Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy About to start advocacy effort, some advice please

Current situation: DYS DS8 in 3rd grade. Differentiated development with ELA being somewhat advanced, but very advanced in math. He just finished prealgebra 1 in AOPS and got to the mastery "blue" zone in the report. Using middle school math placement test by Saxon Math homeschool, it placed him at 7/6, almost 8/7 (need 16/20, he got like 14). Kinda made sense since he only finished half of pre algebra.

He is identified as gifted in school which entitles us to an IEP. It's a small school district with a very under developed gifted program. They seem to be willing to listen, but not much seemed to be implemented. The current IEP calls for in class differentiation, identifying / filling gaps in his knowledge, and then individually accelerate subject matters. That sounded like a good idea since he can stay with his class and his friends. In reality we felt that it was poorly implemented. The teacher gave him an end of grade test and identified that he didn't know the names of some triangles or something. I mean that's great that it was identified, but that seemed minuscule in the grand scheme of things when he overall level is at grade 6/7.

As we plan for the next year, the school once again proposes in class differentiation. This time we got a bit concerned. With his current pace, he can start algebra 1 by the end of this year. My common sense question is that with 3+ grade difference how can in class differentiation keep up? Furthermore, we are starting to see some signs of learned underachievement. He is careless with his work because it's so easy. The teacher brushed it off and said yeah I see this a lot in GATE kids, he knows the material. But how about establishing good study habits? Additionally, he told me that he intentionally pretend that he doesn't know the material to blend in.

We are considering advocating to get him to take classes at the middle school. From my knowledge, this has not been done before in the school district. I am in an area that highly values equity, so our request will likely be viewed as asking for special treatment. There will be a lot of resistance...

My tentative plan
- Letters from AOPS teacher indicating his current knowledge
- His IQ test which shows EG
- Results from my self administered middle school placement test, and offer to have him take any placement test that the school district see fit
- Research that in class differentiation does not work when there is 2 - 3+ grade level difference (I haven't found it yet... if anyone knows of any please forward)
- Any other respected research that will support my case (would love recommendations here if any).

Any advice will be much appreciated. Thanks!

You are right. Kids need both an appropriate challenge and academic/intellectual peers in order to develop necessary life skills and mental health. Print-outs of the linked articles, with pertinent points highlighted, may be helpful to you in raising the awareness of your local system regarding the needs of gifted learners.

Are you considering asking for a single subject acceleration (SSA) for math?

You will want to reframe this. Equity is meeting each child's needs. For example, children wear different shoe sizes, and therefore need shoes which fit them personally... even if that may be larger than the average size worn by children of their same chronological age.

This post has links to archived Tamara Fisher articles for EdWeek, including 'Same' and 'Equal' Are Not Congruent Terms.

To avoid the unwelcome stigma of being viewed as seeking "special treatment", you may also wish to avoid use of all forms of the word "entitled". For example, "identified as gifted... which entitles us to an IEP." You might also wish to avoid using the plural terms "us" and "we" , and focus on your son as an individual, "he". He is identified as gifted in school which entitles us to an IEP might become He is identified as gifted in school therefore he has an IEP.

Keep the conversation focused on your child's needs.

You may wish to read through the advocacy tips and resources, especially the section on meetings.

There is a list of resources in support of acceleration at the bottom of this post.

Are you sure that's what you really want? The middle school classes will not be nearly as rigorous as continuing AOPS on your own. If you are planning to after school simultaneously its travel time plus the social emotional issues and potentially more homework for not much benefit.

Thanks for the feedback.

Yes, we are thinking about asking for SSA in math.

Good idea on re-framing. Didn't even realize that I was using that language... some of it may have come through in the communication with the school district so far... Great advice on communicating by focusing what the child. We are acting on what he wants, but the way we communicate goes a long way.

Regarding middle school classes - we would prefer that he participate in a class (even though it may be only mildly challenging) for the social interaction, instead of the more rigorous AOPS program. If he can get challenged in school, we would remove math from after school to give him more free time to do whatever he wants. Right now we feel that we have to enrich after school.

While it is very important that you and your son are in agreement on what you are advocating for, when advocating you might wish to avoid the word "wants." For example one might rephrase this as... "We are trying to best meet his needs." Keep in mind the needs of a child are: appropriate challenge, and academic/intellectual peers. (See links to articles in post upthread.)

When advocating, you might rephrase "we would prefer..." to "we believe it will best meet his needs..." The proposed math SSA is a possible solution which you have identified to meet his needs for appropriate challenge and academic/intellectual peers.

In advocacy-speak, avoiding the word "wants", one might say: If school can meet his needs for appropriate challenge and academic/intellectual peers, then his out-of-school time can be used to pursue his other interests so he can develop into a well-rounded individual.

Two caveats:
1-Beware the different definitions of "challenge", and do not be shy to explore and clarify meanings when advocating and working with the school.
2-The math SSA may not fully meet his needs, but it may be a strong step in the right direction. On the other hand, I also value BenjaminL's thoughts... there are multiple ways in which to go about meeting a child's needs. AoPS may better meet your son's academic/intellectual needs for appropriate challenge... but your son's needs for academic/intellectual peers may be totally unaddressed... and after-schooling AoPS may also deprive him of the opportunity to pursue other interests and develop into a well-rounded individual. There is good and bad in everything, no solution is perfect, choices involve trade-offs (opportunity cost), and plans can be adjusted as needs change.

Have you read Richard Ruscyk's article on the Calculus Trap? https://artofproblemsolving.com/articles/calculus-trap

Or his talk about the pitfalls of the standard curriculum for math-talented kids?
https://mathprize.atfoundation.org/...ntation_at_Math_Prize_for_Girls_2009.pdf

If you have a kiddo who already thrives on the AOPS approach of engaging a mathematical mindset and developing a problem-solving skillset, then radical SSA to a middle school algebra class sounds like a wrong turn, in my humble opinion. Not that I don't have a lot of sympathy for the dilemma of having the student spend useless class time and then have to carve additional learning time out of their free hours to make up the difference. In my own child's case, I'm working to make the elementary school hours more interesting. It's certainly not easy to have a little person who's so far outside the typical mold of what the elementary school is capable of working with. :\

Good luck. Oh, and I would leave the Saxon placement test out of the conversation. I don't think it's terribly relevant.

Thank you for sharing sunnyday! Very eye-opening, lots to think about since I have set my DS10 on the calculus path. I didn't know there was anything else out there!

Indigo - thanks for the advocacy speak! Gotta practice that. Makes sense.

Sunnyday - we are aware of the calculus trap. One plan is to take stretch algebra due to my son's age, then slow down and branch out to combinatorics / number theory, before moving on. I had not seen the second piece at all, and it was a great read. Definitely made us think more about asking for SSA to middle school math. Perhaps a flipped classroom where he does aops homework in school might work out better. Probably easier to get the school on board as well.

We read the Calculus Trap and intentionally slowed my son down a bit. He is 14 and finishing middle school and just finished working through AOPS Calculus.

I am not sure we would do things differently if we had the chance but some of the cons are that the school program will not be interesting if he starts doing AoPS, you will probably not get credit for some courses, it gets expensive to use AoPS, we had to get a tutor (initially more for him to have someone to "talk math" with but then because the problems were too difficult for us to help with, your kid will become very accelerated. Also, be aware that AOPS is pretty easy with the grading and I think that resulted in DS making careless mistakes. You get several chances at missed problems and it is pretty easy to get to the blue.

Our son really loves math so it has worked for us but it would be better if one of his parents was better at math and/or if we lived in a larger area where there were more kids like him around...

In advocacy-speak: With input from this forum, you may have identified another possible solution to meet your son's needs.

See how consistent that is... rather than... last week I wanted that... today I want this...? Instead of seeming wishy-washy or all-over-the-board, you have simply identified multiple alternatives to meet your son's needs. There may be more potential solutions out there, yet to be considered.

Focusing on your son's needs can help keep a family (or a school) from prematurely deciding on one pet solution to the exclusion of all other ideas. Solutions can be discussed, rated, and ranked as to which may be the best fit at a current point in time.