Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Pre-K issues

We have identical twin 5 yr old boys. Both are highly gifted with strong visual spatial abilities. Tested at 4 yrs on WPPSI, both in 140's FSIQ, each hit 3 ceilings. We are in a big city with multiple gifted schools and an independent gifted assessment organization (who did all of our testing). We enrolled DS5X2 in a local gifted school, but since their 5th B-day was in Oct, we were placed in pre-K instead of K. We advocated strongly for K, but were denied.

Pre-K at the private gifted school has been little more than a high priced half day arts and crafts class. DS5X2 reads chapter books at home and does phonics at school that were mastered years ago. DS5X2 does 2nd grade math brainquest workbooks at home, and does sorting and patterns for math at school.

We did Woodcock Johnson Achievement test to demonstrate kids abilities in our advocacy. 3rd grade across the board results. We approached "gifted" school about advancement in grade or differentiation. They refuse to advance grade (even though DS5X2 are oldest in pre-K), and attempts at differentiation were failed attempts to make DS5X2 do work that was too hard with little teacher assistance. Kids wanted to do what the class did, not challenge work.

Advocacy has turned into a battle of whose approach to gifted learning is correct. School is steadfast that they are correct and refuses to budge, and wants kids to follow the set curriculum they have for "foundational gifted learning". Gifted testers "get" our kids, offer advice, give great books and articles etc. Gifted school seems incapable or unwilling to educate DS5X2 at an appropriate level.

We are trying to get DS5X2 into what we now know is the gifted school that does a much better job at individualized education, but we are struggling with what to do for the rest of the first year of 1/2 day pre K?

We feel that gifted 5 yr olds who are ready for academic work should learn new academic concepts in school. Are we missing something here? DS5X2 learns enthusiastically and rapidly at home, but learns little at school. We are very disappointed.

Current school insists on phonics work. They say kids don't know phonics. We know that they do, as they have demonstrated strong capability at reading aloud novel words that are phonetically correct. We think kids are refusing to do work that is too easy, as we have seen this at home. School insists that phonics are needed to be able to do science and technical reading later. DS5X2 already can read latin medical terms in wife's med school anatomy books, so we think school is way off base. Books on visual spatial learners say DS5X2 type kids don't need remedial phonics if they can read well, but school disagrees. Any comments or thoughts on phonics for kids already reading everything we put in front of them?

Do we continue to fight an increasingly antagonistic battle with current school to advocate for kids, or should we just accept that kids will do another 1/2 year in pre-K with little learned at school and switch out for next year? The kids have fun at recess and doing creative arts, but we sense some growing dissatisfaction from kids at having to do work that is too easy. We are very disappointed that a nationally reknowned gifted school seems to be forcing our kids to endure material they have already mastered long ago. Are we expecting too much?

Is there any information out there on gifted twins? We see some unique things with gifted twins but have not found much material on the subject. Lots of material on twins and lots on gifted, but so far nothing on gifted twins. Issues like keeping them in the same classroom or not are of particular interest. The gifted twin dynamic is amazing as they always have an age and intellect equivalent to play, learn, and explore with in a world where they are so different from most others.

Thanks for any thoughts, advice, or comments.

What is their definition of giftedness? It sounds like maybe they are looking at something like above the 80th percentile. Very bright but not needing much out of the ordinary.

Sorry I don't think it is going to work. They will say "we have all gifted children here and they don't have a problem" but your children hit the ceilings on some suggest so are probably at the top end of highly gifted at least. I read somewhere the other day that there is as much difference between 160 and 130 as there is between 100 and 130. My son tested at 158 and he couldn't read before school (some words not reading). Good luck let us know how it goes.

Oh and if you sons are anywhere near as exhausting as mine well done for surviving this far.

I've experienced this battle. We have a school system with a public mandate to provide for gifted children, and they have a program, say all the right things, etc. We enrolled our DD, and we were presented with reams of evidence of how it was all wrong for her. We talked to the school, where we encountered a stone wall of institutional intractability. We probed for cracks in the mortar for some time, before we came to the point where we realized that further argument was going to accomplish nothing, and pretty much our only solution was to leave.

My answer to the question of whether you should keep them enrolled is a definite no. National awards or not, your institution is engaged in showing off how deeply they just don't get it.

It's great that you have other options. Now that you're informed with experience, you won't be derailed when someone insists the boys be enrolled in pre-K. I would present my case to any prospective schools in this way: "My boys want to come to school to learn. They have been assessed on the WJ3 at the third grade level. Any solution you have to offer which does not involve them working at the third grade level is unacceptable."

I'm in total agreement with Dude.

If possible, I would suggest taking them out now and keeping them at home until next year and trying to get them at least into first grade with subject acceleration as required.

It is GREAT that they have each other - it means they have someone who gets them! If they have dissatisfaction now, please don't leave it, that age for boys is tricky IMO and that is the age where we had intense issues in the only gifted school in our country, who claimed the exact same things you are saying.

My answer to the question of whether you should keep them enrolled is a definite no.National awards or not,your institution is engaged in showing off how deeply they just don't get it.

Thanks for the replies. The school has made some progress. The gifted testing head spoke with the school. We also had another meeting. Instead of fighting us, the school came up with a pretty good solution i think. They are going to put the boys in the K class all day mon and tue when they focus on math and reading. The curriculum is first grade math and reading, which is an improvement. They will keep the kids in pre K for wed to friday when they do class projects and other specials. This will allow the kids to stay with their first school friends whom they adore and really want to be with. Seems like a reasonable compromise right now, and we will see how it works. I was actually impressed with how the school got the pre k and k teachers together and figured out a plan that addressed our concerns. We are really hoping for 2 acceptance letters in march to the new school.
.

Thanks for the replies. After several meetings, and a call to the school from the head of the gifted center, the school has come around. They came back with a proposal to put the kids in K for Monday and Tuesday all day when they focus on math and reading. The kids will be with pre K class the rest of the week for specials and projects. Im hopeful this will be an improvement. It allows the kids to keep connected to friends in pre k while getting more appropriate work in math and reading.

I was impressed at the amount of effort and planning the school put into this once they got over the hump.

I hope that the new arrangement will be carried out with love and support for your boys and that it will work well for them!