I am wondering what is the difference between these schools and at what age they can be enrolled? More details would be appreciated I.e. Criteria, pros and cons. Also, we live in north aurora, our school is rated at 4 on great school.com, not sure how accurate that is.
Thank you!
A magnet school has a narrow focus on a specific subject. For example a schhol may be an arts magnet school. Students who attend focus on the arts.
Gifted is a program for students who meet specific criteria while attending any school.
In our school district we have a magnet school (6 - 8, focusing on technology) and a charter school (K - 8th). Both schools have applications and choose students by lottery, the siblings of current students are automatically offered a spot. We also have a gifted and talented school (1st - 8th), and that one chooses students based on a given criteria.
Call your school district office or look at their website. It can really vary by district.
You have to qualify for gifted.
In our school right now they have no "gifted" students in the fourth or fifth grade population because not a single student can pass the test. This to me means something is wrong if they can't identify the top 5-10% of our population.
We are also a magnet school our emphasis is on Arts, Spanish and P.E. To get in to our school you put in your application on a certain date usually in February. Then they draw names...its is a lottery.
Once a child gets in they can stay every year unless they have discipline problems or problem parents. Then siblings are automatically "in".
I would start with the school district website. Then I would read the comments left from former parents of students who attended these schools.
If you click around in greatschools.com you should find the test averages and other details about the schools.
Then call your school district and ask them your questions. They should be able to direct you to the appropriate place to get your answers.
You need specifics from the district. Some programs can start in 1st grade and others not til middle school.
Here, there are magnet programs/schools that cater mostly to gifted students (or the really really gifted) but that doesn't mean that the "home school" doesn't also have gifted programs. Even though my daughter didn't test over the moon and qualify for a magnet program in first grade, I do expect her to test gifted later (they test again in 2nd grade). Her teachers have already said she responds well to techniques used in gifted classrooms even if she is not yet in a gifted program per se. While I would have liked DD to have been in a more challenging program all the time, vs just some of the time, the pros of staying in her current school include the smaller school overall, the local factor (vs being bussed) and just the overall vibe of our home school vs the vibe of the magnet school. DD benefits from those things, even if she's not reading 2 grades ahead. Either way, students are tested and must qualify for those programs. That's fairly standard procedure.
