differences between East Dallas elementary schools

[littlewmn]

Right now I am in College Station/Bryan at a Blue Ribbon school there. At 5, before kinder started, he took a RIAS test (Reynolds/Kamphaus) where he scored in 99th percentile on verbal intelligence index and 90th on non-verbal index (VIX 137 NIX 119). Given, that was at 5, and these tests are unpredictable. Also, he had a *horrible* 2nd grade year (although a very good 1st grade) where there was little to no enrichment and these bad habits started. He doesnt mind work at all. Teachers in classes where he is not as bored (i.e. art, gym) seem to like him very much, so he is not all-around annoying, I think. But I don't know for sure.
I lived in Dallas for about a year and had great success for my son at Museum of Nature and Science Preschool. Then moved to BCS right at start of school. They decided a kinder skip was appropriate (I didnt ask for this, it was recommended to me by GT coordinator for the district).

[Macbeth2003]

Hello again.
I remember you from your first move to dallas, when we met @ WhiteRock - before my health crashed, and I fell off City-Data, and the face of the earth, for a while.
With Private school not an option -I understand it wouldn't be for me financially either- my plan in your situation would be this:
Get him into Lipscomb for now. My son is in third grade there. The third grade teachers are remarkable. According to my son, they spend very little time in traditional regimented "sit at your desk quietly" situations. There is much more time spent clustered together at centers, or sitting on the carpets interacting as a group. There are two teachers, one for Language Arts/ Social Studies, and one for Math/Science. Each day they also have "Specials" PE, Art, Music, or Computer, and recess (unusual for a 3rd grade in DISD). This breaks up the day as well, which helps with Short attention span, or fidgety kids.
My son is also somewhat in the mold you mention, though perhaps not as strongly. He usually talks during the day and when he is in trouble it is always for this. The teachers recognize it can be a problem when it distracts other children, but also recognize the difference between intentional disobedience, and self control issues. Last year his math teacher worked out the most effective way to deal with that was to let him help other kids, once he had finished his math work. This allowed him to redirect some of this talkativeness in a positive direction.
The TAG teacher is AMAZING, and we are lucky to have Full time Art and Music teachers as well, the norm for East dallas, but not for the whole DISD. The parents have a lot of close knit ties which helps with support as well. Virtually every day many of use hang out after school for 30minutes to and hour and a half while the kids play.

Now despite all this, we are a district school, and although I feel we would be a better fit than Lakewood or Stonewall for your specific child - due to smaller school size, and the general "feel" of the school- we may not work out for you. Once you are here, and in the district, you can begin exploring the various charter school options if you need a better fit. This may end up being the best long-term path for you, but in the immediate term, I feel Lipscomb is likely to be the best of the East Dallas elementary schools for your particular needs.

Hope some of this helps.

[littlewmn]

Yes, I remember you! I had no idea you had health issues...I hope you are well again. I dropped off the board probably around the same time, since I was moving to College Station.
My first thoughts were of Lipscomb for its reputation, Stonewall for its diversity of learning styles, Lee for its size. He has a year to decide if Travis or not. If he continues to straighten out his behavior issues (which he has been doing so far...age is a big issue since he is a year younger than his classmates), then I may try Travis. (All I hear about Travis is too much homework- but this is not an issue for him. I say bring it on). If he's not ready soocially, we need to keep him wherever he is until the IB at Long or go over to Dealey at that time (no room right now).
Of course, this hinges on the job being in Dallas or in Fort Worth. Otherwise I am having to start research all over again in Houston, or wherever else. East Dallas-Ft Worth commute would be a bear, but we used to commute an hour when we lived in Flagstaff and worked in Winslow, and also when I lived in Boulder and went to school in Greeley. It's not fun, but with a last minute move it may be the best thing to be in an area that is already quite familar to us. He would even be able to visit some of his old friends from preschool.
The big issue at hand is what to do immediately.

[pepper131]

FYI - Houston ISD does a better job identifying g/t kids, imo. In DISD, it's based off test scores, grades, an essay. This is where the very small percentage of gifted kids get dissed. Einstein would have never made it into the DISD Tag schools - from what I understand, Einstein could not tie his shoes or cross the street. But he was most definitely a genius!!

In HISD, they throw in the Naglieri to test for true giftedness. And they administer another district test to make up their grading matrix for a t/g score (plus they look at grades, etc). I think Einstein would have had a chance in HISD.