Alternatives for Gifted High School Students

Some high school students are ready to move on academically long before their peers. As stated in High School Alternatives for Gifted Teens, “It’s easy to find stories of 13-year-olds going off to college, but many gifted kids just aren’t ready to leave the nest early.” At the same time, they may have already finished or tested out of the regular high school curriculum. Author Suki Wessling suggests that students in this situation investigate

• Alternative schools
• Community college classes
• Private schools, if they can be flexible with your student
• The book, Serving Gifted Learners Beyond the Traditional Classroom: A Guide to Alternative Programs and Services 
• Online high school courses
• Homeschool 

In addition to the suggestions above, check out the OpenCourseware Consortium, which is a collaboration of higher education institutions and associated organizations from around the world creating open educational content that is free to the public.

A student who finishes high school early might also take a year or two to pursue her passions in a very focused manner, furthering her studies in music, theatre, art, dance, language, cultures, science, etc.

The best solution for finding answers to any education dilemma is often a combination of possibilities.