Gifted child? New option opening in Cincinnati

Cincinnati Public Schools is launching a new gifted magnet school in the fall.

The citywide Spencer School for Gifted and Exceptional Children is slated to open in August for the 2017-18 school year. It is expected to serve about 350 students in grades three through eight, with the school adding a grade each year until it becomes a third- through 12th-grade school in 2021.

CPS got approval from the school board on Monday to open the new school, Walsh said. Parents of students who meet eligibility requirements should get info by mid-February.

The Spencer School will be CPS’ third for gifted elementary age students, joining programs at Hyde Park School and Cheviot School. Students have to qualify based on screenings in four areas: superior cognitive ability, academic ability in subject areas, creative thinking and superior ability in visual or performing arts.

The new school will be housed at 2825 Alms Place, which, until the holiday break, housed the school district’s suspension and expulsion programs.

The suspension/expulsion students have moved about six miles north to the Jacobs Center in Winton Hills, according to CPS’ website.

CPS in April announced a plan called Vision 2020, meant to strengthen its neighborhood schools with specific programs, such as art or environmental science. The Cheviot gifted school is part of that push, as is the new school in Walnut Hills.

For more information, including what it takes to enroll in a gifted school, visit cps-k12.org/academics/programs/gifted.