Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments they have a secret gifted program!

I just can't believe it. They were hiding a secret gifted program. Okay, okay, I never actually talked to the principal in person and asked but....

I knew the formal district gifted program did not start until 5/6th grade. I did ask around quite a bit before kinder and was told there was not a "higher" kindergarten class for kids who had more skills already. At DD6's quick evaluation the june before kindergarten where they ask her to read the letters, demonstrate the letter sounds and count 20 beans, I also brought a few books she could read and she read a couple pages. She was reading 4th grade books at the time and I made sure the teacher knew a little of her abilities. Nope, no mention of gifted class and no gifted class assignment. I did have a little bit of communication with the principal where I wasn't asking for anything but did mention a bit about DD6's abilities...nope, no mention. Through all of our problems in Kinder it was never mentioned.

So we went for testing the week before school started and on Monday the psychologist emailed me the report and suggested we immediately get it to the principal as she knew they had a K/1st grade class where they put the higher 1st graders. I had been hoping for the 1/2 split class and I wasn't sure about just emailing test scores to the principal the day before assignments were passed out. The psychologist felt strongly I should (since I couldn't go in) and we were assigned to the K/1 class. The principal could not meet Fri when I was off and and so I went to go meet her new teacher for a few min after school.

To my surprise, this seems to be a self contained "gifted" class where all the children are either gifted or high ability. She tries to group by ability and differentiate. She mentioned that she had a couple of kindergarteners last year that are now 1st that are starting to read at the 4-5th level now and that they would be able read books and have discussions about theories and concepts etc. They work ahead in math depending on ability. There is also a 2/3 "gifted class" and I think a 4/5. All the kindergarteners are also high ability/gifted. Were there really 10 kindergarteners last year with more ability that my DD at the time?

I am cautiously thrilled, stunned that this existed and I little annoyed that we weren't offered it last year. I am really curious if we were assigned to the class at the last minute when they got my email or if she was already assigned.

Still, she made some friends last year, finally, which are helping her adjust this year so I will just hope for the future at this point.

That is one of the most bizarre school stories I've heard yet! At least they got her in there now. Wow.

Maybe not so bizarre. One possible explanation is that the principal has seen a need and put this solution into place. It can't be officially labeled gifted either because of state laws about accessibility (not available to other kids in the district) or teacher training (GT training is often required), or it's not labeled as such because it's being done without any clear admission criteria, which can lead to class size problems.

I'm glad your daughter found her way into the program, coveln. Quietly pass on the info to other parents as you see appropriate if you hear others expressing concerns about their kindergarteners. Clearly it's no so secret, since your psychologist clearly knew about it.

Here's to a great year!

We were quietly made aware that in our public school there is a super-secret program above the official gifted program at the middle-school level. There is not one thing in writing about this option.

Agree with moomin- there are absolutely well-known-but-not-openly-discussed differences in teachers/classrooms here, too. There are a few teachers who excel in differentiation, and the classes, while certainly not mimicking a self-contained class, are skewed towards a certain population/student type. And yes, we missed out on the first obvious example of this (my dd kept complaining that all her friends were in x class). That year was our worst, and I now suspect that the admin feels somewhat guilty about misplacing dd; at any rate, she and her younger sib have benefitted and have since had quite good teacher placements, often grouped with other highly gifted kids (finally, this after elementary where they intentionally "spread these kids around" to ostensibly keep everything equal in everyone's eyes.) And clearly, there is no way this could be written down, or probably even acknowledged openly, at least in our district. You are not allowed to ask for specific teachers, etc, due to the competitive aggressive parenting.

pretty sure our school splits the kids into ability groups then makes sure the groups are spread evenly over the classes available. I can think of no other explanation for spread throughout the classes which they then increase by having composite classes.

But I agree their are probably good reasons for keeping things on the quiet.

I actually feel a bit stupid for falling for the "we spread the abilities out" line I got...and for being naive enough to think they tried to give DD the best placement they could after our kinder eval. I feel a bit like I've been let into a secret club though in reality it will likely be less great than I hope and it is probably not secret at all. We are just new to the school and district and had no one to clue us in. I am so curious if we were already assigned to this class or if we slipped in at the last day due to our testing.

A couple days before kinder started last year they had a gathering to find out your assignment, meet your teacher and meet the other families. That was when I learned of a K/1 class. I was a little disappointed she wasn't assigned there as I had alot of split classes myself in elementary and it helped facilitate working ahead and I thought it would be a good option for her. Before I could even think what to do about it, if anything, I saw another parent in my DD's assigned class sit down next to her teacher and complain that her daughter was advanced and already reading and would probably be bored and she asked if she shouldn't have been put in the K/1 class. The teacher pretty much put her off and said "lets see how she does". That child wasn't even a fluent reader. I certainly didn't want to be "that" mom so I kept quiet. Then I talked to a family friend who is retired but used to be an elementary school principal. She discouraged me from the K/1 class. If I remember right she said the 1st graders are often the lower group and need more help and it might not be the best. Of course that is from her own experience and I hear alot of versions of the K/1 philosophy. In any case, I decided not to pursue it and forgot all about that class as time went on.

The psychologist information is interesting too. My DD just did testing 1.5 week ago and we emailed a few times in the week before that. She indicated she had worked with some kids at my DD school and that the principal had been working to do accomodations for some kids which I thought was encouraging. Several times she mentioned some advanced 2nd graders. Right after our testing she gave us some preliminary scores and info but did not mention anything about class placement or this "track" at our school. She and her partner run a parent group for gifted kids during the school year and she mentioned that a few of them go to our school including her partner's child but unfortunately her partner was away right now so she couldn't get us in touch yet. 2 days later she had the report done and gave me the push to get in that class. I am guessing she learned of it from her partner who is in "the secret club"

Well I hope it goes well. I don't know how different it will really be from the other 1st grade classes but the teacher said alot of good things about differentiation and I would much rather have DD working at her level but with age level gifted peers than working independently or skipping.

It looks like you've got a good measure of what's going on now.

With regards to being "that parent," your child's scores sound like the kind of scores that will demand that you be "that parent." However, there are positive and negative ways to do it. First and foremost, don't have conversations about your child with the teacher in public! By that other parent discussing her concerns in front of others, it put the teacher in a position of not being able to say anything but "let's see how she does."

Make an appointment and treat the teachers respectfully as as the professionals they are, and being "that parent" isn't so much of an issue.

Good advice Geofizz.

To me being "that" parent is more about the parent who is not only hovering and bothersome but having perhaps unrealistic beliefs about their child's abilities and needs ( I hope that isn't me). OF course, unrealistic is often more about what the school and district can provide than what would actually benefit an individual child.

Having scores to back me up is helping me feel like I can appropriately advocate. If my DD had scored in the high ability (but not gifted) range for example, I would have held back to see how she did this year...at least for a little while. Without scores I felt like I might be treated like a mom of a high achieving child who believes she has a PG child. I have no basis to think they would other than my own paranoia but nonetheless it was holding us back.

And to be somewhat fair, that mom was talking pretty quietly to the teacher. It was a bit of a crowd and I just happened to be standing close by. I admit that I totally eavesdropped since she was voicing things that I was thinking and I wanted to see the teacher's response. It is a very good thing to remember though and I will take care in all my interactions with the teacher/principal.