Fast forward 30 years to survey GATE for my kid and saw subjective learning, group discussion, group work, kids being taught that their opinions mattered more than facts. Entitlement strong since the Dewey socialization aspect is emphasized and the best kids were the ones who thought the most highly of themselves.
Now, that was my district. So formed a little homeschool with other parents and hired a tutor. Within 3 years, the kids were ready for college. One went directly, others went to public and private schools.
I recommend touring every school private and public within a 40 minute drive of home. Walk in like you own the place and no one stops you. Look at the texts, look at the work displayed, observe the classroom setup, the boredom of the kids. Even ask kids if they like that class.
Frankly, the textbooks tell 75% of the story. They're a complete mess nowadays with 4 fonts, 3 pics, broken up text, on every page. Messy to look at, stultifying to study. Kiss of death=subject not taught chronologically and hierarchically.
Getting a kid educated today is the most arduous task any parent faces. Not every parent is good at homeschooling. Not everyone can afford private. But what you can do is work with school counselors to tailor a program for your own kid, whether the kid moans and groans about it or not! Like I said, there was nothing simple about educating a kid from pre-school through college graduation!!
I think if you can get your kid interested in reading and learning at an early age, its half the battle.
My son finished 10 years at a state university and has his PhD in plant genomics and biotechnology. He is a research scientist, working in a different state now at one of their universities on a project for DARPA for our DOD.