Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Any last minute tips for DYS application?

Exciting stuff! I hope your kids are accepted.

We were primed to apply for this month's cycle as well, but are dealing with our first ever long family vacation around the holidays. Between making/shipping gifts around the country 2 weeks in advance of the holidays, arranging for house/pet sitting, and everything that goes along with being out of town for a long time, we dropped the ball. Everything is done except for the reference, but I didn't feel right asking someone to give a reference and then asking them to rush through it in a day or so. We'll wait until January to apply.

Our son exceeds the Davidson criteria for WISC and WIAT, but I'm still a little anxious about whether he'll be accepted - I think that's just the way I am, I don't want to count my chickens before they are hatched. Also, he has no good reference sources per the DYS recommendations. He's homeschooled, so there are no non-family teachers to ask. I'm going to ask one of my friends, who has known him for about 5 years, because she used to be an elementary school teacher and tends to know what's in the normal range (and what isn't) academically. Honestly, I don't know who else I would ask. The only adults he knows well are our family and friends. And I can't ask relatives, so...

Keep us posted on what happens!

Thank you, esperanza. I, too, want to thank everyone for your help, advice, and encouragement. Unlike zia's mom, I would have liked more time to polish what I wrote, but I really wanted to make the December deadline for several school-related reasons. Also, unlike private school admissions, I figured this process is truly about the children and they are looking to admit all those who qualify and aren't judging the application on the rambling of the parents. They know exactly what they are looking for and are clearly trained to spot it. So thanks to all of you again.

Hi Esperanza,
I'm hopeful that another of your friends will fill out a reccomendation for you. An alternative is to participate in your state's gifted association and ask the ladies there. Happy Holidays,
Trinity

Hey Trinity,

I subscribe to my state's gifted education email list (from the department of education) but since we are homeschooling, I'm not terribly active - 99.5% of the messages pertain to public school issues. No one there "knows" us. I'm sure if our son was in school we'd have more options for references. I'm hoping that since his IQ and achievement scores exceed DYS requirements, that a reference from a friend will suffice. I'll have an answer in January either way!

e