Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments gt program - back to school night, iep?

My ds8s 3rd grade gt program is having a back to school night to explain the program. They sent home a sheet which had some details, but not many.
One thing they mentioned is an individual education plan of some sort. I am curious about what is typical in this sort of plan.
It is to be composed by the regular classroom teacher and the gt teacher. I am not even sure it will be available that night. how long into the school year does it usually take to get something like this?

In our school district, let's see.................NEVER!

How exciting! I've been told that our school district does not do individual education plans for gifted students.

Hope it turns out to be as good as it sounds, let us know!

We don't get that here. I hope it turns out to be useful

They've started requiring GIEPs here, but they don't seem to be used as intended according to our last GT support group meeting. One of the school system's own GT coordinators said that they're using the GIEPs not for planning what *will* happen but for reporting what *did* happen. So not terribly useful for getting changes made...

Just another tool for GT kids that our school system manages to screw up!

Well, guess I wont get my hopes up too much! thanks for the perspectives. I am always amazed by how off-track a good idea can be taken !!
I did manage to dig up the sheet on this from our stack of school stuff. The phrase they use is diferentiated services plan. And they state one will be provided each semester! So unless they plan to use it for what did happen, I would hope to see it pretty soon. Could be one of those many school things that the parents never get to see.

(Kriston - dont they know the word plan implies future use?!?)

I do hope there is some kind of parents group or support group. I think that would be really helpful for me and ds. I am sure I would be totally pulling my hair out without the ideas and camaraderie from this forum!! Thanks all

Just re-read my post; I see I'm not doing very well with the not getting my hopes up bit!

I know, right?! It seems pretty astonishing that they haven't gotten THAT right. My hope is that since it's a new thing, they are just trying to work it into the (not very good) system that's already in place, and that as time goes by, they will come around to using the GIEPs as intended: for PLANNING!

But ugh!



Keep your eyes peeled, and if there isn't such a group, you could always start one. It doesn't take much--just a few willing volunteers to copy flyers and a room to meet in to start up. It can get bigger and more complicated as it grows (getting experts on GT kids as speakers, enrichment activities and classes for kids, a resource library, etc.), but if you just need a group of people to talk to, starting your own group isn't terribly hard.

No pressure though...

Yes I can imagine! Ds classroom teacher seems pretty open - she's pretty young and seems to be on ds side for some reason. When I was at the regular back to school night I asked about the spelling exercises and mentioned that some seemed....and I couldnt come up with a nice word for what I wanted to say, so she interjected: 'tedious?'
I was floored. I said, yes, that's right. She agreed on the spot that any of the exercises any of the kids didn't like could be substituted by something else we parents/kids came up with. Amazing.
Big hopes here.

Thanks for the link - the example is very interesting!!

Kriston-
I am considering being brave and stepping up to try for the parents group if one doesn't exist already!. And of course, never any pressure here!!

Though regs vary from state-to-state and even within states, parents here (in my town) don't seem to understand that they have negotiating power and can provide input into the IEPs. Some parents go and listen to what the school or teacher is proposing, nod and say "Ok". It's good to pre-think your goals for your child before the meeting. A lot of the verbage is canned, but there should be a place for parent input. Some of the things we've requested are:

1. Pre-test option (student can test-out of units with 85% proficiency)...good for spelling or math they've already mastered.

2. Homework modifications (if my child is taking advanced classes and the normal ones, he shouldn't have to do twice the homework)

3. Contests/competitions (I request that my child be given opportunities to participate in academic competititons, and I sometimes specify the competitions)

4. Advanced Programming (last year they specified a math goal that DS had 2 yrs ago--change it. No, "basic algebra skills" are no longer adequate...be as specific as possible--"will learn pre-calc by independent or online coursework during class time" or "complex problem solving using a variety of resources"

If they only list one academic goal, encourage them to add others (language arts--vocabulary development, writing skills using different expository writing techniques, etc.)

Just some suggestions...

I've known two women who started parent groups in support of GT families. One was my mom. So I have LOT of respect and admiration for people who make it happen.

Do you know any other GT families? That might be the place to start if you're going to start. (Our school wouldn't release names of kids in the GT program, so before our GT group started, there was no way to network with other GT families unless you just happened to know they were GT. Parents would grill their kids about who was in the pullout class in the hopes of finding someone for playdates. It was madness!)

You might also look at already established GT groups in nearby areas. You can often get some good mentoring help there. Plus there's no reason to reinvent the wheel if someone can steer you in the right direction.

And, of course, post here for help. I think there are at least a few members of active GT support groups posting here.

If you go that route, of course. I don't mean to jump the gun!