[D@mnedYankee]

1st off Hi! My name is Casey (25) I have 2 kids Amber (8) and Joe (7 weeks). Amber has been identified as gifted but is now attending a school without a gifted program. Because of this we are looking at transferring her back to the public school for next year but they do a cluster style approach to gifted education and I am not sure I am comfortable with that. Have any of you had experiences with this?
I feel like I am failing her by having her in a school where she isnt being challenged but I fear the public school wont be much better if not much worse.

[tassiegirl]

A good teacher will differentiate the tasks and cater for your child. Pull out isn't always best.

Good luck!

[AmAnDaMo]

Originally Posted by tassiegirl

A good teacher will differentiate the tasks and cater for your child. Pull out isn't always best.

I agree. Not only was the pull-out program a waste of time when I was in elementary school, but I also felt like it singled me out and drew attention to the fact that I was different, when all I really wanted was to fit in.

I like the cluster approach. In our school, they cluster the kids together with the teacher who has the most experience with gifted children in each grade. They break into groups for reading and math according to ability anyway, but when there are other gifted children in the class, they are able to go deeper into the material and concentrate on higher-level thinking as well. It also served as a source of healthy competition for my oldest, not only in terms of academics, but also in areas like art, where there were other kids with incredible talent. It gave her the push she needed to stay motivated.

Also, even though all gifted children are different, she did feel like she had more in common with the other kids than she would have in a regular classroom. The other kids had similar emotions, views, vocabulary, etc., which helped her feel like she belonged.

[BensMom]

I have no advice. I was in a pull-out program as a kid, and my kids are homeschooled. Just wanted to say hello and welcome!

[shari626]

I have kids in pull-out programs and it's a waste of time. They aren't getting anything out of that at all.

And welcome.

[Hugo&Sergiosmom]

I think the cluster approach would be better because the pull-outs are not always every day.

I am struggling right now since mine aren't school age yet and I have one clearly ready for school and I am going through the whole debate of this program vs. that myself. So not much else to really offer but hello and welcome.