Trouble Finding a 1St Grade

I have a radical suggestion. Why not let your kid be a kid? What is the point of a 5 y/o doing multiplication problems anyway? So you spent a small fortune sending him to Montessori so they could teach him beyond his peers and now he will be bored with his peers and you are considering moving to a place with other little geniuses? I dont think there are any public school districts that teach multiplication in first grade. Well maybe in China.
Sorry for sounding sarcastic, but when your son enters Harvard no one will care about his accelerated math skills in Kindergarten.

Hi P.,

I don't know anything about your area, but want to point something out to you. Your son is extremely advanced academically and likely gifted (I'm sure you know this) and regardless of the quality of school system, the mainstream curriculum is not going to meet his needs. Even a "gifted and talented" program is going to be populated mostly by kids who are performing well below your son. Rather than look for school systems with good reputations (since these reputations are for educating "average" children, which your son is not) I'd reccommend finding a specific school with a program that WILL meet his needs. (You're probably looking at something private, but not just a run of the mill private school or you'll run into the same issues as in public school).

Also, remember that school ranks and reputations are largely based on the number or students they have performing at or above grade level. They do not speak to the quality of education being offered (by that I mean that schools with highly educated parent populations have high performing students which may or may not have anything at all to do with the classroom instruction, many of these students would have excelled wherever they went).

Good luck.
T.

My only advice is that you not forget about your child's social education. It's so important that your child is able to be a social being. Being exceptional in his mind will be meaningless if his heart and soul is not cared for.

And as for him making the decision... he's 5. He can have a say but you need to do your job as a parent and make decisions for him.

Good luck!

I recommend homeschooling since you can't continue in the school you are in. Your son sounds like a bright kid who wants to learn and he will be able to do anything he chooses, what a blessing that is!!! I put our son in school knowing how to read and boredom was prevalent and after many talks and much frustration they moved him out of K to 1st, but ... We finally found a private school where they worked at their own pace. Policy was to test all children for grade level. My son at 1st grade age, tested out of 4 grade, and was placed in 5th grade material. He finished grades 5,6, and 7 that year through P.A.C.E. For the most part it was much better than trying to work with the school system. Today he is a lawyer writing contracts for the US government. That program is available for homeschoolers as are many other excellent programs.
I homeschooled my twins because the school was no longer available. I used a variety of materials. They homeschooled through high school and are now in college. One for art, and the other journalism. It took work and determination but when I see their success & and their character I am glad I took the time.
God bless you as you make the decisions you need to make.

We had the same problem a year earlier... but were caught flat footed. Our own fault.

Right before Kindergarten, after 3 years in montessori preschool our kiddo was SOOOOOO excited about "big school" that we just sent him. Huge mistake. Like yours he was doing +-x/, reading chapterbooks, using the real terms for things... Normal run of the mill Montessori things. We were in the 300's on the waitlist for a 20 spaces available K-6 montessori class, so we went to our local school (rated top, btw... but as Thea said... ratings are based on % of students being AT grade level... and at grade level varies quite a bit. In our district that means knowing your colors by the end of K, and being able to add and subtract by 3rd grade). That is officially the LAST time before he's 14 that kiddo gets to choose what school he goes to. Not that he made the choice, much less knew that the choice was his... but he wanted, so we did. Oy. Lesson learned.

By christmas break the little boy I knew and loved was disappearing. He used to be a bright, curious, funny little guy who loved his friends & learning/school above all else. By break he was skipping off the bus waving at his friends until the bus was out of sight and then he'd cry for hours. He still loved his friends, but he was shutting down inside. He was miserable, and bored out of his mind... but didn't want to make his friends feel bad so he'd "pretend" which made him very very tired. He had a phenom teacher with over 30 years exp, who was completely aware of the problem and did her very best... but she was literally begging us to get him transferred before he turned his mind off and just decided to hate learning.

In our area (seattle) there is an incredible gifted school... where the kids are grouped together by age, but work at their own level. They just get used to Susie being a "science girl", and Billy being a "numbers guy", and Jonnie being a "languages" guy. AKA... they get to be with their developmental peers (which, by and large, is all about sense of humor/what's "funny") and work academically at their own pace. The kids were also encouraged to be kids (as in running, skipping, or pretending to be a giant bug or rocketship) to or between classes was encouraged. Not a stay in line/stay within the lines kind of place. Killer school. It would have meant a 40 minute drive each way, but it would have been worth it.

And so far out of our budget as to be impossible. So we homeschool. Which was scary, but has turned into a giant adventure... with a social calendar so full that I have to seriously put breaks on it.

Anyhow... just our experiences

- kids choosing their own school before they're cognizant of all the factors involved is just plain silly (btdt)
- look for a way to either continue with the montessori education, or a gifted school... most of which teach at least 1/2 way montessori
- look for a gifted school over a "highly rated" school

Have you thought of homeschooling him?
If you really want him in school then skip him a grade. Bring all his progress to the principal. She won't want to do it, but you are the parent, it's your right.
I wouldn't let your child have any say in where he goes to school. THey get to pick college, if you let them choose what elementary schools they go to then they will never get to the college they really want.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120347510560879067.html
http://www.projectappleseed.org/choose.html

Maybe these grading websites will be helpful in your search.

Also, many realtors will not reveal if one school is better than another as that could be construed as leading buyers from one marker to another and is illegal, due to fair-housing laws, though very annoying.

Choosing a neighborhood/school
http://realestate.msn.com/article.aspx?cp-documentid=2074...

Try Rockland Day School in Congers, NY. It is a private school.

I live all the way across the country from you, but my suggestion is to visit a Carden School near you, if there is one. I was a Carden student and both of my girls go there, too. It's a fantastic curriculum that really allows bright kids to excel. We've been so happy with it.

My kids are not in school yet but I know there is a Waldorf school in Chestnut Ridge. We visited several years ago because my husband was interested in teaching. They are not exactly advanced in academics but focus a lot on hands on learning. I have seen many private schools advertising in the Parent Paper but I couldn't steer you to any specific one.

As for your son deciding, I would give his opinion strong consideration but have the parents make the final decision. There are so many things to factor into a decision like that that a 5 year old doesn't have the life experience to consider.