Signe Schloss of Clifton had a book published at age 4. At age 5, she started reading the Narnia series by C.S. Lewis. She can read the New York Times, but her parents try to keep it away from her. Sometimes, it's better not to know too much at age 7.

        The second-grader and 21 other highly and profoundly gifted children start school today at the Academy of Greater Cincinnati, the second gifted school in Ohio. The other is the Schilling School for Gifted Children, a K-12 school in Forest Park.

        The private Amberley Village K-8 school was started by parents who wanted a greater say in their children's education. The students have attended a variety of public and private schools.

        “We chose this school for the freedom to learn at a pace that's comfortable for our child,” said Julie Davis, mother of 8-year-old Lauren, a third-grader.

        “This is a great group of educators. They have real insights into gifted education. That's hard to find,” the Loveland woman said.

        Kate Lester of Milford is president of the academy's board. Her children, Derek Lester, 13, an eighth-grader and Roxanne Reiter, 10, a fifth-grader, will attend the school.

        “I created this school for them and every other kid in the city who needed a unique environment,” she said.

        Derek, who scored 990 out of a possible 1,600 on the college SAT last year, has attended four public and private schools. He was bored in first grade. One school mistook his giftedness for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a common mistake because gifted children tend to get bored with a traditional curriculum. His needs have never really been addressed, Ms. Lester said.

        Each academy student will have a personal development plan to focus on individual academic needs and pursue interests through enrichment activities.

        “The potential is limitless,” Derek said. “It's a school without boxes. We can have unique classes like archery, martial arts and electronic music. It's great to be able to expand on any idea you have — to have the flexibility to do that.”
       

Serving a subset

               An estimated 5 percent of the U.S. student population is considered gifted. Some may be gifted in one or two areas, such as math or music. Others excel across the board.

        Peter Rosenstein, executive director of the National Association for Gifted Children in Washington, D.C,, doesn't know of any organization that tracks the number of gifted schools, but knows of few private schools devoted exclusively to gifted children.

        Many public schools group gifted students homogenously, he said, where they are challenged beyond their peers. However, about 85 percent of identified gifted students still spend most of their time in a regular classroom.

        Gifted schools aren't for everyone, he said, but they're important for those children who need them. Typically, the first two months of each year in a regular school are spent reviewing material. Gifted children don't need that, he said.

        “Over a period of 12 years, they've wasted two years of schooling,” Mr. Rosenstein said.

        There are advantages to sending gifted children to a school tailored to their needs, said Vicki Carr, director of the Arlitt Child and Family Research and Education Center and program chair for Early Childhood Education at the University of Cincinnati.

        Children grouped by ability often excel because they have lots of information to build on, said Dr. Carr, who has a master's degree in gifted education.

        “Tasks must really challenge the child's interest, ability and capacities,” Dr. Carr said. “Each child must receive the education geared to the best of his or her abilities. When you're looking at an average classroom, the lessons are typically planned for the middle. When you ability group, you really are teaching at a much higher level.”

        There are disadvantages, though, to clustering gifted children in their own schools.

        When gifted children are removed from the traditional classroom, other children are robbed of the opportunity to be exposed to that higher-level thinking, Dr. Carr said.

        “In the real world, we have people of all ages and abilities and thought processes and opinions, so you also have children clustered in gifted programs missing out on pretty much the rest of the world.”

        The academy parents debated the disadvantages, but decided their children had plenty of other opportunities to widen their circle of friends. Parents decided the pros outweighed the cons.

        Federal funding will lessen the need for special gifted schools, Dr. Carr said. For the first time, Congress authorized money for gifted programs as part of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the federal umbrella that governs K-12 education.

        Once different versions of the Senate and House ESEA bills are ironed out this year, states could share up to $160 million for gifted programs.
       

Holistic approach
               Ten families combined forces to start the academy, which rents space at Rockdale Temple, 8501 Ridge Road. They hired Dr. Christine S. Neville as head of school.

        She held a similar position at the Schilling School. She also founded the Program for the Exceptionally Gifted, now in its 17th year, at Mary Baldwin College in Staunton, Va.

        The academy, which charges $7,500 tuition, believes in a holistic culture that emphasizes balancing mind, body and spirit.

        “We believe in supporting each child at all levels of development with the complete understanding that they exist at several levels at once,” Dr. Neville said. “Our philosophy encourages the support of the intellectual, emotional and spiritual components of development.”

        In short, “We believe more in unfolding than the cramming of facts.”

        Admission criteria include: Passion for learning, evidence of intensity, degree of asynchrony, sense of community, degree of perseverance and exceptional ability.

        Passion for learning is one of Signe's strengths.

        “I hope it keeps her challenged and stimulated,” said her mother, Kay Sloan-Schloss. “I hope she'll really develop a sense of the world around her and some great playmates.”

        For more information about the school, call 794-1404 or visit www.academygc.org.
       

At work, blacks still sense limits
Cop wants manslaughter trial moved
Lost innocence: kid-on-kid sex crimes
Protecting children from sexual abuse
School geared to brightest children
City school reforms began with Buenger
Education summit for students, adults
GED students race deadline
How GED test has evolved
Politics abound at picnic
Luken addresses crime in TV spot
12-year-old rams car into house
Flower giveaway aims to promote good will
Log house defenders fight government
Man shot dead outside city motel
UC medical school adds Web application
Woodlawn requests analysis
Congrats
In the schools
Local Digest
Road-project foes press ballot drive
Democrat likely to take on Murgatroyd
Festivals part of Hispanic heritage month
Ft. Wright throwing birthday party
Artificial hearts compared
Kentucky Digest
Sewer system brings growth
Soldiers' families hope bodies can come home