<p>I believe you Cindy, simply because I have an 11yo daughter who appears very similar to yours. She only skipped one grade (is now in seventh) because that's all they would allow, even though her tested skill levels were 11th grade at the lowest end at the end of 5th grade. She's tiny and could easily pass for a third or fourth grader. </p>
<p>When super high ability children are ALLOWED to excel, they certainly can. I have no doubt at all that both of my 7th graders could do AP classes without any more trouble than a regular highschooler, but the school administration wouldn't even consider letting them. My son asked to take AP English and they looked at him like he had two heads.</p>
<p>If you have psychometric data on your daughter, I would highly suggest seeing if you can qualify her into the Davidson Institute's program for highly gifted children. Their website can give you the qualification criteria. It sounds like she's in a good situation at her public magnet school. Why send her so young?</p>
<p>Personally, I feel that your daughter might be too young for boarding school. I'm in an orchestra with older students (juniors, seniors, and college students) and we'll be touring in Africa this upcoming summer. In many of the foreign countries that they went to in the past, it was legal for them to drink and smoke. Some of my friends partied in China when they toured two years ago too. A lot of these kids go to boarding schools such as Philips Academy and Walnut Hill School of Arts. I highly doubt you want your kids to be in such a place. I'm not saying that all schools are like that but you should still think about what your daughter will be facing.</p>
<p>Ive never heard of the Davidson program. Thanks for the info I will look into it. In my situation I have homeschooled quite a bit so she just integrated into the public school setting before that she was in private school. Now she is in a school modeled after others across the country that have middle and high school combined so the missle schoolers have access to the high school courses. indiana's homeschool laws are very reaxed so I have ultimate say where my daughter should go grade wise as long as she is testing in that level. If I lived anywhere else it wouldnt have happened.</p>
<p>As for the person who asked why am I sending her away. she chooses to go. she is the oldest of 6 kids she wants to get away spread her wings a little. and if she stays here, because of all the credits she has she will be cnsidered a junior. High school is not based on social promotion your grade level is determined by credits so it will be way worse for her to stay here because then she is in classes with 17yr olds all day and is robbed of 2 years of high school that she could use for social development. I rather be at a school with kids who want to be there and who care about learning. as compared to this inner city school and to top it all off half her classes next year will be at th community college so then she is around adults unsupervised.</p>
<p>So that is why I am looking at mary baldwin college who take incoming freshman at age 12 is setup like a residential boarding school and best of all its all girls. so she takes college classes while earning her high school diploma concurrently. The other good thing about boarding school she can come in as a freshman because its a private school and gets 4 full years of high school experience. as for being around 13/14 year olds those are her peers.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the help. It is good to know there is another mom on here who understands what it is like to have a high ability child. The resources available to us are slim andwe have to help each other out. thanks so much</p>
<p>Why one earth would you ship an eleven year old genious off to boarding school? Obviously your daughter is very smart, but be cognizant that schools like Exeter, Andover, and St. Pauls could easily enroll a class of students that all scored 97+ on their SSAT's. Prestigious schools find it vital that they accept well rounded students destined to have a positive influence on the school. Take St. Paul's for example, their average SSAT score for 2007 was a mere 88.</p>
<p>cindy - i am a female eight grader and i am very impressed with your daughter! you must be really proud to have such a talented and gifted child. i skipped sixth grade, but i'm not really sure what the reason behind that is...i came from the philippines, where schools start at june..since my birthday is in july, i was a little older than some of the students in my old school..i moved from the philippines to vt on july '07 and i started 6th grade - i just turned twelve when this happened..some people think that the reason why i was moved to seventh is that because i was a lot older than the other kids.. :\ and my grandparents had these friends, everytime their sons get into the honor roll (mostly A's, but you have B's), they would call every single friend and tell them the news, just to brag.but when i moved here, i got into high honors (straight A's), higher than their sons...so they stopped calling, i'm guessing because they were embarassed and can't handle the fact that some people ARE ACTUALLY better than them..</p>
<p>and then recently, my grandparents told these people that i might move to new york next year to go to an all-girls boarding school..On my day of my visit, we informed them of what we're doing, and the mom said that her son did the same thing last year..we just said okay and didn't add any further comments..how can her son do the same thing when this school is just for girls?ha.ha.ha.</p>
<p>i'm sorry if i just talked about myself..</p>
<p>anyway, mabe you can find a special school for your d - a school where there are kids of the same age..she might be a little intimidated if she goes to boarding schools with students a lot older than her..it is also hard because the kids nowadays are much, much more liberated - take my middle school, sometimes, you can see people making out!!!(really gross)</p>
<p>well, this is just an opinion.i hope you make the best decision for your kid.and wow, how i wish i'm as smart as your daughter.good luck! :)</p>
<p>An 11 or 12 year old child is too young for boarding schools that start with ninth grade students. Most 11 or 12 year olds need their parents & family more than an excelled education which sacrifices daily family ties. Better to petition your school district for private tutoring, AP classes or seek out a local IB curriculum. My impression is that any boarding schools with 12 year olds is accepting them as day students (Exeter & Andover accept about 22% of each class as day students). Also contact any local colleges/universities even community colleges or junior colleges to see if your child can take classes as a day student. Social development is just as important as intellectual growth. If your daughter needs more & cannot get into local accelerated classes, than contact a national homeschooling association that will get you set up to assist your daughter at home. Also, gifted children can help themselves through reading & self study. Visit your local public or college library & explain your situation. You might be surprised at the quality of help that you will receive.</p>
<p>Hey cindysellsindy, your daughter sounds great! Perhaps if she is already so advanced, she won't be academically challenged at boarding school, even the great ones. Since she's already practically graduated from high school, it would be like repeating it, and that would be totally boring. And I don't think sending her to a boarding school would actually get her a good social experience. There are many people who are 12 and start 9th grade (young for grade/skipped years) but the majority is 14 when they start 9th. I would recommend having her start at university. Socially, she may not fit in because, as you can see from this thread, people tend to get jealous. Also there are some issues at boarding schools that you might not want your daughter exposed to yet: alcohol, drugs, sex. She would be 16 when she graduates, and frankly it's much more impressive to be a graduate of university at 16 than being a graduate of some boarding school at 16, even as a repeat. Also, although she is intelligent, she may not be the most or best at boarding school. I know for a fact that there are kids that could have skipped a couple of years, but opted not to in order to stay with kids in their age group. So instead of skipping, they have had private tutors for each subject for years. Given your current situation, I would recommend university. Perhaps, Harvard? MIT maybe?</p>
<p>Remembering how I was at age 12, I don't think it is too young for boarding school. Most of my friends where 16-19 - I didn't relate well to others my age.</p>
<p>I DO recommend VERY honest discussions on drugs & sex. I'd anticpate she will be exposed to things which she hasn't before. You want to impress upon her she doesn't need to "prove" her age.
I also STRONGLY urge you let her know she does NOT have to stay at BS if she decides it isn't for her. As the oldest I would guess she feels a responsibility to make the family proud, but you don't want to put excessive stress on her. I would suggest she take it semester by semester (or year by year) and not feel she is signing on for 4 years.</p>
<p>I would also urge you, once she has been accepted, to reach out to the schools and request a faculty mentor be assigned to her who may have experience with younger freshmen. </p>
<p>I wouldn't dwell on anyone's responses of her being too young. I think the schools do a fine job evaluating the whole student, not just the academics. IMO She would not be accepted at these caliber schools if they felt she wasn't ready.</p>
<p>I don't really think that 12 is too young for boarding school, but does this kid have any social life? you can be a genius but if you don't know how to interact with others, its not going to get you anywhere in life. Has your daughter tried ANY extra-curriculars (music, arts ect..) I think that seeing as your child is already ahead, cut back a little bit (maybe home schooling would be a good idea) and then enroll her in music school, or an art program. She may be growing REALLY fast academically, but she really should be social and do something fun. I spen 5-6 hours a week at music school and 5-6 a week playing sports, and I'm still in all honors classes (and somewhat young for my grade but not by multiple years) The reason 10th grade classes have the title "10th grade" is because that is who they are meant for. Don't push it too far, she can still succeed in life at grade level or slightly above.
Thats my opinion.</p>
<p>11 is NOT young. there are kids in america that go to boarding school in 5th grade. outside the country, some kids start pre-k boarding school. even in england, the normal age is 7-8 years old</p>
<p>Its not too bad if they are with kids their own age. But since cindy's daughter would most likely be taking classes with seniors... I think it depends on the maturity level of her daughter, and where she would be most happy.</p>