Magnet Schools

There is a chance. She is an only so they only need one slot.

Testing for being gifted does not start until 1st grade, so if your child is in Kindergarten, she will need a teacher recommendation in order to apply for a gifted school. Once your child is in 1st grade, she will need to be tested in order to qualify.

There are magnet school, gifted magnet schools, and highly gifted magnet schools.

Hope this helps,
Jenn

Don't listen too much to another mom, listen to her teachers.

In my school district, my son started the gifted program in January of first grade. i wouldn't worry about gifted in Kindergarten. He gets to leave his class for an hour once a week and do some fun but challenging stuff.
He has never had his IQ tested they may do that this spring if we want them too, but getting placed in gifted was because his teacher thought he was so far ahead of the other kids.

I don't know much about magnet schools, if you do check into it and really like it then, take a chance unless there is some sort of application fee you wouldn't be out anything. If you are happy with your school now then don't worry about this other mom, whats in it for her??

hmm I remember the schools telling me that they do not teach for gifted until 2nd grade . Are you and she happy in her current class? If she is why move her now. Apply early if you really want to try and get her in the magnet school. If not you might want to see about a private school. Many do assistant programws if your child is that gifted.

I would check with the local school system. They'd be able to answer your questions better than we would, since I'm guessing most of us are not in your area.

You should be looking at the schools that you would like her to attend. My kids are in a Magnet school here in LA, but only because it is our local school (for my address). It has been good, and the one advantage of that is that we are racking up the magnet points to get into a Magnet middle school. The only reason we want that is because our local middle and high schools are not good at all. If you are not happy with the school she is in, then look at other schools. Since it is hard to get into other community schools, if you are not in that community, you have more of a chance of getting into a Magnet. There are also the charter schools that are also lottery, so you can apply to those as well. Gifted or not, visit all the schools that you might want to apply to, talk to people and then apply to your top choices. And again, do this only if you are not happy with your local school options.

I'm no expert, but here's some basic info to research further -- gifted programs/schools can provide specialized education, smaller classes, etc -- so definitely worth exploring.

Basically, there are gifted programs (like the GATE programs) within each school -- where your child gets an hour or so each day of specialized education. Then there are entire gited magnet schools -- that your child must test to get into. Gifted magnets are different than regular magnets - since the testing limits the applicant pool to qualifed students (and you are not stuck on an endless wait list) . To the best of my knowledge, the OLSAT is the 2nd grade test issued, but to be eligible for a Magnet school, you must request additional testing to be qualified as Highty Gifted. Here's a quote from one of the sites below on the subject " The OLSAT does NOT qualify children as Highly Gifted; only an Intellectual test administered by an LAUSD psychologist can qualify your child as HG, allowing them to apply for the HG magnet schools. If your child does well on the OLSAT and you are interested in HG magnets, you should request Intellectual testing to qualify.you must request additional testing You must request additional testing "

For great website/discussion thread on gifted magnets/programs in the north Hollywood area
http://askamagnetyenta.wordpress.com/gifted/

Another website that might help:
http://www.highlygiftedmagnet.org

LAUSD info on gifted programs within the schools:
http://sfpc.lausd.k12.ca.us/GATE/intro-2.html

Also the CHOICES brochure explains the magnet programs in general and there should be a counselor at your school who can discuss the GATE program with you.

Here's a fuller paragraph on gifted testing from LAUSD :

"In spring 2011 LAUSD will begin testing all second graders for giftedness in the High Achievement category using the Otis Lennon School Ability Test, 8th edition (OLSAT 8).
If students pass with a score of 95%+ they will be identified as gifted High Achievement. Those with scores 90-94% and with CST test scores will also be identified. If identified, your child can enroll in LAUSD gifted programs, including gifted magnet schools.
Please note that the OLSAT does NOT qualify children as Highly Gifted; only an Intellectual test administered by an LAUSD psychologist can qualify your child as HG, allowing them to apply for the HG magnet schools. If your child does well on the OLSAT and you are interested in HG magnets, you should request Intellectual testing to qualify.
More information on the District’s OLSAT testing can be found here: http://www.lausd.net/lausd/offices/GATE/Parent%20Newslett...

Definitely research this out for your child, it could benefit her greatly. Good luck

You need to check with your child's teacher, each school district is different. Here in Orange County they do not routinely test for "gifted" until the 2nd grade. I didn't know anything about the GATE program until my oldest son's 3rd grade teacher recommended he be tested (and passed in the 97th percentile in Language Arts, 99th in Math. OH! That's why he was so bored?) So I was prepared with my youngest and had him tested starting in the first grade (I had to request that his teacher recommend him to be tested).

We had the choice of keeping our kids in their current school and my oldest could be in a "cluster" class where he and any other GATE identified kids would basically be given extra work to keep them challenged (read: busy work). Our other option was to transfer them to a school that had "Special Day Classes" which are classes with all GATE students in them. The teacher has special training and certification (usually), curriculum is accelerated , much more challenging, and they end up covering more in the year than a regular class would. For us, it was a no brainer. We transferred the kids and havent' looked back. My oldest started in the GATE program in the 4th grade and has had a wonderful experience. He is now a freshman in high school, honors student, and is in the Early College Program (which he had to apply and test into) where he takes college courses along with his regular high school course load.

I highly recommend you look further into your options. Good luck!