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The Right Fit: Finding the Best Educational Program for your Gifted Child

Date postedMay 5, 2025
Blog Posts, Network Blog,

By Vicki Phelps, Ed.D.

As parents of gifted and high-potential learners, we want to ensure that our children are engaged in learning opportunities that will continue to challenge them, spark their creativity, provide opportunities for self-awareness, and develop them into successful, independent citizens who will lead fulfilled and successful lives. It sounds so simple, right? After all, there are so many options available: public schools, independent schools, after-school enrichment classes, summer camps, residential schools, online options, and homeschooling to name a few. With so many options, however, how do we begin to know what the ‘right fit’ is for each of our children when they are all so different?

As we begin to ask ourselves that question, let’s take a moment to relate to something that we all have experienced as parents: buying a new or gently used pair of shoes for our child. Metaphorically speaking, there are a great deal of similarities. After all, like each educational option, each shoe, whether brand new or gently used, has its own physical attributes, overall purpose, size, width, arch support, and even special insignias. When we begin to think about which educational program is best for our gifted child, we are, in essence, looking for the same type of ‘fit’ to support our child in the next steps of learning.

Where Do I Begin?

When looking for optimal educational options for your gifted child, the best place to begin is by reflecting on your child’s current educational experience, needs, and future goals. Regardless of age, this is a process that your child should be a part of. Not only does this send the message that your child’s voice is valued, it also provides insights that might otherwise not be heard. In addition, it builds a sense of buy-in and excitement for future possibilities.

The initial stage of engaging in this conversation might consist of creating a PMI1 (i.e., Plus, Minus, Interesting) Reflection. Depending on your child’s age and/or interest, you might choose to complete this together or separately to capture both the parent and child perspectives to discuss afterwards. When working through this process, you will create three columns on a blank piece of paper and label them Plus, Minus, and Interesting. Remember, this stage is for reflecting upon what is currently going well within your child’s current learning environment, as well as what might be lacking. It also provides an opportunity to reflect upon what makes the current learning environment ‘interesting’ or how it provides unique experiences that might not typically be found in other programs. By completing a PMI Reflection, it gives you a starting point and a greater awareness of what key components to remain mindful of as you begin to explore future educational options.

First Steps and Key Considerations

Just as you would do when buying a new pair of shoes for your child, you will want to holistically evaluate the various options you are considering. In doing so, you will first want to do your research to learn as much as you can about each program. This might begin with online searches, speaking with others who have participated in various programs, or by speaking to key representatives of the programs of choice. As you conduct this research, remain cognizant of the key factors shared as part of your PMI Reflection. What are the positive aspects that your child wants to see continue in their learning? What areas have been lacking within your child’s current learning environment? What opportunities are present that provide unique or interesting approaches within your child’s educational experience that you would like to see continue? With these considerations in mind, the following sections provide additional insights to assist you in evaluating various educational programs for your gifted child.

Learning Environment

Take a moment to think about when your child is most engaged in learning. What type of physical learning environment contributes to that level of engagement? Key considerations in this area might include:

  • Classroom/learning lab set-up (e.g., tables vs desks, flexible seating options, areas for collaborative learning, quiet zones)
  • Dedicated resource areas for continued talent development (e.g., library, technology labs, makerspaces, science labs, gymnasiums, fine arts studios/halls, theater/auditorium, outdoor spaces)
  • Accessibility to restrooms, water fountains, and safety areas

There are also characteristics that focus more on the affective (i.e., social-emotional) learning environment. The NAGC (2019) Gifted Programming Standards provide key areas to consider when evaluating the gifted learning environment. As a parent working through this process, it is helpful to use these standards as a frame of reference. By scanning the QR code (included in this article) with your phone’s camera, you will find the Gifted Learning Environment Evaluation Scale for you and your child to complete together after visiting a potential new school or educational program to ‘measure’ how you and your child feel about your visit. The various descriptors included on this tool could also serve as a basis for questions you might want to ask during your visit.

Program’s Purpose

While our shoe metaphor recognizes the different purposes for different types of footwear (e.g., hiking, running, climbing, water exploration), educational programs all have their own purpose, as well. This might be made evidently clear through a program’s mission or vision statement, or you might need to ask explicitly what the purpose of the school is. Make sure you also ask follow-up questions regarding what aspects of the program lead to the desired student outcomes.

While there are many exciting programs available for gifted and high-potential learners, do not lose sight of the needs of your child. This becomes an even greater consideration as we seek to further develop the talents of our children and provide them with ample opportunities to pursue their areas of interest. Take the time to talk to your child about what they are passionate about. You might ask:

  • What is your favorite part of learning?
  • What do you wish you had more time to learn about in school?
  • If you could design a school, what would you make sure it offered its students?
  • What makes you try your hardest at school?
  • How would you describe the type of teacher who would best support you in your learning?

With this information, you will have a greater awareness of what types of programs or schools would be a better fit. These might consist of math/science academies, fine arts magnet schools, STEM schools, special interest camps, and depending on the social needs of your child, perhaps residential schools, camps, and programs that immerse your child in opportunities to build deeper relationships with other gifted and high-potential learners who share in the same passions. As you explore these options, remain mindful of the instructional pacing and connection to real-world applications within the areas of specialization/content areas, as this is key to continued engagement and motivation for gifted learners.

Curriculum

With all of the bells and whistles that different educational programs have, one of the most important considerations to investigate is how the curriculum is focused on the needs of gifted and high-potential learners. Do not be afraid to explicitly ask, “What curriculum model does your educational program follow to meet the needs of gifted learners?” or “What types of evidence-based strategies are implemented to stimulate critical thinking?”

It is possible that the program might mention several terms that you are not familiar with, but their response will provide you with valuable information to learn more about as you evaluate if that school is the right fit for your child. There are far too many examples of curriculum models and evidence-based strategies to list as part of this article, but at the very least, if an educational program is unable to respond to those primary questions, that would be valuable information to note, as well.

Overall Size

Nobody knows your gifted child better than you. With this special insight, another consideration for choosing the best educational program is to evaluate the overall size of the learning environment. Regardless of if you are exploring options for summer camps, after-school enrichment classes, or new school options, a top consideration is teacher to student ratio. Depending on the needs of your child, the optimal desired class size could vary. For example, if you have a multi-exceptional child, you might place a high-priority on small class sizes to ensure more individualized attention. If your child is extremely social in nature and thrives in a collaborative learning environment, a larger class size might be preferred.

In addition to class size, it is also important to consider the overall size of the educational program itself. When focusing on brick and mortar schools, the size of the school often has a direct correlation to its extra-curricular options. These could include sports, fine arts, chess club, and academic teams to name a few. The overall size of the school also often impacts its educational course offerings as well, due to the size of the faculty. Smaller schools tend to have fewer elective courses at the secondary level, Advanced Placement (AP) options, language options, and Career and Technical Education (CTE) opportunities. Often, the size of school or grade span might also impact the ability for full grade acceleration or subject acceleration. Regardless of the size of the program, remain vigilant that your gifted child should at all times feel like a valued individual within the program and be provided with an opportunity to learn something new everyday.

Additional Supports

A frequent myth associated with gifted learners is that ‘they will be fine’ without any additional support or attention given to their unique learning and social-emotional needs. In fact, this myth might be the reason why you are beginning to explore different learning options for your child. As you think about the current and potential future needs of your child, you might seek out additional information from each educational program regarding the following areas of support:

  • Gifted Specialists
  • School Counselors/Social Workers
  • Speech & Language Pathologists
  • School Psychologists
  • Interventionists/Resource Teachers/Special Education Teachers
  • School Nurses
  • ESL (i.e. English as a second language) Teachers
  • Librarians/Research Specialists
  • Technology Specialists

While this list is only a sampling of specialists within any educational program, these are all individuals who work closely with gifted students based on each student’s individual needs and should absolutely be a consideration when exploring various educational programs to support gifted and high-potential learners.

Cost

Finally, this article would be remiss if it did not note ‘cost’ as a key consideration for educational programming. You will notice this was not the first item listed, and that is because there are often financial aid and supplemental resources available for families whose economic needs determine that additional support is needed. As you explore the different options available for your child, do not hesitate in asking about these options. At the same time, also seek clarity for additional financial obligations associated with the specific program. These additional costs could include items such as field trip costs, school uniforms, food costs, additional supplies, and participation fees in extra-curricular options. It is important that the selected educational program aligns with keeping a healthy fiscal balance for the family, as a whole.

Final Thoughts

Throughout the process of exploring different options to further challenge and engage your gifted child, remember to give yourself grace as you take these first steps. Trust your instincts, and make sure that your child’s voice is also a valued part of the decision-making process. As you visit potential schools or engage with representatives of different programs, remember to ask open-ended questions vs questions that can be answered with a yes or no response. This type of questioning will provide you with greater insights and peace of mind as you finalize your decision. To support you in these questions, feel free to use the following Guiding Questions while you are exploring your options. You will see that these questions are provided for both the parent and the child. Feel free to modify these questions to better suit your family’s needs.

Guiding Questions for Parents

  • How, specifically, does this program support the academic and social-emotional needs of gifted learners?
  • What is the teacher to student ratio?
  • How are students supported in developing executive functioning skills such as time management, study skills, goal setting, reflection, interpersonal skills, self-regulation, etc.?
  • How does the program differentiate to meet the personalized learning needs of each student? Is acceleration an option if my child demonstrates mastery of the content?
  • What support resources are available for my child (e.g., gifted specialist, school counselor, school nurse, speech-language pathologist, content-area specialists, interventionists, etc.)
  • What learning resources will my child have access to (e.g., library, technology, makerspace, science labs, fine arts, etc.)?

Guiding Questions for Gifted Learners

  • Will I have opportunities to choose topics that I want to learn more about or select specific classes that I want to take? What would this look like?
  • What extracurriculars can I get involved with?
  • What does a typical day look like for a student in your program?
  • Are there any other teachers or students who look like me and/or share similar interests as me? How will I be able to connect with them?
  • What kind of projects do students in this program work on?
  • How is this program going to support me in reaching my goals?
  • Who are my teachers going to be, and what are their teaching styles?

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