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we are half way through the same search, so I can share our findings:
- Millburn, Tenafly, Ridgewood and the likes from the NJ Monthly Top 10 are extremely not good choices from G&T kids - they channel most of the funding in high schools to maintain RE values, don't have G&T programs (or they are generally unknown), ignorant enough not to offer proper differentiation... basic idea - G&T kids are already playing into their test score statistics, so why bother? these districts strategy targets potentially high-achieving children that have been heavily tutored outside of the school to perform in school... Kumon and the likes... all the families from Millburn and Tenafly we know do that... can't say anything about Ridgewood
- there are only two school districts in NJ with the self-contained G&T classes - Mountain Lakes and Manalapan, but since they fill the whole class (two, if I am correct, in Manalapan) you can imagine that cut-off %% would be much lower than in a case of regular 98%+ G&T program... for a highly gifted (i.e. IQ 145+) child it would still be underachievement... as I was told, there are more of these classes in NYC, but they might be filled 100% for an incoming 3rd-grader
- Mountain Lakes also has a private G&T school
- towns in Morris, Bergen, and Somerset counties are better geared to G&T... Essex is the worst I suppose and it doesn't have its own magnet school
- best exit strategy for the G&T kids is to go to magnet schools, not overmarketed school districts like Millburn or Tenafly... btw, there is an alternative nationwide school rating from Newsweek, which grade schools based on their abilities to challenge children... Millburn was 234 while NJ magnet schools were selected in a separate category as too good to be compared to...
- I also noticed that towns where majority votes for Democrats tend not to offer good G&T programs which the common understanding regards as "elitism"... thought I don't have much statistics here, just an observation... Springfield, for example, allocates 1/2 of G&T program time as a enrichment for the whole class where a G&T kid's present...
- besides mentioned above Gifted Child Society there is Montclair University G&T program, Summer Institute of the Gifted... The first twos offer offer weekend enrichment classes, and all three - summer camps
my current opinion on the best public options for highly gifted children - narrow down the areas you can afford to live in and are within the commute routes... then data-mine the demographics of the towns within the selected area - choose I or J towns with high %% of children among the population and higher %% of advanced degrees among adults... cross out towns in top 10 - they don't have time for G&T children in most cases... and in the end it all would come down to ability of the teachers within a particular district to differentiate within the regular classroom, whether there is an emphasis on educational values within the parents body, what grade the district starts official G&T program, and if the district has a strong teachers union...
when you preselect your districts this way - visit each with a printed copy of NJ Education Code and the test results/portfolio of your son... they will talk to you!
I would also encourage you to focus on your child's social development in the early years, especially grade school. This is the area that causes the most challenges for gifted children down the road. Team sports, clubs( boy scouts, girls scouts, brownies) or other team activities are a great start. While introducing an instrument is good it really does not encourage social developmental or social interaction with others. This is just my opinion but it seems parents get so caught up in the mental game that they lose sight of the equally important physical and social game.
we lived through a similar advice and learnt our lessons - I must say our child never had any communicational issues and is a very social one... we did teams, clubs, classes, playdates... but he really hit it off only when he was places in the same class with other G&T kids... that's when all social development really started... what other parents of G&T kids confirmed to us later, there is no proper social development for G&T kids unless you are among your intellectual peers... otherwise, they are taught by circumstances to play down their interests and personalities to fit in...
we lived through a similar advice and learnt our lessons - I must say our child never had any communicational issues and is a very social one... we did teams, clubs, classes, playdates... but he really hit it off only when he was places in the same class with other G&T kids... that's when all social development really started... what other parents of G&T kids confirmed to us later, there is no proper social development for G&T kids unless you are among your intellectual peers... otherwise, they are taught by circumstances to play down their interests and personalities to fit in...
That is one school of thought and unfortunately is a bit of a self fulfilling prophecy. Based on my own experiences I disagree, but as with anything related to raising your children, you have to do what you feel is best. There are no "right" answers.
That is one school of thought and unfortunately is a bit of a self fulfilling prophecy. Based on my own experiences I disagree, but as with anything related to raising your children, you have to do what you feel is best. There are no "right" answers.
Have you had a truly gifted child? Not a bright child, but a child in the top 1 or 2 percentiles for IQ?
Have you had a truly gifted child? Not a bright child, but a child in the top 1 or 2 percentiles for IQ?
Yes, my brother fits that category(he is top 2%, maybe 1% I'm not really sure anymore what the exact IQ requirements are) and I, while only in the top 5%( or something like that) was also in the gifted programs. Without getting into our life stories I will just say that I 100% disagree with the strategy listed above and having lived through that approach I can say, from the receiving end, that after college we both ended up feeling like we missed out on a lot and somehow...I don't know... incomplete. We're cool now but it took a while. This is just my experience...I'm not saying this is the way to go... but it's the way I wish my parents would have gone(not that they did anything wrong.) sorry for the rambling but kind of strikes a nerve...
PS as far as being a parent...my oldest is 16 months and still tries to eat crayons so I don't think we'll be filling out any MENSA applications anytime in the near future...
Last edited by Goldendoodle1969; 02-18-2011 at 01:40 PM..
Yes, my brother fits that category(he is top 2%, maybe 1% I'm not really sure anymore what the exact IQ requirements are) and I, while only in the top 5%( or something like that) was also in the gifted programs. Without getting into our life stories I will just say that I 100% disagree with the strategy listed above and having lived through that approach I can say, from the receiving end, that after college we both ended up feeling like we missed out on a lot and somehow...I don't know... incomplete. We're cool now but it took a while. This is just my experience...I'm not saying this is the way to go... but it's the way I wish my parents would have gone(not that they did anything wrong.) sorry for the rambling but kind of strikes a nerve...
PS as far as being a parent...my oldest is 16 months and still tries to eat crayons so I don't think we'll be filling out any MENSA applications anytime in the near future...
I hear ya. I guess with any child, it's best to let them try a bit of everything and see what sticks.
I have an interesting tidbit-- I know with certainty that Tenafly had to stop it's pull-out gifted program because too many parents were complaining that their kids weren't in it. (And by "complaining" I mean harassing the staff, requesting meetings, etc.) They now have "differentiated instruction" which is really just extra work for your bright child within the classroom.
I have an interesting tidbit-- I know with certainty that Tenafly had to stop it's pull-out gifted program because too many parents were complaining that their kids weren't in it. (And by "complaining" I mean harassing the staff, requesting meetings, etc.) They now have "differentiated instruction" which is really just extra work for your bright child within the classroom.
LOL that's hilarious! Everyone's kid is so special!
I could see that happening though. Well, good for the schools for saying enough is enough.
Differentiated instruction is the going trend now from what I see. I think it's unrealistic to think that one teacher can differentiate the work for 20+ kids within one classroom. I think there are a few meaningful things they can do, like giving kids different reading materials or even grouping for math.
The truth as I see it is that for most bright kids, a regular public school in NJ in a high socioeconomic status district (like Tenafly) is just fine.
There are a few profoundly gifted kids who will not be served well and need special education and that should be provided. But the number of those kids is really small.
Anyway, my two cents! That's really an interesting story. I can't imagine how annoying they were that they just stopped the whole program!
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