[docdocwhosthere]

Originally Posted by groove

Most gifted programs do not start until 3rd grade, following the 2nd grade Otis-Lennon test screening, and not many school districts will do separate class placement for gifted students. They will do a pull-out enrichment program that occurs a few times a week, along with establishing an IEP or 504 learning plan. Gifted education is addressed on CT, but the details do vary by district. If a district does not have it specified on their website, feel free to call the contact and ask those more-specific questions. Gifted kids definitely have their own set of learning needs, as well as their social-emotional needs that should be met.

Originally Posted by groove

Also, a great gifted-child-specific place on the web is the Davidson Institute. They have lots of different resources, forums, scholarships, and parent/child resources.

Here's a searchable database from Davidson where you can compare how different states compare in addressing the educational needs of gifted children:

Davidson Gifted Database

Hope that helps!

Thank you very much, Groove!
I know it is really early to think/discuss about gifted programs, but just wanted to have some inputs/information. Some gifted children (including my son) have social/emotional challenges, so I'm hoping to find somewhere 'gifted-friendly'-ish environment.
Thank you again for the link! I'll definitely look into it and learn more about that!

[docdocwhosthere]

Originally Posted by JayCT

The towns you mention, as well as West Hartford and Farmington are generally considered to have the best performing schools in greater Hartford. The majority of the residents in these towns highly value education so you can be assured your child will receive a good education. That said it is hard to say which one is best for your child. You might want to visit each to determine which you like best. Jay

Thank you very much, Jay.
It would be great to find a place where my kid can receive a good education and it is really reassuring to know that all of these towns have great schools.
I'll visit these towns (Simsbury, Avon, Glastonbury, West Hartford and Farmington) over the weekends!

[docdocwhosthere]

Originally Posted by RogerAnthony

Very few public school systems have gifted programs. The schools are required to identify gifted children, but are not required to do anything for them. West Hartford has a good gifted program, but it doesn't begin until 4th grade. You would really need to research each individual district to see what, if any, gifted programming they offer.

Thank you very much, RogerAnthony.
I guess I need to find out from each school district's website and to study/research more about it.
Thanks a lot!

[docdocwhosthere]

Originally Posted by NewJeffCT

What is your budget? Are things like public water, sewers and/or natural gas important to you? How about a bigger yard, or a newer home vs an older home?

In terms of test scores, Avon typically leads the towns in the Hartford area with Simsbury a close second. However, you can't judge everything by test scores and Avon, Simsbury, Glastonbury, Farmington and West Hartford all have very good test scores. Simsbury, Glastonbury and West Hartford all will offer more AP and advanced courses than Avon because they are larger school systems than Avon - Simsbury is about 25,000 people, Glastonbury 33,000 and West Hartford is 66,000 broken down over 2 high schools. Avon has about 18,000.

West Hartford, Farmington and Avon are the towns most likely to give you at least 2 of the 3 of natural gas, public water and sewers. Simsbury is the most likely to give you oil heat, well and septic. West Hartford is the town most likely to give you an older home on a smaller lot, while Glastonbury and Avon probably have the most newer homes.

West Hartford has two Whole Foods, a Trader Joe's, a Big Y and at least one Stop & Shop grocery store. Glastonbury has a Whole Foods and two Stop & Shops. Avon has a Big Y, Farmington has a Stop & Shop, as does Simsbury.

That is really good point!
We hope to find a place with public water, natural gas, connected sewer and a yard (⅓ acre would be fine). But we can possibly negotiate some of them (maybe we'll do find with septic system... or hope oil price won't go up that high over the next few years...). So I guess I'll probably start finding places among West Hartford, Farmington, Avon and Glastonbury. So far we haven't found many rental listings in these towns, but hope to find 'the one' over the next week or so.

I agree that test scores can't tell everything. And honestly, I think all of schools in these towns are great.
It's just that as an outsider preparing to move into the new area, everything is so new so I need some insights from locals. And I really appreciate everyone's comments here.

Thank you again, Jeff!

[NewJeffCT]

Originally Posted by docdocwhosthere

That is really good point!
We hope to find a place with public water, natural gas, connected sewer and a yard (⅓ acre would be fine). But we can possibly negotiate some of them (maybe we'll do find with septic system... or hope oil price won't go up that high over the next few years...). So I guess I'll probably start finding places among West Hartford, Farmington, Avon and Glastonbury. So far we haven't found many rental listings in these towns, but hope to find 'the one' over the next week or so.

I agree that test scores can't tell everything. And honestly, I think all of schools in these towns are great.
It's just that as an outsider preparing to move into the new area, everything is so new so I need some insights from locals. And I really appreciate everyone's comments here.

Thank you again, Jeff!

No problem - I would also qualify that by saying that you can find all of those options in a home in each town, but it will just be less likely to have all 3 in Simsbury than the other towns.

If world languages are important to you, both Glastonbury and West Hartford are more robust than Avon or Simsbury. Farmington has the fewest options in that regards the last I checked.

If music/instruments are important to you, the Hartt School at the University of Hartford in West Hartford is an excellent school for that and their community division offers lessons in many, many different instruments. A young woman who went there and is now in college just won a national vocal competition a few months back, and one of the teachers there recently won the "opera" equivalent of American Idol. I think they had some piano players win some awards this past Spring and were able to play at Carnegie Hall because of it as well.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by docdocwhosthere

That is really good point!
We hope to find a place with public water, natural gas, connected sewer and a yard (⅓ acre would be fine). But we can possibly negotiate some of them (maybe we'll do find with septic system... or hope oil price won't go up that high over the next few years...). So I guess I'll probably start finding places among West Hartford, Farmington, Avon and Glastonbury. So far we haven't found many rental listings in these towns, but hope to find 'the one' over the next week or so.

I agree that test scores can't tell everything. And honestly, I think all of schools in these towns are great.
It's just that as an outsider preparing to move into the new area, everything is so new so I need some insights from locals. And I really appreciate everyone's comments here.

Thank you again, Jeff!

Yes, unfortunately there are not a lot of rentals in Connecticut so I am not surprised you could not find many. You might want to talk to a realtor but there was just an article in the Hartford Business Journal that greater Hartford is now a sellers market so there may not be many homes for sale or rent as you would like. Instead you might want to consider an apartment rental for a short time. There are more of these around the area. Jay

[NewJeffCT]

Originally Posted by JayCT

Yes, unfortunately there are not a lot of rentals in Connecticut so I am not surprised you could not find many. You might want to talk to a realtor but there was just an article in the Hartford Business Journal that greater Hartford is now a sellers market so there may not be many homes for sale or rent as you would like. Instead you might want to consider an apartment rental for a short time. There are more of these around the area. Jay

Yes, I've noticed that inventory is down. For most of last year and into this year, there were 70-80 homes in Avon on the market in my price range. However, it's recently been down to around 60 homes in that same price range.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by NewJeffCT

Yes, I've noticed that inventory is down. For most of last year and into this year, there were 70-80 homes in Avon on the market in my price range. However, it's recently been down to around 60 homes in that same price range.

Yes, finally. Of course next year the economy will go down the drain and as usual Connecticut will be still peaking and then drop a year later. Jay

Aug. area house, condo sales, prices up | HartfordBusiness.com

[docdocwhosthere]

Originally Posted by NewJeffCT

No problem - I would also qualify that by saying that you can find all of those options in a home in each town, but it will just be less likely to have all 3 in Simsbury than the other towns.

If world languages are important to you, both Glastonbury and West Hartford are more robust than Avon or Simsbury. Farmington has the fewest options in that regards the last I checked.

If music/instruments are important to you, the Hartt School at the University of Hartford in West Hartford is an excellent school for that and their community division offers lessons in many, many different instruments. A young woman who went there and is now in college just won a national vocal competition a few months back, and one of the teachers there recently won the "opera" equivalent of American Idol. I think they had some piano players win some awards this past Spring and were able to play at Carnegie Hall because of it as well.

Thank you again, Jeff. I was surprised to see so many houses have well water/septic/oil altogether.. Not so sure about private well but might need to give up connected sewer or gas heat (but hopefully not both)..

I guess I can start from Glastonbury/West Hartford/Avon/Farmington. Will visit there this Saturday and am so excited!

For schools, I am more interested in music/instruments (and that sounds amazing - Hartt School!), but well, my 5 year old wants to be a secret agent (and he said it's a secret. oops), so I guess I have to wait and see..

Thank you again for your kind advice!

[docdocwhosthere]

Originally Posted by JayCT

Yes, unfortunately there are not a lot of rentals in Connecticut so I am not surprised you could not find many. You might want to talk to a realtor but there was just an article in the Hartford Business Journal that greater Hartford is now a sellers market so there may not be many homes for sale or rent as you would like. Instead you might want to consider an apartment rental for a short time. There are more of these around the area. Jay

Yes, indeed! We are a bit late for the finding rental game (I think May-Aug is peak season), so rental is really hard to find. We need to find a place in a few weeks anyway so hopefully we can find something soon. Hopefully a house with a yard, but maybe townhouse or condo would be okay for a year or two.

Thank you very much for your advice, Jay!