I wasn't blown away by their ability to explain how they would differentiate. It sounds like their AIG program is a bit in flux, although they also said they try to differentiate for everything, grouping similar-ability students together in the classroom. They said they were very committed to differentiation, and outlined a few possible approaches (single-subject pull-out, in-class ability grouping, and a school AIG teacher who might do...something), but they didn't seem to have a clear system in place.
While early entrance to kindergarten is your immediate concern, over time you may wish to keep an eye on differentiation. A lot has been written about differentiation and not all differentiation is positive. Differentiation only means that something is "different", not necessarily that the educational experience is more appropriate, facilitates growth, or presents curriculum, instruction, pacing at the child's zone of proximal development (ZPD). One easy method to help parents plainly understand plans for a child's
differentiation despite
buzzwords which may be used is to categorize the information the teacher/school provides into the categories of
Who-What-Where-When-Why-and-How (5Ws).
- "grouping similar-ability students" fits into the category of
Who- "a school AIG teacher" is also
Who - "pull-out" or "in-class" would belong to the category
Where- "ability grouping" may indicate a
qualifying need and be in the category
Why If families do not receive information for the other categories,
What-When-How, they may wish to inquire:
- Length/duration/frequency of the program/services offered would answer the question
When.
- Autodidactic independent study, math 1 year ahead of grade level, and reading while waiting for other students to complete their work, may be examples of
What.
- Worksheets, computer programs, books from a designated shelf, or other descriptions of the media used may answer the question category of
How the differentiation or other gifted program/service will be delivered.
Ideally parents would be aware of the
Who-What-Where-When-Why-How of any differentiation. While students may need and seek differentiated
instruction,
curriculum, and
pacing, over time families have made others aware of
differentiation involving various degrees of social isolation, more-fferentiation, and
differentiation in task demands, sometimes leading to underachievement or burn-out.
Have you read the Davidson guidebook,
Advocating for Exceptionally Gifted Young People?
Do you have info on preparing for a meeting? Lots of good advice has been shared on other threads recently as it seems several families have scheduled meetings. Some of the tips were -
- Research state laws and the school or district policies and practices. This information is often found online. You may wish to print and put this in an advocacy ring binder to refer to over the years as the laws and policies/practices may change over time.
- Have any test results and other pertinent facts available to share (milestones, reading lists, other accomplishments/achievements)
- It is good to have them speak first. If asked to speak first, you may simply wish to thank everyone for attending and summarize that you are all here to share information and ideas about how to best meet your child's educational needs... and that you would like to hear from them.
- Agenda
- Know who is in the meeting, and their role(s)
- Stay calm
- Know what you are asking for
- TAKE NOTES including Who-What-Where-When-Why-How of differentiation, so you can summarize in an e-mail afterward [Some families announce they plan to record the meeting and then do so, rather than taking notes.]
- Use active listening (rephrase what has been said, and put it in a question form) to clarify understanding
- Be open to receiving the school's data/observations.
- Listen to any proposals they may make, ask appropriate probing questions, such as how a proposal may work, how the proposal may help your child, the schedule/frequency of service delivery, etc
- Do not be forced to make a decision if you need time
- Summarize next steps & time frames, and/or need for a follow-up meeting
- Thank everyone for their time & interest
- After the meeting, write a summary (points of agreement, etc) and share it, possibly by e-mail
