One question - would it be a good idea to have ds there for part of the meeting?
Good question. I'm still adjusting to the idea of some children attending parent-teacher conferences, let alone a gifted planning meeting. Here's something for the pro side but I think it would be unusual to have a child attend the gifted planning meeting.
Marilyn Haring, Dean of the School of Education at Purdue University contends that students should be a part of the parent-teacher conference. As early as third grade, she states, students should be present at the conference, and by junior high, students should be leading the meeting. Her reasoning is that parents and teachers are not "all-knowing" about a student's performance, and that the student will benefit by playing an active role, developing responsibility for their own success. She further contents that having the student present opens the dialogue between teachers and parents, and provides the student with a greater level of self-esteem.
P.S. I'd plan to leave him at home unless someone from the school specifically asked for him to be at the meeting.
