle level in another block.

[AMJ27]

Originally Posted by ashbeeigh

If your kiddo does well in pull out GT classes in elementary then he’ll be a shoe—in for the middle school magnets.

Not necessarily true at all. First, our top rated AISD elementary doesn't even do GT pull out. It's customized curriculum and grouping within the classroom. Also, there are A LOT of kids with the GT label that don't get accepted into the magnet programs, and kids whose parents didn't see the point of the GT label whose kids do get in.


Kealing (which is not a Fine Arts Academy as indicated above, but rather an academic advanced magnet) had close to 3x as many students apply to the program than they could take. They do not look at GT status at all in the application process (which is good imho since that is really a parent driven process). It's based on grades, test scores, essays, and teacher recommendation. Also, the top 50% admitted are admitted on admission rubric scores only. The other 50% of the spots are divided proportionally to the different middle school tracks around the district. This change has happened in the last couple of years. Previously, there were a handful of highly rated AISD elementary schools that sent a large proportion of kids to the magnets, but that has changed with the changes in the admissions policy. Definitely don't assume that if you have a GT student doing well that he or she will get into a magnet because you might be setting yourself up for disappointment.

[krishnamoorthy.gayathri]

Thanks for all your inputs...very useful.

[Pretzeltwist]

Originally Posted by Austin97

Laurel mountain is effectively a school for gifted and talented.

No, it isn't at all. It's a school in a community that values education, with well-educated & successful parents, but the kids' ability levels range all over the place. I taught there for several years, and found that performance was generally higher there than at other schools I'd taught at. It's a very good school for the non-special education population, and a pleasant place that values enrichment, but it is far from being a gifted and talented program for all. The gifted and talented kids are pulled out of class for special classes, and are at a different level from the others. (And the TAG program there is very hard to get into.)