Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Chance to make a difference- need help!

I live in a large metropolitan area, but the actual city school district is not huge and is historically one of the worst performing school systems in the nation. That said, our DS6 attends the local public elementary school and, for the most part, it is good, but there is NOTHING for advanced (GT) kids. ( I asked our principal for a grade skip and was turned down.)

I just happen to live around the corner from a member of the school board, and I was recently introduced to her at a social gathering. I asked her if the School Board had ever contemplated addressing gifted education in the city, and she said the topic had recently come up. After giving her my humble opinion, she wants to have lunch with me and asked that I bring research on gifted education and names of potential experts to speak to the school board on this very issue! I am very excited.

I have assembled "A Nation Deceived", and excerpts from Deborah Ruf's "5 Levels of Giftedness". I would love links to other articles that address a need for something different to be done with these advanced learners. I can't decide if I should just push for something (anything!) to be done with gifted students, or should I present a plan for addressing the needs of these students in a low cost way, ie. Iowa Acceleration Scale. Our district has little money and what is here is spent on underachieving children (understandably).

I would love to hear thoughts on what some of you might have done in the past in dealing with a school board, or what you would do if given the chance.

Thanks! Eleanor05

I suggest taking What a Child Doesn't Learn (google it, lmk if you don't find it and I will) as it's short and does the best job I've seen of explaining why gifted children who don't get some accommodations are not only not having their potential realised, but actually being disadvantaged by comparison with ND children.

Good work, and good luck!

The main thing is to identify these kids early then provide them the opportunities they need. Then educate the parents.

The grade skip option is the best route for districts with little money as it costs very little to do it.

The IOWA scale is fine, but its used AFTER the kids are identified.

The better route would be to get parents to fill out a series of questions based on Ruf ( may have to do an oral interview ), and then from there do interviews of the kids - all in Kindergarten. And then from there track the kids.

I would imagine that most if the identification and testing could be done by volunteers as a another way to save money.

I dont' know if MAP testing is within your district's budget, but I think it has potential to help every student. It can then be used to help gifted kids by 'micro-grouping' kids who share a readiness to learn level in a particular area and allowing the teachers to teach a narrower band of readiness and make greater gains for every child.

Of course this will sound like tracking, which is bad politically, to take pains to stress that you are talking about small specific groups that a formed for each learning unit and reformed frequently. Lots of schools use the MAP test 2x/year so the kids will get reshuffled if they have a burst in their learning. The sad thing about tracking is the fear that if a child is misidentified too low that he'll never be able to catch up with all the extra learning that the other kids have done.

Also check out:
Twelve Cost Effective Educational Options for Serving Gifted ...

... Twelve Cost Effective Educational Options for Serving Gifted Students. Printer
Friendly Version. Print. Davidson Institute for Talent ...
www.davidsongifted.org/db/Articles_id_10363.aspx - 30k - 2010-02-17

At the very least, insist that kids are tested to their ability level not just to age level, as in reading grouping, and that kids be grouped 'cross -grade' in reading and math as needed.

'Block scheduling' so that every child is doing Math at the same time facilitates children going to the rooms where they are able to learn and thrive.

Do you want me to be availible for back up during the discussion?
Smiles,
Grinity

If the subject of 'tracking' comes up, this short article lays it out quite well. It basically says that seperating kids into groups only helps if the kids are given different materials and instructional methods to support their learning from where they are -

http://www.davidsongifted.org/db/Articles_id_10218.aspx

G

These ideas are exactly what I was hoping for, thank you so much. I am going to read everything listed here and will come back to the group with my plan.

Grinity, I would LOVE you as a back-up. I'll be in touch!

Eleanor05

Our state actually has a state department of education policy paper (technical assistance paper) or whatever they are called on gifted education that says that skipping is an option (and a good one in well thought out cases) and shouldn't be dismissed out of hand as "not an option".

Also, each district in the state of FL has to have a pupil progression plan (PPP). I have used our district PPP to my advantage with a situation with my older son. See if you can get a copy of that (or whatever it is called in your state).

If you have those two things and those documents don't forbid skipping then you could ask the school board to make a resolution/policy statement whatever that in cases of HG and PG students that subject acceleration and grade skipping and compacting will be considered and not flat out denied as "something we don't do" and moved to we consider those options on a case by case basis using the sound reasoning on the basis of the decision (maybe the Iowa could be one tool).

If those documents forbid skipping then I think you need to work at the state level and district level to change those documents.

Miraca Gross's "Exceptionally Gifted Children" makes some persuasive arguments with case studies in Australia, as well as "Genius Denied" and "High IQ Kids." Hoagies has a collection of articles and antecdotes, as well (www.hoagiesgifted.org). Many of those resources talk about acceleration and independent studies.