Moving to Dallas, Hockaday or PISD for an exceptionally gifted child? (Plano: 2013, rental)

[HockDad]

Originally Posted by moving_dfw

Thank you HockDad, great post, we can clearly see Hockaday has many advantages. Our main concern is can they satisfy the specific needs of a highly advanced child? Our suspicion is that PISD with much larger numbers might be able to offer more advanced classes at the middle school/high school level. But Hockaday on the other hand definitely has more resources (per student) and show more flexibility and one-on-one attention.
Thank yo aexchange, we will definitely check that location.

I think that one area that Hockaday excels in is knowing when to push. My oldest daughter was always ahead of the curve. Thus, while 80% of the students were working on simple division (for example) they would have my daughter working on algebra. That being said, they would never let my daughter get too far ahead. At first I balked at this strategy, but over time, I realized that they were right and started trusting them (they have tons more experience dealing with gifted kids than any one parent). Just because a student can start calculus at an early age does not mean that they should start it at an early age. These young girls will have plenty of time to learn all of the subjects/skills/lessons, but you must instill in the girls confidence and a love of learning. Moreover, it is also a lifestyle choice. My kids are likely going to be in school for 20 plus years. No need to burn out in middle school.

Finally, as to whether PISD has more options, just think of this way. Hockaday parents pay 25k per year and donate millions of dollars to the endowment. Do you really think that they are not going to offer every class that they think is important to have these girls prepared for the hardest colleges in the country? In fact, many of the girls will find college (depending on where they go) easy compared to Hockaday.

[moving_dfw]

Thanks HockDad, this really helps a great deal. We also don't want to burn her out but if school does not keep providing challenges, gifted kids tend to disengage, that's what we are afraid of. Your first hand experience proves that the school will step in when necessary to provide extra challenge. Now I really hope that she gets into Hockaday.

[LakewoodMom]

Originally Posted by moving_dfw

Hi Fellow City Data friends,
We are moving to DFW area in the summer and have an exceptionally gifted daughter. Right now we are filling out applications for Hockaday (decided not to apply to other privates) but we are also considering the PISD (maybe the area feeding to Rice Middle School or Schmelpfenig). She is currently in 4th grade, is reading above high school level and is also several levels above her grade level in Math. Heard about the Math Rocks program in PISD, which seems like a great option. Are there other similar programs in PISD for advanced kids? How about Hockaday? How do they handle advanced kids? Which school/district do you think would fit our needs better? We are hoping to stay under $ 600K-700K for a reasonable house and one parent will work in Frisco and the other one will work in Far North Dallas.
Thank you for your help,

Hi there,

You would probably want to buy a home that feeds into Centennial Elementary for the Math Rocks Program, if you decide to enroll your daughter in PISD. If you move to a home that feeds into a nearby elementary school, and you daughter qualifies for the program, you can transfer. THowever, transportation could be an issue - not sure your situation. Centennial would be your best route. The principal and teachers are great and the community is very involved. I taught there years ago. You will also want to contact the counselor for a CBE - Credit By Exam, if you are interested in advanced placement. This is challenging - your child would have to score a 90% or higher to advance to the next grade level, but it is worth a try. I have never seen a child skip a grade in the past 6 years. Plano's curriculum is pretty rigorous.

[HowYahDoin]

moving_dfw,

I am a student currently attending PISD.
I did Math Rocks as a 5th grader but did not continue it due to my middle school not offering it.
IMO, it was a good program, but I have heard that only a few people even do it now.

And I think TAMS is amazing. If I don't make it into Hockaday, then I will definitely apply for TAMS.
Also, in PISD, once high school registrations start rolling in, there are a number of options a student can choose from (ex: STEAM Plano Academy, Health Science Academy, IB Program, etc).

So to wrap it up, if you think your child will be able to keep up with the academics here (ALOT of memorization in HS), then I think that PISD is good for her, because PISD has a reputation of being a great school district and if you are top 10% at least, then it basically is a sign you're super smart. But if you don't think that you can, (for example, me. I'm not very confident in getting a high ranking, ESPECIALLY after Jasper HS kids started to feed into PWSH, so I'm trying to get into Hockaday as safe zone) then well, you have to consider other choices.

I hope my answer wasn't crappy. :P

[HowYahDoin]

Also, I took the CBE for math, and I think its great that you can skip grades, but although I know almost everything in Geometry, I didn't skip it.

I talked to my counselor about skipping Geometry, and she advised me against it, saying I wouldn't have a math course during my senior year if I did, and colleges don't necessarily like that.

Don't know if it's true, but took the advice.

As for transportation purposes, the area near Brinker would be the best, IMO. PWSH is probably the best out of the 3 senior highs, and Renner, Brinker, and PWSH are side by side. Also, if you are considering Math Rocks, then this area is good as well, because Renner and Brinker both offer MRs. I am not sure about PWSH. (add info: Shepton is about a 5-10 min drive from PWSH because its in front of Huffman Elementary)

[HowYahDoin]

OK. flurry of posts. Sorry.

I have friends that went to Rice/Robinson and currently go to Jasper, and they are smart. REALLY smart.
If you are looking for a more rigorous school, then I would say anywhere that feeds into Jasper is good, but a) hard to get good ranking and b) far from PWSH.

[CheerBeer]

Originally Posted by HowYahDoin

Also, I took the CBE for math, and I think its great that you can skip grades, but although I know almost everything in Geometry, I didn't skip it.

I talked to my counselor about skipping Geometry, and she advised me against it, saying I wouldn't have a math course during my senior year if I did, and colleges don't necessarily like that.

Don't know if it's true, but took the advice.

As for transportation purposes, the area near Brinker would be the best, IMO. PWSH is probably the best out of the 3 senior highs, and Renner, Brinker, and PWSH are side by side. Also, if you are considering Math Rocks, then this area is good as well, because Renner and Brinker both offer MRs. I am not sure about PWSH. (add info: Shepton is about a 5-10 min drive from PWSH because its in front of Huffman Elementary)

I agree. All three elementaries( Brinker, Barksdale, centennial) feeding to Renner, Shepton, PWSH are really good. This is a better location and nicer neighborhoods.

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by HowYahDoin

moving_dfw,

I am a student currently attending PISD.
I did Math Rocks as a 5th grader but did not continue it due to my middle school not offering it.
IMO, it was a good program, but I have heard that only a few people even do it now.

And I think TAMS is amazing. If I don't make it into Hockaday, then I will definitely apply for TAMS.
Also, in PISD, once high school registrations start rolling in, there are a number of options a student can choose from (ex: STEAM Plano Academy, Health Science Academy, IB Program, etc).

So to wrap it up, if you think your child will be able to keep up with the academics here (ALOT of memorization in HS), then I think that PISD is good for her, because PISD has a reputation of being a great school district and if you are top 10% at least, then it basically is a sign you're super smart. But if you don't think that you can, (for example, me. I'm not very confident in getting a high ranking, ESPECIALLY after Jasper HS kids started to feed into PWSH, so I'm trying to get into Hockaday as safe zone) then well, you have to consider other choices.

I hope my answer wasn't crappy. :P

Hockaday as a "safe zone"? Good luck, kid. Hockaday is just as competitive - or more so- than the top 10% at Plano West.

[Big G]

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

Hockaday as a "safe zone"? Good luck, kid. Hockaday is just as competitive - or more so- than the top 10% at Plano West.

Hockaday doesn't report rank to colleges. Plano West does. So yeah, it IS a "safe zone" from that viewpoint.

And when you figure that PISD's class rank is determined as much (if not more) by what you're TAKING as opposed to what grades you're MAKING, avoiding that buzzsaw isn't the worst idea.


---

It's extremely unlikely that the elite colleges are paying the slightest bit of attention to the details of PISD's boundary shift.

Suppose, in previous years, they gave full consideration to, say, applicants from the top 50 kids from both PWSH and PSHS, and essentially dismissed any non-hooked apps below that.

Come 2015, they aren't going to suddenly round-file all but the top 20 PSHS kids, and dip down to the top 75 PWSH kids.

[HowYahDoin]

Originally Posted by Big G

Hockaday doesn't report rank to colleges. Plano West does. So yeah, it IS a "safe zone" from that viewpoint.

And when you figure that PISD's class rank is determined as much (if not more) by what you're TAKING as opposed to what grades you're MAKING, avoiding that buzzsaw isn't the worst idea.

Yup. I agree. My brother is at Shepton now... so I have SOME information

Also, I have heard that many of the high ranked Chinese students (not to be racist) skip Chinese 1 and go on to Honors, giving them an advantage.