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cmiller727 t1_j5mm4ks wrote

I grew up in Springfield but moved to Republic about 12 years ago. Only my oldest kiddo is school aged - 1st grade- but so far we are really fond of the Republic School District. He recently qualified for their gifted program and they've gone out of their way to keep him engaged. Republic also has a really engaging parks and Rec department and far more parks than other nearby cities (it's part of what keeps us here)

Do your kids have any special interests? Some local districts obviously excel in certain interest areas.

All the close non SPS districts (Willard, Nixa, Republic, Ozark) are growing RAPIDILY and sports are highly competitive and hard to get in to.

I grew up on the north side of Springfield (Reed and Hillcrest) which did have a high level of poverty but I had a FABULOUS experience! Central High School (which is center city and also a high poverty rate) also has an amazing international baccalaureate program with great advanced classes.

I'd be happy to help with any specific questions!

Welcome!

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Dbblazer t1_j5n5pcc wrote

Man i liked the "gifted" program so much growing up. I'm astonished that the same treatment is not provided for all children. Test scores should not take away opportunities for 10yo's

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Wyldfire2112 t1_j5o3bi9 wrote

Don't know what your gifted program was like, specifically, but you have to ask yourself this: Would the 50th-percentile kids actually find it as interesting and engaging as you did, or would they have floundered and felt bad about themselves because they couldn't keep up?

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Wyldfire2112 t1_j5o354d wrote

>He recently qualified for their gifted program and they've gone out of their way to keep him engaged.

As someone who is just barely over into the "profoundly gifted" range, myself, I'm super glad to hear they're on top of this kind of thing.

It took until junior high for someone to actually realize I didn't have ADD, I was just bored and disengaged because the teachers weren't keeping up with the speed at which I could digest information.

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