Gifted schools in Peoria, Il (Washington, Dunlap: environment, rental, work)

[grmngrl8203]

I am looking for a new grade school for my daughter. She will be in the second grade come fall. She is very smart and well ahead of her age but is getting very bored at the public school she is at. What are some good gifted schools in Peoria or Peoria area? Thanks.

[runninfiend]

No problem.

Peoria Academy: Peoria Academy

Washington Gifted School: index

[grmngrl8203]

How much is tuition at the peoria academy?

[runninfiend]

I don't know, I surely wasn't gifted or rich enough to attend, but I bet it's expensive.

[AdictedAnathema]

I went to Washington Gifted and I have friends who attended Peoria Academy. Perhaps this is personal bias, but I believe Washington is a better school, especially for someone used to a public school environment. Peoria Academy is generally considered best for students in 4th grade and below, whereas Washington is the best middle school in the district.

Maybe your daughter doesn't have a preference but I know I speak for myself and almost all other students when I say that private schools with uniforms seem less than enjoyable.

[AdictedAnathema]

This just occurred to me after I posted, but a good idea might be to get your daughter to test for Washington, and if she doesn't get accepted you can always just pay for her to go to Peoria Academy. I am under the impression that a test is required for Peoria Academy as well but it is not too exclusive.

While I was in attendance at Washington (2001-2005) the school was ranked academically as #2 in the state but I am not sure whether this statistic includes only public schools or public and private schools.

No matter which school you choose your daughter will get a good education and have access to good opportunities in high school as well.

[Explore Peoria]

My daughter went to Peoria Academy from grades 3-8 and I can tell you that she got a wonderful education. She's in public high school now and it's been kind of a rude awakining for her. I believe that PA's test results are higher than Washington's, even though it's not officially a gifted school - they don't accept only gifted students, but tend to attract them. If you contact the school, they can give you more specific details.
One major thing to consider is if your dauther is only in 2nd grade, she'll have to wait until she's in 5th to even go to Washington (it's a middle school only) and PA is a K-8. They have foreign language throughout their program - so she'll have that now, as opposed to having to wait until 5th grade. They also offer lots of extra curricular lessons to students that happen after school which is handy, especially if you'd have to put her in after care anyway because of work.
I actually graduated from Washington Gifted many, many years ago and my daughter has several friends who went to Washington - and we obviously are biased toward PA. There's still the public school aspect of Washington that you have to contend with. Her teachers at PA (with the exception of only a couple) were outstanding and the best part about PA is that because it's private, they do things that the public schools would never dream of being able to do - special activities and projects, etc.
There also is the parental invovlement at PA that is unlike anything else I've ever encountered. Plus, there are many, many students who live in the Dunlap district (which generally people try to move to if they can afford it in order for their kids to go to the Dunlap schools) who pay the tuition for their kids to go to PA because it's that great of a school - I think that says alot. The school itself grows substantially each year - they're in the process of expanding the school and have been trying to plan that for several years - it wouldn't be growing at that rate if it wasn't such a good school.
Now, obviously, if you can't afford PA (I think it's around $5k a year), then Washington is a good alternative - but my daughter is now in the International Baccalaureate program at Richwoods now and because of her years at PA, she was easily ready to jump into that.
I would definitely check it out at the very least - the principal is also really wonderful - she's been in charge since it opened and she's really a neat lady.
Hope that helps!