Is it good to put gifted kids in special schools?

jessica2012 · #1 November 10th, 2012, 10:46 PM

I'm wondering what's the best for the gifted kid. Should we put them in special school?

Best,
Jessica

BensMom · #2 November 11th, 2012, 11:25 AM

It depends on the child and the school! Some kids are more gifted than others, and some schools are better than others. Some gifted kids also have disabilities which make the situation even more complicated. I see from other posts in your profile that your child is 2.5. Now is a good time to nurture through play to help build any special skills you're seeing. As time goes on, you'll be able to either test for giftedness or prove a special talent to apply for gifted schools. Touring schools with your child is the best way to tell. Shari - one of our members here - has a child in a gifted school. We have a gifted school here, but it doesn't fit my son's needs. Every child and situation is different. There really isn't a one-size-fits-all answer to your question. Sorry!

shari626 · #3 November 12th, 2012, 06:04 AM

Chrystal you are right - every situation is different. And let me clarify - my kid is not in a gifted school per se. She is in a private, small school that allows kids to work at their own level. They teach to the highest level kids and expect everyone else to follow. She is no longer in public school where children are struggling to keep up. It has been an amazing match for her.

There is a gifted school in this area - but it's in a bad part of the city and its incorporated into a low income school. And they provide no transportation.

BensMom · #4 November 12th, 2012, 10:01 PM

Sorry! I knew that! *slaps forehead*

clouise · #5 November 13th, 2012, 06:54 AM

Ideally I would like to see my children educated in a regular classroom, with the instruction differentiated to meet their needs. An extra enrichment or pull-out class on top of that might be nice as well. I think 95% of kids should be able to be in a typical classroom, with only the extremes on either end needing to be in a totally different classroom setting.

However, that isn't available in our area. We do have a public school for the gifted that we looked at, but decided against it for pretty much the same issues that Shari mentioned. I did feel like they had some nice things to offer, but in the end we decided just to homeschool. Homeschooling has worked out really well for the kids.