Although children in America generally feel hopeful (Snyder et al., 2003), all children do not have the same level of hopefulness. At times, gifted children can find themselves in settings that are socially and intellectually stagnant. Gifted students may have a hard time finding intellectual peers and stimulating cognitive challenges commensurate with their abilities in a regular classroom (Gross, 2004). Therefore, school can seem hopeless without goal setting skills, without identifying paths to attain goals, and with low confidence toward accomplishing goals. Ideally, parents, teachers, and counselors should collaborate to help the child develop goal-setting skills and to identify pathways that will lead to goal attainment. As a team, they should create a plan and process in moving forward to support the child's efforts toward accomplishing those goals. The aim of those who parent and educate gifted individuals is for academic success and happiness, so students flourish throughout their lives. Hope, when framed as a goal-directed and active process, helps students thrive academically and personally. Hope, then, is much more than wishful thinking about a positive outcome.