Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion sigh: update

Based on the strength of what the teacher shared, might you request that he be tested early? Having the insight of test scores might help in creating an educational plan with the school.

Being in 1st part-time would also provide him the opportunity to consider the difference in his experiences with the curriculum content of the higher grade, the older kids as classmates/friends, the routine of the day... and reflect on the comfortableness of the "fit".

Can you take advice from gifted school now? Might be worth a phone call?

My DD8 is a high-130s/low-140s kind of kid. She's skipped a year, and she's in a G/T pull-out for most of the school day, in which she's supposed to be working a year ahead of grade level. And it's appropriate for her... she's achieving very well, but not cruising on auto-pilot. We got her report card yesterday, and she actually got two Bs.

Is there a gifted coordinator at your school? If not, who gives the IQ test? Might be worth talking to that person in addition to someone at the magnet school.

Also do some research - look at the average first grade reading level and compare it to your son's. Look at first grade math online, or browse the 1st grade workbooks at the bookstore. Is it work your son can do now? The writing level of many first graders is not very high - some do still reverse letters and numbers and they are just being taught the parts of a sentence. Some already know how to write well, but a lot of them do not, including some of the "gifted" ones.

In our school, the first grade teachers have just finished reviewing the lessons from K, and the "real" first grade work seems to be starting. Your school might be about the same, so your son wouldn't have missed anything.

You do have to consider what will happen next year if you get a teacher who won't differentiate as much as the current teacher. That is an extremely important consideration, and it sounds like doing a skip now would be better than skipping first grade and going right into the magnet school.

I didn't know that about the WISC. DD was tested with the RIAS, but I don't know if that is standard for the district (that school was weird and used its own private tester). It might explain why they typically test at end of K, though. He won't be 6 till early spring.


It is the same school (magnet is a school within a school). But there is no one "in charge" of the magnet other than the regular principal of the whole school. So--same end point.



Oh, I wrote the email. I also told her she should definitely not hesitate to tell us what to do if there are things we should do to help him.


I asked her if he was likely to get the "right" teacher for him next year or if there was anything we could do to get the right placement for him, as she said there IS a teacher that would be a good fit. She sighed and basically said it was a total crapshoot.

He is not difficult (hope that wasn't a snarky bit!) My other child IS difficult, so I can say that. He is the master of the good behavior ticket, in fact. To be perfectly honest, he is at a huge advantage in the system because of this. I often feel bad for my naturally prickly/resistant but big-hearted DD, who gets contrasted to him a lot.

Oh yeah--his reading level tops out around 5th grade or so, perhaps higher. He can read things like Dahl, Indian in the Cupboard, Blume, Cleary, EB White, Narnia, even E. Nesbit and Alice in Wonderland solo, though he often likes to gobble up things like Secrets of Droon. There's no issue there. His teacher has him doing 1st and 2nd grade worksheets in class and for homework (math and reading/LA). Still, I would say writing level is mid 1st grade, no higher.

I can completely understand wanting to keep the teacher - good teachers are worth their weight in gold! How does your son feel about being with peers who are older? The teacher sounds like she is really trying to help and that is HUGE!

Going through something similar with DS5 in kindergarten right now, but he is on the young end of his grade, so I cannot imagine grade-skipping him. He also needs work on his writing, but his reading and math skills are advanced. Teacher is great, but after conferences I am worried they just might not be able to work with him on reading this year. He is at a K-2 school, and honestly, they usually seem reluctant to level a kid above grade 2 in reading anyway (DD attended the same school, and her lexile levels "magically jumped" when she hit the new school at 3rd grade at the 3-5 school). They assessed him as a "Level N" reader (I honestly don't think they usually go higher at this school), but I don't know that they are going to do much with him in terms of reading this year. Right now, he sounds like he is "on his own" in reading, which is just frustrating. We are working with the school on this, but right now, he is on his own.

Just a quick note on writing, when I was trying to understand DS' writing level last year. There are at least two or three completely things meant by writing. There is the physical act, production, spelling part, then there is the intellectual part. In the intellectual part you have complexity, creativity, word use, content all that good stuff.

Sounds like she is the sort of teacher who recognizes this distinction, and it is likely his ideas and content that have caught her attention.

We've had good luck following the lead of a couple of teachers who were advocating and looking out for DS. Whether you are going to get the perfect result, hard to guess, but it seems like you are walking the best possible path at the moment.

Agreed!
Might something be done to expand the selection of available books, to include those of higher levels? This might remove the ceiling so that students may continue to grow. To the degree that some do not see the ceiling, it is a glass ceiling. To increase the pool of books, schools have made wish lists, used scholastic book fairs, obtained donations of used books, and had student-run community book drives. At one school, in response to student food allergies, some children brought a book to donate as an alternative to bringing a food treat.