Our school is very social, too. They have 1 and 1/2 hours for lunch and recess in the middle of the day. There are two other 20 minute recesses during the day. In addition, they have 1 hour 15 minutes of P.E. every day which is usually some team sport - hockey, rugby, basketball, etc. And I've been in the Art room during class and it is wondrously noisy!

This is a small school so classroom management without rigid rules is more easily accomplished, I guess.

CFK - WOW on the PE! I want to move to your school. In our district, kids get PE twice/week for about 25min I think.

I also have been told how advanced our curriculum is and how it isn't developmentally appropriate and w/ my son, I just don't see it. He needs more and faster. I just learn to keep my mouth shut.

Ok. So I will give you guys one (or a few) more reason(s) to DOK and then I promise to be quiet for the rest of the school year (10 more days!!)

Room one has become even smaller (only 15 children per classroom) with two teachers.

We are getting five new teachers. Our new coordinator of Educational Technology for the lower school comes with a Masters in Technology in Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Although this is the teacher who I am most impressed by, all the others come with equally impressive credentials.

The new center for communications will be completed next month. It will have 2 additional classrooms, a great library (with a special place for authors to come and read to the small children) and a conference room to be used for distance education (it will have state of the art computers)

The science rooms (both lower and upper school) will be upgraded with more modern equipment/new furniture.

The computer labs will have new computers.

The new electronic white boards will be installed. Then next year the school will go to one-on-one laptop program.

All in all, I wish i could be six again and go back to school

Sorry guys, I don't mean to brag, it is just that our headmaster just hosted a "headmaster's coffee" to update us on all the things going on next year.

blanc850a
I don't think you should brag. Your kid goes to a very expensive school, which is 'elite' but look at your trouble in accelerating her. There are 'rooms' not grades with which you must deal. Kids aren't accelerated through grades, not sure why you spelled it out that way. And the huge moneyed factor. I don't think this is what the typical gifted child deals with in schools. All in all I think you should tone it down and not make others jealous of a school that I don't think is that great for gifted kids.
You can be six again, and I can be banned from this site, but whatever, you are wrong for gloating about something that is expensive and for rich people and some granted scholarships by the by.

While it's totally out of the question for us to ever even consider Bianca's school, for some of those very reasons, I still enjoy reading about how great it's going for her kiddo. It gives me hope and ideas to implement here at home. Feel free to share around me at least Bianca!

And Calizephyr, I do understand....we have no such options, and no funding if we did. At times the "drool" does start to puddle. If this was everyone's story, I'd probably find elsewhere to post, but Bianca gives us all hope. I enjoy her excitement for her daughter's situation.

I also support Bianca's post. Someone in Queens wrote me about her efforts. She initiated middle school gifted programs in her district, upped the curriculum for G&T with accelerated math, worked with the prinicipals to enhance gifted curriculum.

If you want to push the advocacy, it can be done. And hearing Bianca's experience provides us with ideas. I am not so ambitious to initiate gifted programs but would like to support anyone who does.

It is good to hear what is available and the things that can be done.

Ren

Yes, I was just joking with bianca. I love hearing about her daughter's school.

In fact, I don't understand why you think it's "not so great" for GT kids, calizephyr. There's more to a GT education than acceleration, and it sounds like bianca's kid's needs are being well-met.

I do understand what you're saying about the class issue. I certainly don't love that the school is an expensive private school and all the class issues that surround a school like that are troubling. But that's why we DOK: if only our kids could get such services at public schools.

It is good to hear about what's out there, though. Knowing what exists helps us to understand what's possible.

First of all, since I've been on this board I haven't experienced Bianca to be bragging about her good fortune in school placement in a malicious way. On the contrary, it's good to know there are schools in current operation that can accomodate HG+ kids.

Additionally, I don't think calizepher is at all in danger of being banned from this site for expressing frustration at the inequity of these very rare programs.
After all, that's what this site is for.

Getting together and expressing support for both situations.

I do want to hear about schools like Bianca's because it gives me ideas about what could work. On the other hand, yes, it can be incredibly frustrating to be sitting here knowing my child could benefit from such a situation, yet never have access to it.

We are in a school district like Kim's and Dazey's. The curriculum is written by the internal administrators and it's great! It probably is a year ahead like they say. And they have very thought out and established gifted programs. Unfortunately, in the K-3 years, it's not even close to being challenging enough for HG kids. I really don't know yet if the higher grades will be, we'll have to see. There's no flexibility for grade skippping and alternative approaches because they sincerely believe they have all the bases covered.

Yes, you can advocate for changes and I have here and have been relatively successful. But in a district that has really established and succesful gifted programming, it's really difficult and has been somewhat draining. And it comes at a personal cost as there are parents who think you are a real a$$.

Peace,
Neato

Hello Calizapher,

I am sorry my post bothered you. I wished schools like the one my dd attends would be available for every child, gifted or not. It is a great school, and yes it is an expensive school. Had my dd been a ND child I wouln't have even considered a private school. However, a good percentage of the families there receive some financial aid. The Davidson institute also provides financial help for tuition for schools like this one.

It is true that some of the families there are very wealthy, but not all. For a good portion of us it is a sacrifice of both time and money.

We also have the long drive. We have to drive close to an hour each way every day to get there (by the way, about 80% of the children attending this school have a long commute).

I been kidding Dottie that she could start a school like this where she is. This school started with nine students in the school's founders home. One of the reasons I like to post the great things my dd's school offers is that I think perhaps someone can start something great like this somewhere else.

The incredible resources are great, the great teachers a big bonus. However, what makes this school truly extraordinary is the fact that HG children learn side by side. This is something any school could easily implement.

Anyway, i promised to be quiet for the rest of the school year, so I am zipping my lips.

I don't think anyone really expected you to keep that promise, Bianca. LOL!

As far as I'm concerned, talk on! Just let me grab a bib so I don't get my shirt all wet with drool...