Hi,

I'm new here and just learned about the young scholars program, and found this forum. From what I've read on this site and my internet research, it seems that all the children who are in the YSP have been accelerated, or are true child prodigies (winning national competitions in piano or equivalent feats). Our child meets the WISC-IV and WIAT-II criteria, but is in a public school with a regular second grade curriculum at age 7 (they don't have gifted programs at that age anyway - they believe in differentiation, not acceleration). I'd like to apply, as I believe that many of the problems in his first years of school could have been avoided or lessened with the help of the YSP, but we are not in the same boat as those of you whose children are so many years ahead in reading, writing and math.

I'd appreciate your sharing your experiences and knowledge.

Thank you so much!

We haven't applied to the YSP but since everyone still seems to be sleeping off the Thanksgiving turkey I'll give it a go! As long as you have the required scores I believe you are in the same boat. I think YSP can be especially helpful to families like yours whose children haven't received accomodations or acceleration for our children. One of the services they offer is advocacy help with your child's school. If that, and connection to a network of peers for your child are what you're looking for, you should definitely apply.

I'm sure when other DYS'ers (like Trinity and Dottie off the top of my head) wake up they can give you much more detailed info.

Welcome to the board!

Wuh....what? Did someone mention my name? Sorry, I was snoozing off my pumpkin pie fest of the last 3 days, LOL!

I agree, if you have the scores and you think your child would benefit, fill out the application. It only costs your time to apply. DS (almost 9) has been in for about 1.5 years now, and it's been extremely helpful for us. He is not what I'd call a "prodigy", but was/is clearly different from your average run of the mill 98th percentile GT kid. Had I not stopped and really looked into what your average GT kid is like, I might not have realized how unique DS is.

For us, DS LOVED the big annual gathering last year, but other than that....DYS is more about "me" at the moment. I love the support from others jumping through similar hoops with their schools, and the camaraderie in the sharing. With the "backing" of the Davidson's name behind me, I've been able to get more appropriate things in place for my son at school. It helped distinguish me from the other moms making radical claims about their child's abilities, LOL!

We too are in public school, and I can't imagine DS in a regular 3rd grade classroom. At 2nd grade age though he was only accelerated one year overall and 2 for math. Others in the program have not been accelerated, and this can work too, but that was our obvious pressing need for DS. He is/was a fish out of water in an age peer curriculum. However, he's my third child, and having the two older ones at home helped "spur" him on in his early years. I imagine things would be different if he had been my first. He would still be as bright, but without the exposure, perhaps not as advanced? I don't know.

Long story short, it can't hurt to apply. Send what you have, and let the Davidson staff make the call. Most of what I've been able to get in place for DS has been a result of others paving the way, and sharing their situations.

We've applied to the DYS program recently and are waiting to see if dd has been accepted or not. She is also 7 and in 2nd grade, like your son. Based on everything I've read, and the response from the ladies here, the YSP sounds like an excellent program. DD also scored well on the WISC IV and is doing accelerated work in school. She isn't a child prodigy like you described (nat'l awards, piano, math etc) but there's no question that she's PG.

I think your son would benefit from the program, especially if he has no acceleration options.

Davidson runs 2 different programs that are easy to get confused even though they are different: the young scholars program (YSP) and the Davidson Fellows. The Fellows get awards for their prodigious accomplishments, whereas the YSP supports and nurtures highly/exceptionally/profoundly gifted kids who have great potential, but may or may not have accomplished at high levels. I remember getting these two progams confused when I was new to the website. It seems like the YSP would be good to apply to.

Thank you all for your replies. We actually had our son evaluated because the first grade teacher thought he'd have trouble with second grade!!! He hated school and hated the school work - and the educational psychologist stopped most of the tests once he reached the upper ranges b/c it didn't matter any more for our purposes. She said he'd test even higher if he was willing to go further, but he was tired and tired of the testing so she stopped when he went high enough for her to understand the source of his frustration in the classroom. Needless to say, his last school was an utter disaster. At least he's happy in the public school, but I realize that my role as an advocate is far from over - and I need some clout behind me.

Thanks again for your repsonses. I have to say that this is one of the most polite message boards I've ever seen.

Well gosh thanks for the compliment Questions!!! (Since I post so much I'll take that personally, !)

And thanks ACS for the two program clarification. I hadn't even thought about that .

Hi questions,
Welcome! Not all the YSP kids are accelerated, and my son is only accelerated by a single year, and that was just last year. He has made it quite clear that this is "just right" for him! Some of the kids are academic superstars and some are problem children and some are just nice normal appearing kids, particular from an adult view-point, if you don't have much experience with what normal children are truly like. Some kids go out of their way to fool their teachers and fit in, with elaberate stratagies for calibrating just how well then can do to get good grades and still fit in.

I would say that the number one concern of all the parents that I have talked to is about raising a decent human being. Profoundly gifted children have certian advantages and certian disadvantages on this path, and I've found it really helps to know what the other parents have discovered.

One of our jobs is to help our children understand themselves. Being around other parents of kids who scored similarly has really helped me know my child better, and be a better mirror for him to know himself. I don't see how I would have gotten that without the YSP.

Smiles,
Trinity

For those already in the YSP:

Were you able to find other parents in your area that you could talk with/meet or are the contacts purely online?

I ask because I live in a small little town but am just an hour away from the Davidson Academy. I sure would love to meet other parents and kids around here that we could talk with and meet.

(of course, we are still waiting on word on the YSP...hopefully we get the opportunity to be a part of it! Fingers crossed..we should know in a couple of weeks)

Thank you, Trinity. Your comments are helpful. We'll apply and see what happens.