bk1, I have had only a few meetings with teachers, never yet with the principal. But even in those few meetings I have always felt pushy, too sure of my ds's abilities although they might not fit in any well definied category. You're right, pushing for your kids is what we parents are supposed to do.
We just worked our way through phase 1 of having my son evaluated for giftedness by the public school system here and it really was work. The initial evaluation stated that scores were great, reading levels were great, but they were going to collect more information over the course of 3 months to make a final determination on his eligibility. I basically dug through all the last 6 years worth of drawings and projects from my ds and found what I felt was a large but worthy stack of items to bring in...and bring in and bring in. I went back to the teacher collecting these samples over and over to present items. Some she would take, some not. DS would bring home things graded by his regular teacher (who was supposed to be passing these on to the gifted teacher) and I would send them right back to the g.teacher!
After the evaluation concluded, the gifted teacher called to let me know the (good) results and was quite emphatic in thanking me for sending in all the examples, implying that it really made the difference.
Now my sister, dd's in the same county, is going through the same trial, I have told her to keep pushing and that it seems like the schools won't accept a child into one of these programs without some blood from the parents! Some proof that they are really really committed to their kids success. Or should be committed
So, let the tears flow and when the school pushes away, push right back!
