Path away from public school

I never expected to be a part of the private school crowd. Our family has a strong record of involvement in public schools as educators, school board members and students. But after disappointing experiences in public school with our oldest son, a profoundly gifted child, we felt forced to move, homeschool or go private for both Isaac, now 7, and his brother, Ethan, 5, who also is gifted. "There are parents who assume their children will go to private school from a young age and simply choose that," my fellow refugee mom continued. "And then there are those who have struggled through years of public school and find SAA to be a haven for their children." During the first week of school I encountered many of these public school refugees. Each had a story similar to mine. One mom sent her child to a highly touted North Shore public school with disappointing results. "She went into kindergarten reading The Chronicles of Narnia, but the school gave her nursery rhymes to read," the mom said. Another recalled: "My son visited the Science and Arts Academy years ago. After a daylong preview, he told me to call his public school and tell them he was sick and would never be back." Then there was the mom who shared how her sons public school kindergarten teacher, a seasoned teacher and the mother of a highly gifted child, scheduled an hourlong conference to discuss the boyҒs high intelligence level and make recommendations to ensure him an appropriate education*something gifted kids are often not legally entitled to. Unfortunately, the boyגs first-grade teacher, a well-intentioned young woman with a newly minted education degree, didnt share the kindergarten teacherҒs enthusiasm for teaching the profoundly gifted boy. Instead, she was convinced the boy was autistic. Many hundreds of dollars and hours of testing later he was diagnosed as being unusually intellectually advanced for his age. That mom continued: "My image of a child prodigy was a kid who plays flawless piano concertos while still in diapers. I didnt realize my child was so different. ItҒs a joy to see that Science and Arts Academy is meeting his social and academic needs." During a hurried but lively chat at pickup time, I told her I could relate. Each of us was glad to have found a kindred spirit. "This conversation feels like a hug," she told me as we herded our kids to our cars. With so many children facing such a wide range of compelling and highly publicized emotional problems and learning disabilities, its hard to get sympathy for the smart kids. But parents who have been there understand. They understand that students now thriving at a school for gifted kids were not only bored and underserved at their former schools, but may have been suffering from anxiety or depression as well. Science and Arts Academy is structured and the teachers are trained to meet the unique educational and emotional challenges gifted students pose. They understand "asynchronous development"җthat a child may be exceptionally advanced in some areas, but average or even below average in others. That ability to teach across the spectrum also means that the school works for both of my kids. Since we couldnt imagine separating the boys, that was key to our decision. If we couldnҒt send both kids to Science and Arts Academy, we would have been forced to choose another optionmost likely moving to a much more expensive house in a much higher performing public school district. Even that might not have worked. Gifted children can be tough. And not just because they ask probing, unanswerable questions. Gifted kids can be emotionally intense, struggle with big issues and be master manipulators, among other things. Itגs tough for teachers and for parents, who find parenting a precocious child can be an isolating experience. Its one thing to seek support because your child has a learning or physical disability, but itҒs hard to rally the troops because school is too easy for your child (who, by the way, is now called Mr. Smartypants). A parent whose child is a star athlete can talk about the traveling teams or championship games, but when it comes to things intellectual and academic, it somehow gets more awkward, more personal. At Science and Arts Academy, we have found support and safety. But our fate is still uncertain. My husband and I sometimes ponder an unanswerable question: Twenty years from now, will we find investing in a private school was a better choice than investing in a really expensive house in a higher-performing public school district? Both choices are quite costly. Which ultimately will show greater appreciationour children or a house? We have to believe it will be our children. For more information on gifted children, visit [url]www.geniusdenied.com[/url], [url]www.hoagiesgifted.org[/url] and [url]www.iagcgifted.org[/url]. n