Search Database

Missouri - St. Louis Regional Program for Exceptionally Gifted Students (PEGS) (St. Louis, MO)

• Website

  http://gifted.psdr3.org/?school=pegs

• Topics

  • Educational Options: District GT Programs
  • Grade Level: Elementary School
  • Grade Level: High School
  • Grade Level: Middle School

Comments

Student on 2/9/2014

I was in PEGS for three years (one in elementary and two in middle school) and I highly recommend it for any parent who thinks their child is capable. The curriculum is amazing, promoting complex mental processing, encouraging REAL creative thinking, plenty of hands-on activities, and assignments usually assigned in high school with the same level of quality expected, such as full research papers. The exceptional (no pun intended) learning material is backed up by a small class size, excellent, knowledgeable teachers that treat their students like adults, and peers that are on the same level as students that would usually be the odd ones out in their own districts. However, this is part of the flaw with the program. The students are isolated for the most part, aside from some "electives", and don't learn how to interact with other peers not on their mental level. This caused some social problems, especially later in in middle school where most students only interacted with students inside of the PEGS program and/or didn't know how to interact with other students. In addition, personally, I feel that the teachers didn't have enough experience to support to resolve interstudent conflict, leading to even more problems with social skills that usually affect students at this level. Overall, however, PEGS is an excellent program that has given me an incredible advantage both in thinking skills and general knowledge throughout my time since leaving.

Parent on 5/31/2011

Our two children have been in PEGS (in the Lindbergh District) since they were in 1st and 2nd grade. They just finished 3rd and 4th grade and we are very, very happy with the program. The children are given emotional support and inellectual challenge appropriate for their needs. The student/teacher ratio is unbelievable and the children participate in art, music, PE and extracurricular activities with their peers throughout the entire school so that they aren't isolated and are allowed opportunities for social/emotional development outside of the gifted "bubble".

Student on 8/18/2007

I went to PEGS back when the program was just starting 15 years ago, in my first year I believe there were only 9 students in it so far, which expanded to 27 the following year. It was probably the best thing to ever happen to me educationally. I had suffered through a kindergarten classroom where I was forced to repeatedly trace letters, it simply being assumed that no student knew how to read or write coming in. When I got to PEGS I found other kids I could relate to both academically and personally. When I had to leave because my Dad was relocated to Ft. Sam Houston in San Antonio, there was no replacement for PEGS in any shape or form. We tried taking me to a private school where the curriculum was about a year above traditional norms for grade level, but it essentially held me back about 2 years by forcing me to be in lockstep with other kids in the class. I had been working out of an Algebra textbook, now I was doing 6th grade math for the second time instead. But what suffered most by leaving was I no longer had peers I could relate to. Because I was outside the standard that the other kids were at, I was ostracized and tended to get in fights. PEGS was the perfect place for me because I could spend those first years of school growing up in an environment where I was normal. I'm not sure what's happened in the 10 years since I left, but this is still the only time I was ever truly adequately challenged.

Parent on 5/15/2006

My child attends the elementary school PEGS, housed in Drummond Elementary. The school has an amazing amount of resources. The teachers are certified in gifted education; one is nationally certified. They know more about the special needs of gifted children than any other educators we met. We find that gifted children usually find it hard to adjust socially in a traditional classroom, and prefer to be with their intellectual peers. This is the place where they find their peers. Gifted children are often socially awkward; here they are accepted, nurtured and appreciated.

Student on 3/3/2005

I am a student in the PEGS program at the high school level and began attending PEGS when I was in fifth grade. While it cannot be denied that the teachers and the thought behind the program are wonderful, it must be realized that isolation can be emotionally and socially crippling for students especially at a young impressionable age. Far too often, too much emphasis is placed on development of intellectual processes rather than social viability. This program can be helpful but should not be thought of as an end all, cure all for every exceptionally gifted student.

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