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I know some folks have already posted about this, but we received a second round spot for McPherson’s RGC for K. As this is a young program and given last year was all mostly on-line, would love to hear more personal experiences.
Is RGC curriculum dictated at the district level (i.e. is curriculum at Edison vs Bell vs McPherson the same)? McPherson has IB in the primary years–does this offer something different on top of RGC standards? Obviously, there is no experience yet at the higher grade levels, but are there plans in place as the program grows by a class grade each year (i.e. how to handle RGC status for 5-8th grades with more teachers teaching different subjects, etc.)?
Any insights would be much appreciated!
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Chi-mama, did you end up going with McPherson? We are now in this same situation and I would love to her any insight you have. Even if you didn’t choose it, did you get answers to the questions you asked here? Since we now have the very same questions!
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The curriculums are not dictated specifically from CPS. Each year the school reevaluated the curriculum it’s using for each subject matter. The one used by the rgc is accelerated one to two years (I’ve seen more too depending on the kid and class and teacher). On top of that the rgc kids also adhere to the IB curriculum for primary and middle years. I think McPherson is the only CPS school with both the ib curriculum for primary and middle years and the accelerated rgc.
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@ChiSchoolDad Our child is in the RGC program as a kindergartener at McPherson this year (2023-24). The school opted into the Skyline curriculum for kindergarten, and for what it’s worth, we heard that the class did not finish all the kindergarten units in either math or literacy. We’re not sure what that means as they enter 1st grade, but hopefully, the teacher will be aware of where our kids stand. At this time, we don’t have a way to compare how well other kindergarten classes across CPS (RGC or general ed) progressed. However, if you are looking for an “accelerated” feel, you might not get it here. CPS does not have benchmarks that RGC programs need to meet as far as using the “accelerated” tag, so it seems like a bit of a gamble.
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I’ve got one younger kid in the RGC at McPherson and one older kid in the neighborhood program. There is a big difference in acceleration as the years go on. It’s probably worth understanding that classical schools start out accelerated and RGCs move faster over the years. Though that probably depends on the kids in each class. I was just talking to the current RGC third grade teacher at McPherson and learned that the third grade class this year was working on fifth and sixth grade math at the end of the year. He told me they also didn’t finish the kibdergarten math units when they were in kindergarten.
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At Bell, the RGC kindergarten class starts with a grade 1 Go Math curriculum. I completed tours at 2 classical schools and 2 RGC’s back in 2021. Both classical said they teach one year ahead and both RGC’s get to two at some point. At Bell, the RGC approaches 2 in 4th grade (I believe anyway.. we are not there yet) So I concur with the above posters comments. But I would definitely confirm with any school you are considering directly as I do think every school is unique in some ways.
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We accepted an RGC spot in kindergarten for the upcoming school year. When I went on the tour and spoke with the RGC coordinator at McPherson, she specified that their gifted program currently focuses on using the standards for the grade (or 2) above to guide their program versus using 1st or 2nd grade curriculum (which is what some other programs do). The reasoning was that the material in those curriculums may not be age appropriate for kindergarten learners. Using the 1st or 2nd grade standards, will allow them (in theory) to have all the kindergartners (both RGC and neighborhood) working through similar topics but the RGC students will take “deeper dives” into the material so that they are learning via more advanced standards. An example she provided was that all kindergarten classrooms were involved in the egg hatching project, but RGC students explored further and deeper concepts than the neighborhood students.
I found the conversation I had with the RGC coordinator at McPherson to be very helpful in better understanding the program. She seems very open to discussion with parents so it may be helpful to reach out to her and schedule a time to meet.
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p.s. I also browsed through the McPherson RGC newsletter archives to get an idea of how the program was going. I found it useful but I also am a first timer so was relying on gathering as much background info as possible:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1cGxMwNbx70hIayoOJt7WKVfRm64a22pQ
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@firstrodeo what was the definition of standard (as opposed to curriculum)? I’m not sure that I follow what they are saying exactly. Just curious about the differences between the two.
Thanks!
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I believe they are referencing the IL State Board of Education standards. Here is an example: https://www.isbe.net/Documents/ela-standards.pdf
ISBE website describes standards as:
“The Illinois Learning Standards establish expectations for what all students should know and be able to do in each subject at each grade. The standards emphasize depth over breadth, building upon key concepts as students advance. The standards promote student-driven learning and the application of knowledge to real world situations to help students develop deep conceptual understanding. Intentionally rigorous, the Illinois Learning Standards prepare students for the challenges of college and career.”While each school may select a different curriculum to follow, these are the learning outcomes that are expected to be addressed in each grade. I hope I’m explaining that accurately.
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For example, under the Reading Standards for Literature, under the Key Ideas and Details subheading, in kindergarten, students should be able to “With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.”
In first grade, that evolves to students should, “Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.”
Then by second grade, it becomes, “Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.”
Hope this helps! It’s a lot to process.
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Being now three years into a RGC curriculum, I don’t even know how to gauge literacy in our classroom. Most of it is writing, and writing can be somewhat open ended I guess? In our class the kids journal, and answer reading comprehension questions. I think they are given certain expectations. Like use “first”, “and then” and “finally”. Don’t start a sentence with because and correct punctuation. But I’m sure some kids are elaborating more, so I still feel it’s somewhat of a work to your ability with guidelines. They also get grouped for spelling and have either 3/4/5th grade words. (My child is wrapping 2nd grade) So literacy seems a little less concrete. They also of course choose their own books to read.
But math is very much more concrete because the math book itself is basically the 3rd grade common core standards from A-z (the associated standard is actually listed in the corner of each page of the book) our second grade RGC class just finished out the 3rd grade math book. They do also use pages from the enrichment book (they use Go Math) which is the associated concept but adds a problem solving component. So for math, I don’t think the whole concept of curriculum vs standards could really apply. But they do go more “in depth” with the enrich pages.
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I just went back and looked at what was attached for the Illinois Board of eduction standards a little bit more in detail, and in third grade folktales and myths are referenced. In 2nd grade this year, they did spend time on both of these things and even did a mythology project. So I guess that is another example of how the standard could not exist without the curriculum.
But some of these more general bullet points, it could just be that McPherson just expects more advanced writing skills if given the RGC kids the same questions/prompts as the neighborhood class.
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Hello!
My child just got off the waitlist for McPherson 1st grade. Just seeking info about school environment and if you have a child there that is happy and thriving. Teachers good at building relationships? School leadership strong? Thanks!!
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Congrats on the offer! We were only at McPherson RGC for 1 year in 1st grade so I can’t answer much of your questions. But I will say if the 1st grade teacher is still Mr. Salerno, he is an amazing teacher. My kid definitely thrived from his teaching and thinks that he’s been the best teacher we’ve had.
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Thanks for the quick reply! We already made a move from kinder to our son’s current school so it’s a tough choice to move him a month in. That’s great to hear about Mr Salerno! For any negative reason you moved on? Thanks again!
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No negative reason we moved on from McPherson. We just moved to a different neighborhood and enrolled in another SEES program. We did the same with my kid, moving schools a couple of weeks into the school year. There were a lot of tears, but it was the right move long term for us.
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Ah! So you’ve been there! Would you say in addition to the rigor and emphasis of testing/scores that tend to come with RGCs, the teacher also inspired a sense or play and fun? Thanks again!
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