Best "gifted" program in Boston suburbs? (Framingham, Waltham: elementary schools, friendly)

[bzmatka]

I looked at the websites, but Lexington is the only school district with a "gifted" program, and we're not considering Lexington at the moment.

Do schools in MA accommodate "gifted" children? My child reads three grade levels ahead, but is about grade level in math. I've been fighting our district to put her into higher level language arts. "It's not our process" they tell me. So, she's bored. In Boston suburbs, are there any districts that are particularly sensitive to children who need more of a challenge. In our district there's lots of help for kids who struggle (as it should be), but nothing for a child who is bored because the work is too easy. Yes, I could put her in private school, but we prefer public, and she wants to be in a neighborhood school.

Any comments, suggestions would be helpful. We move to MA next year, so we have time to research. Thanks.

[findingmesomeday]

Where are you moving from? Most of the better MA districts don't have "gifted" programs because their curriculums are challenging enough in their own right. There are no pull-out programs in elementary in our district, nor combined grades, though some school districts do the combined grade thing. In middle school, there is an advanced track for math and english. By the time you get to high school, you've got regular (college leve), honors, AP and of course college/minus level for the kids are who just a bit behind. As I stated before, most HS don't have vocational programs because the districts are small and there's no budget, which is why the counties have the voch-tech high schools. The result is that the local HS are EXTREMELY academic/college prep focused.

Talk to the administrators of the districts in which you are interested. If you don't see what you are seeking, there are tons of very well regarded private and parochial schools.

[CaseyB]

What your current school has told you, "It's not our process" is pretty much what you will hear in Mass. as well. It's more a matter of their philosophy than an actual lack of funds. They generally don't believe in any kind of leveling for elementary students. Also, you might want to investigate the middle schools as well because some of them no longer separate students according to their ability. Maybe one of the charter schools would be a better fit?

[eslteacher]

For the child who is above grade level in reading it may be more important to look at what particular literacy program the district uses. A scripted program like Harcourt Trophies would not be good, she would be bored. A program like Teachers College Reading/Writing Workshop, Lesley Literacy collaborative, or any sort of balanced literacy workshop model should allow for differentiation. In these program each child is reading books that match there reading level, even though the class is focusing on the same skill. For example, everyone one day the mini lesson would be about using context to figure out the meaning of unknown words. One child may be reading Junie B. Jones, while another is reading Where the Red Fern Grows, but they are focusing on the same skill. Ask to speak with literacy coaches or reading specialists in the districts you are considering.

[ice_cream_eyes]

Check out Brookline. They do have a gifted program (I believe they call it Enrichment Challenge and Support.) Arlington has begun to take some steps towards meeting these kids' needs too. Not sure if these are pull-out programs, or models that facilitate differentiation within the classroom, but either would be fantastic compared to the total disregard for meeting gifted kids' needs that you'll find in most public school districts. Especialy now with the MCAS being such a bug focus, most districts figure if your kid can pass the test, they've done their job. They don't care that the kid is sitting there bored for six hours a day.

[Scooby7]

This isn't going to help you much as I'm not in MA, but the approach might work for you. My daughter has an IQ of 167 - when she was 12 we started buying books for her to study subjects she had an interest in (Maths, ICT, History) on her own. At first her school were sceptical, but when they tested her ability and saw she was coping with the work, they allowed her to do her own work during those lessons, and fixed her up with a "tutor" that she could email for further explination on points she didn't understand.

She also found a lot of support from forums (there's one called the student room) where she could discuss things with other (generally gifted) students

It isn't ideal, but most gifted kids prefer to work this way because they don't integrate well with kids of their own age due to lack of common interests

[smarty]

I think my IQ is about 67... missing the "1"

Life is so unfair... I need smarter parents

Seriously... most school will do something for your kid... but most will NOT have a totally separate program just for the gifted... please understand with the small school size around here... there are only a few of you in each town.

[bzmatka]

Thanks for your replies. Yes, we are looking at Brookline. We're in a mixed community in the midwest -- upper middle class plus poor, and no middle ground, in a single school. The demographics don't mix well, and the kids who struggle get lots of help (never enough, but that's another story), and the kids who top the tests are considered "fine" without regard to whether or not they are challenged. My child is not a genius, she's just a very good reader, and she needs to be in a school that challenges her. I don't think this should be too much to ask, yet our school seems to think we're seeking special privileges for her (we simply want to put her into the next higher grade language arts next fall!). I would like to find a school district outside of Boston that has excellent language arts that is differentiated, and will meet the needs of a kid who excells in this area. At the same time, I don't want to be in an exclusively wealthy area (we've eliminated places like Newton and Wellesley for that reason), and we'd prefer to keep her in a public school.

In addition to Brookline, the other communities we are considering at the moment (this can change) are Winchester (might be too small, not diverse enough?) and Belmont (too conservative??? we're lefty Dems.), which I know has a good high school, but I know nothing about the elementary schools. I'll look at Arlington, but we'd eliminated it earlier because we didn't think the schools were good enough.

Thanks again for all the suggestions!

[miu]

If it's only her reading level that is so far ahead, why not just give her the support at home? My family has always loved books and reading. My mom took us on weekly visits to the local library and we watched every Masterpiece Theatre program on PBS. I would say that my sisters and I were always ahead of our friends in terms of what we read. In high school, I used to visit the Harvard U bookstore to peruse what the college level classes were reading. Anyway, I think that your daughter's needs can be met at home. And maybe she will be a little bored in some of her classes at school, but perhaps you can encourage her to be more understanding and show empathy to her "slower" classmates in her reading classes.

[jayrandom]

Originally Posted by bzmatka

Thanks for your replies. Yes, we are looking at Brookline. We're in a mixed community in the midwest -- upper middle class plus poor, and no middle ground, in a single school. The demographics don't mix well, and the kids who struggle get lots of help (never enough, but that's another story), and the kids who top the tests are considered "fine" without regard to whether or not they are challenged. My child is not a genius, she's just a very good reader, and she needs to be in a school that challenges her. I don't think this should be too much to ask, yet our school seems to think we're seeking special privileges for her (we simply want to put her into the next higher grade language arts next fall!). I would like to find a school district outside of Boston that has excellent language arts that is differentiated, and will meet the needs of a kid who excells in this area. At the same time, I don't want to be in an exclusively wealthy area (we've eliminated places like Newton and Wellesley for that reason), and we'd prefer to keep her in a public school.

In addition to Brookline, the other communities we are considering at the moment (this can change) are Winchester (might be too small, not diverse enough?) and Belmont (too conservative??? we're lefty Dems.), which I know has a good high school, but I know nothing about the elementary schools. I'll look at Arlington, but we'd eliminated it earlier because we didn't think the schools were good enough.

Thanks again for all the suggestions!

Belmont is very liberal. You don't need to worry about it being too conservative just because Mitt Romney lives there. My very casual take was that it was pretty evenly split between Starbucks Democrats and Dunkin' Donuts democrats (has that caught on yet?). Belmont is a lot more economically diverse than someone looking for single family homes would be led to believe--the southern portion is mostly duplexes and rentals which afford some economic diversity.