You may have read this elsewhere on the forums... there is a crowd-sourced list of
tips on preparing for a meeting. Also this
recent thread has several posts which discuss reasons to not use the word "bored" when advocating.
At the meeting, you may wish to ask whether there is a maximum number of students/seats for the ELA program, what that maximum is, and whether all seats are currently allocated.
In preparation...
1) You may wish to work on reorganizing your list with the most compelling pieces of evidence first.
-- ELA specific
-- Most recent scores first
-- Other personality traits for success
2) Depending on several factors, including length of the meeting, you may wish to drop the least-compelling evidence (or not).
3) You may wish to organize everything into a packet... one copy for school, one for you.
Some more information about my daughter:
Due to the short timeframe, let's brainstorm on your list. These are just some initial thoughts...
She has been in a nationally recognized weekend gifted program since K
Some thoughts to consider:
-Is this an ELA-specific program?
- Does it have an ELA component?
- Would her teachers vouch for your child's progress, level, and/or need for more advanced work?
- Might the school be inclined to believe that your child's presence in a weekend program lessens the need for your daughter to be in the school's ELA program?
She participates in the EPGY math program
If not related to ELA, you may wish to move this down further on your list, giving it less priority.
She is highly self motivated
This is a great trait for advanced work. Is her motivation observable when working in ELA?
She has been on a goal plan since K, but honestly it has been no help for her and this last year has been her most frustrating for her.
Possibly the goal plan needs to be updated to reflect her current strengths, growth goals, progress, interests.
She spends her days in class reading b/c she is finished with work(can read 40-100 pages a day in class in addition to finishing her homework while in class).
Strongly ELA related.
She is very self motivated and loves to learn, but sadly is very frustrated in the school environment. Her 1st and 3rd grade teachers did great with her, but I feel this year has been the worst for her as far as being challenged.
What does the ELA program involve? Will it be enough?
While her last test score dipped for her star testing she was in the 98th percentile on Terra Nova In view and her state testing(they don't use this as a qualifier) was off the charts.
You may wish to create a table or list of dates, tests, scores, (most recent first) marking those which would be qualifying scores.
Applicable. Children need a challenge worthy of their potential.
she received the highest points for teacher recommendation
Highly applicable.
I don't want to insult their selection process, but I feel like my daughter needs to be in a more challenging environment.
Well worth mentioning at the meeting.
