Jerald
All of our kids qualified for Spectrum. We kept one in the regular program because he was happy and challenged (in elementary).
For the others, we moved them into Lafayette’s Spectrum program, after lots of agonizing.
I was a “bright” kid in the old days and remembered what it was like to wait while most of the class took longer to learn things. I asked myself, would I have been happier in a class made up of just the others like me, and I had to say, yes. So we moved the younger kids after kindergarten, before they’d gotten very attached to their friends.
I know this doesn’t totally apply to moving to Lowell, because that’s a bigger step to go so far away.
Our younger kids did go on to Washington Middle School, where APP kids go too. Although they made lots of friends from around the city, their closest ties have been with those from West Seattle because they ride the bus together.
BTW, if you asked him now, I think our oldest son believes he’d have been better off going into Spectrum or APP. He eventually ended up at Garfield because West Seattle schools were not enough for him.
Being a parent is difficult…there’s never a right answer. You do the best you can.