Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy How much do a I push the school?

I'd love some advice. I have DS who is 6 years old and is towards the end of his kindergarten year at school. He was tested when he was 3 and then again at 5 and his scores range from 138-145+ in IQ and 143 in achievement. He has ASD and ADHD which definately impacts his scores as he is not the type of child you come across often.

We have focused heavily on his therapy the past few years and now how ourselves an amazingly well adjusted non Behavioral child who is quirky and still learning social skills but overall is considered sweet and delightful.

This year in kindergarten we have a teacher who has high academic expectations and despite being very far advanced she had extended him and he's found school enjoyable and he is learning new things.

He taught himself to read at 3 and has a matxhing level of comprehension. He read and understood Harry Potter when he was 4. We are not sure his reading level but we know it is very high.

The GATE program doesn't start until the 3rd grade however during his IEP he was referred to them. It was recommended that he take some district level testing (no idea what this is) to determine where he is officially so we can discuss options. The school have already administered the WJ achievement and gotten 143 and the teacher says that he is the brightest child she has ever taught in over 30 years of teaching. So hey acknowledge it.

However, I keep asking for this testung to be done but have had no response or have been referred to someone else. It's been 3 months and I have just been referred to someone else.

I want very much for the process to take place this year in case there is any extension decided upon I want it to be put in place from the start of next year as he is a child who needs stability.

Do I keep pushing or am I getting into being a pain parent? What to do?

Did you make your request for testing on paper or verbally? Does the school or state have policies/laws for gifted education?

Communicate in writing. Get the book From Emotions to Advocacy. Compose a polite e-mail with a timeline of your requests, and ask that the testing be completed before the end of they year. You can advocate for your child without being a pain, and even if you were perceived that way, that doesn't mean you should stop. Good luck!

You've received great advice from others, I'll just add that in addition to learning your State laws and school policies, and following the approach described in the book From Emotions to Advocacy, you may wish to call another meeting of his IEP team and discuss next steps. General meeting tips, advocacy tips, and lists of resources are also found in other threads/posts on the forums, including:

- For advocacy with 2e (IEP and/or 504): the WrightsLaw website and the fetaweb.com website are resources which provide additional information in support of the book From Emotions to Advocacy.

- Have you seen the gifted advocacy Guidebook on the Davidson Database?

- In this recent thread, several posts discuss reasons to not use the word "bored" when advocating.

- While in general there is good and bad in everything, a focus on negativity and disappointment may be seen as smacking the oobleck with a spoon and creating an unyielding solid... it works against advocacy.

- Focus on the positive, on the ideas set forth in the law and in school policies, and how the school can implement these to help meet your child's needs for intellectual peers and an appropriate level of academic challenge and pacing... Tips on preparing for a meeting.

- Parents may also need to consider whether a change in schools may provide a better learning environment for their child. Your family does not seem to be at that point yet, but it may be a thought to keep in mind for the future.

- Here is a recent thread discussing a similar question: How do you know when to push the school?

Chances are you will have to push when advocating - the important thing to realize is that as long as you stick to being polite about it, advocate with data to support what you are requesting, keep the emotions out of your requests, and put everything in writing - you aren't being a "pain" - you are being an advocate. Sometimes advocates have to "push" and that's ok. To be honest, teachers will probably expect you to push.

Advocating for differentiation and acceleration in early elementary can often require what feels like pushing simply because there are a lot of parents who advocate for "more" in the first few years of school. Not just parents of kids who are going to ultimately test gifted, but a lot of parents in general. What I noticed in our local school district was that a large majority of the parents who were most vocal about their children needing differentiation and challenge in K-1 dropped out of sight once the gifted screens were given in 2nd grade, or once their children were tested early for the gifted program. So, at least here, I think teachers are used to a large number of parents who think their child will test gifted requesting (or demanding) that something more, when really their child isn't going to qualify. In your case, you have scores. You know your child. You've got the data. You're not just begging loudly for something your child might or might not qualify for - so stick with it and request the testing in writing.

OTOH, I'd also caution that, if you are near the end of the school year, the school staff might simply be booked up. That happens here - IEPs for the next school year have to be completed before the last day of school, and that ties up a lot of school staff in meetings, at a time of year when they are also trying to get final grades/etc wrapped up. A written request turned in now, in our school district, would probably be put off until next year, not because the parent was perceived as pushy but because there just isn't staff/time to get to it this school year. That's not necessarily a bad thing either - if you were to get the request in writing turned in now (here), even if it couldn't be completed before the end of the school year, you'd be in line to get it taken care of possibly before the actual start of school in the fall or within the first few weeks of school.

So hang in there! And make your request in writing

polarbear

ps - email is considered "writing".

Also indicate that you will have your child available for testing over the summer. In the 90s the school system I worked with had at least on psychologist working over the summer sometimes two and an intern. They liked to clear up the gifted testing and those who were testing for ese who had completed the necessary observations and interventions and just needed testing. Then the beginning of the school year was meetings and new referrals. With budget cuts they tend to not have as many summer psychologists but you never know.

If you are in a US school district, the chances are extremely high that a written request will not result in testing during this school year. Even given differences in how states have operationalized the federally-mandated due process timelines, at this point in the year, most districts will not have to complete the process before the end of June/beginning of September. And yes, if they can push it off, they probably will, with the floods of end-of-year critical items. It's just triage. I would second asking about summer testing. Some of the big districts in my area do retain staff to do summer testing.

But given that the formal GATE program doesn't begin for a few years, do you really need the official GATE test to access alternative services? He already has (if I recall correctly) a perfectly usable SBV ABIQ. Maybe what you need is a meeting with GATE decision-makers, rather than actual testing. That might be something that could be set up for this summer. Are you in a state that mandates addressing gifted needs in a special ed IEP?

thank you everyone for your responses. I put the request in writing on 4th of March and then again a few weeks later and then again 2 weeks ago and then again yesterday.

I know that many people think their children are exceptional and are asking for more for their kids. I think we are in a fortunate position that the school tested him and gave US the results, rather than the opposite way around. The teacher also was supportive of the testing and said he is the highest child she's ever taught.


I dont even know what we want in terms of acceleration - maybe subject acceleration or at very least clustering with another child as at the moment he is having to work in a group alone because no one is at his level.

so we are not wanting the worldjust for him to continue working.

I am unsure about policies or laws. We are new the the state. We live in California. Does anyone know what the polies are for california?