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    Joined: Nov 2014
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    A week or two ago I posted in the Identification forum about my DS8's school assessment scores, which disqualified him from services with the district. I'm fine with the fact that he is not the kind of student that they mean to serve. However, I find myself somewhat fretting about the students who would benefit more from identification, kids who don't present as classic high-achievers but who might really thrive with challenge.

    So, I'm writing an email to the district superintendent (who is also the special services director this year, I guess.) I am asking him for my son's full scores and inquiring about whether the psychologist who oversaw the testing and made the final determination about services can address my son's ability/achievement gap in verbal ability/language arts. (I find myself coming back to worrying about stealth dyslexia a lot recently.) And then, I feel like I need to include a gentle challenge to the district over the narrow criteria they're using. How does this sound?

    "Although we have been happy with the way (DS)'s teachers have really worked with him to differentiate in the classroom with worksheets and self-teaching materials, we were hoping for the added benefits of ability grouping and direct, differentiated instruction with this new program. It's clear though that this wasn't the intent at all, if 1-2% of the district -- which apparently equates to one student out of 930? -- is expected to be identified. May I ask what *is* the intent for improving the educational experience of any elementary student who might be identified in the future, and whether you are confident that the nomination process was sufficiently broad to capture students from diverse backgrounds who might not present as high-achieving in the classroom, and whether funding is the main concern holding the district back from a more broad-ranging effort targeted at a bigger portion of the student body?"

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    I am delaying a letter for a similar problem you are having with your letter. I am not sure that you can address 2 problems in one letter without the teachers etc assuming a different link than intended.

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    Originally Posted by master of none
    It looks as though there are two issues. First, you want to use their testing results to learn more about your DS and how he learns best, and what his needs are. So, you want the full testing to allow you to do that.

    Second, you notice that the current level of school work is not adequate for him. You are glad they pull off the top 1 or 2 percent, but you are worried that many kids are left behind without the level of instruction that they need.

    To get your point across, I'd separate the two issues. If you know for sure what programing they have and that there isn't anything for kids like yours, I'd make that point with references from the literature about how kids change over time, how young kids from enriched environments leave other kids behind if the GT program isn't flexible with multiple entry points, etc. If you don't know for sure what there is, I'd ask how the programs work and what is available for kids like your DS.

    That's a good observation about the two issues being conflated. I'm very concerned about coming across as THAT mom, pushy to get my kid labeled. It's the opposite of what I want.

    There isn't any programming, that's the problem. This is intended to be the first year for the program. But they only identified ONE student -- not one per grade, just...ONE. In the entire district, kindergarten through twelfth grade. So there still isn't a "program" per se. Nor will there ever be, since they seem to think this is an acceptable outcome of their assessment process.

    I guess I just need to let the whole thing drop. This has been a very frustrating experience, far more than I thought it would be, in more ways than I expected.


    Moderated by  M-Moderator, Mark D. 

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