Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums THINKING BIG About Gifted Education Success Stories thread

Welcome to the Success Stories thread!

Have you had a good experience while advocating or with a certain school district? Post about any successful experiences you may have had with gifted education in this section.

I just want share one parent's recent message to us:

We had success advocating for our child at our public school district. I have been working with the teachers and administrators for about two years, now. I'd have to say that an I.Q. test, combined with an out of level achievement test were the most persuasive pieces of information I gave them, in attempting to demonstrate that my child needed more.

Dual enrollment is often used at the high school level, but in some cases I think it can be appropriate for certain children at the elementary and jr. high level, as well.

Luckily, the state of Illinois, where we live, allows for partial homeschool and we've taken advantage of it at different times to enhance the services that they are getting at school. So far, it's worked extremely well.

I believe we have been very fortunate with our children's schooling experience.

DS16 was identified as being gifted by his preschool teacher (I was clueless) and when this was communicated to the public school (K-12) they picked it up from there. He was given extension work within the classroom from kindergarten to Yr3. From Yr4 onwards he was subject accelerated in Mathematics (3 years) and Science (1 year). During middle school (Yrs 5-8) the core subjects were ability grouped so it was very easy for the school to accelerate due to the concurrent timetabling. They have been able to continue this past Yr8 which has lead to his current situation of being in Yr11, doing Yr12 Physics and also being enrolled at university in a BSc majoring in Mathematics and Applied Physics. He has just commenced his second year. DD18 was subject accelerated in English and Maths (1 year). I have to commend the school as it was difficult for them to concurrently timetable both of my children in their accelerated subjects in high school.

In both cases the school has been the one to do most of the advocacy, I have only done the fine tuning. In our case IQ testing was not required for any of the accommodations. DD didn't want to be tested and DS was tested at 11 so he could access university programs.

I can't really say 'success' because we are still very much in the middle of all this, but finding a school that truly is prepared to accommodate our kids, and a Principal who is one terrific advocate for gifted kids, has allowed us to have many more sleepfull nights.

We had very seriously considered moving from our S. IL community to St. Louis many years ago. I think our son�s earlier education would have been less stressful had we made that move. Overall, I would say that St. Louis is welcoming to gifted students.

For all appearances, St. Louis area public schools take gifted education seriously. They have a magnet school for exceptionally gifted students, bus middle school kids to high school as needed for subject acceleration, and the public high schools have several AP courses. Our local public schools don�t offer any of this.

Many of the private schools in St. Louis are excellent as well and we are quite satisfied with the STL private schools our kids have attended for the last two years.

We have an excellent school that bends over backward to do everything they can for our DS7. It's just a small public school in a town of less than 1000 (students come from as far as 40 miles away), but they are really on the ball here. DS7 was officially identified as 2E this year (Asperger's and gifted) and as such is in the GT program and Special Ed too. They have placed him in math class with the 5th graders and reading with the 3rd graders, and they give him two periods a day of a computer learning program called Success Maker. Next year they are looking at getting ALEKS for him because they don't want to send him to the middle school for math. They also have a team that works with him daily on social skills, a traveling Asperger's counselor that comes in monthly or so to work with him, and they sent their counselors to a seminar on 2E issues. He is the only 2E student in the district, and the principal has told us that if they went by strict interpretations instead of the looser guidelines that state funding works with, there would be only 3 gifted students in the district and he would be one of them. So all in all, for a tiny minority of one, they are absolutely outstanding. We would really prefer to move to the larger town down the road, but I will not take him from this district (to put him in the district where I went to school)!

We have been repeatedly stunned at how well advocacy has gone in our DS's school. He nearly 7 and was accelerated from 1st to 2nd grade in January. After two disastrous years in private "gifted" school, we moved him to a public charter school figuring that we should not continue to pay for garbage when we could get garbage for free.

Shockingly, the public charter has been willing to do what the private school wouldn't even discuss. They quickly and easily placed him in a 4th grade level reading group in 1st grade. When he blew through that work, his teacher asked about a skip to 2nd and the principal only briefly hesitated. After just looking at the IAS Manual, they agreed to move him.

He's now in a GATE cluster, accelerated and loving life. He's eager to go to school, delighted to learn again and working hard on an oral presentation about Thomas Edison. He's the happiest he's been in more than 2 years, which makes me the happiest I've been in 2 years!

Our suburban public school district has been very accommodating and gifted friendly to us. DD began attending school here in 4th grade and as soon as IQ and achievement testing were done, a plan was made for her to join the GT classroom. Since she was an early entry to K, she was additionally subject accelerated another year in math and LA. This year (officially a 6th grader in the school) she began pre-Algebra and found the pace slow. She spoke to her teacher and guidance counselor and after some discussion she was advanced to Algebra.

This school district recognizes how gifted children learn and most math classes go deeper as well as faster than regular curriculum. The school is also friendly to non-GT academically advanced students as they can test into portions of the GT program. I have watched my daughter go from frustrated daydreamer to an active participant in learning. It took a lot of research and sacrifice to move to this district but it has been worth it.

Jen

Our school district is very small and serves three different towns. Although our state isn't considered GT friendly, they did everything they could for my son. They worked hard to find classes he would fit into during his K year. He spent part of his day in four different grade levels. The following year he was radically accerated to 4th and further accelerated via on-line courses for math. It didn't work because of my sons lack of maturity and inability to see shades of gray when dealing with classmates.

He is homeschooling now but I give the district all the credit in the world for trying.

DS6 started the year in K. His K teacher recognized immediately that he was far ahead of the other students in her class and immediately jumped on the chance to get him tested for whole grade acceleration. Long story short, DS6 is now in 1st and in Target (Accelerated Learning Program - once a week) and doing well academically! We are so grateful he is in such a great school!

Okay, just learned something cool today when DS7's report card arrived.

He got a high A in science, and the teacher gushed with enthusiasm in the comments section. Here's the wonderful part: there were two asterisks next to the grade. I searched the report card and found: "**Student is working two grade levels or more above expected level."

I never knew about this! How wonderful that they recognized his abilities and gave him a nice acceleration. They also accelerated him in reading/language arts (which I knew about).

He understood the difference between solids, liquids, gases, and plasmas when he was three. And don't even get me started on his knowledge of dinosaurs when he was two. Etc. etc. At home, we understand his science abilities, but it's really, really nice to see this come from the school, without any advocating.

Val

Here is something I just found on our school's website. It is labeled as the GT Program "Quick Guide".


Here is another document in that section, labeled "Overview":


Interesting that it says that formal identification rarely takes place until the end of 3rd grade--we were informal last year in 1st grade and got our formal identification this year at the start of 2nd grade.

This is a story of failure and success in finding an appropriate school for Wolf (I copied it from my blog about the boys and added a bit):

In July 2008 I read an article about gifted kids and said "This sounds like Wolf." I went online and did some research (ok, a WHOLE lot of research). It turns out that most kids aren't doing math when they are three, I honestly had no idea that was out of the ordinary. In my research I found out about early Kindergarten entrance and contacted my district to find out if it was an option in our area. Mind you, at that point I wasn't gung ho about placing him in K early, I JUST wanted to know if it was possible. Mid August 2008 I finally found one person in the school district who actually knew the answer and wasn't rude which was a nice change. I was then put in contact with the charter system and told that Wolf could start with one of their schools (homeschool based system) that fall. Shortly afterward I was told he couldn't because the school was full (which the principal later told me was a lie). I was told by the district to homeschool Kindergarten in 08-09 so we did and I just let him go at his own pace.

I quickly realized that a grade skip, in other words starting 1st grade when he was five, would do him a lot of good. It would be a closer academic fit, he was ready for it socially and then he wouldn't have to skip later when there was more social stigma and stress involved. I talked with the principal of the charter schools again to see about getting him placed in 1st in fall 2009. There was much hassle and much disbelief in his abilities. The principal finally suggested that I give him grade assessment tests at home. I think they wanted to prove to me that I was seeing things that weren't there, was pushing him, ruining his childhood, etc... I asked what to do if he aced them, they said come back and get the next level. By the time I asked for grade 3 math they were getting really tired of us. The secretary even asked me why I was doing it.

I talked with one charter and both Wolf and I were treated rudely. Wolf was talked down to and we were pretty much disregarded. One teacher even said, "Oh don't worry some of the parents bring their preschoolers so he'll have kids to play with." We finally had an appointment with the teacher of the charter he would probably end up in and I spent a half an hour being lectured about how I was not allowing him to be a child. I didn't get to ask most of my questions about the program. I guess children are supposed to be bored and unchallenged since that was the only thing I was trying to prevent. That was the last straw.

I called the Independent Study program in the public school system of the neighboring district. I had talked to them before when we had thought about moving there. I told the head teacher all about Wolf and what he could do. She loved the idea of having him as a student. Then I told her the thing that turned everyone else off, he would be 5 in August 2009. She had no idea what the problem with that was. He was my kid and I knew him better than she did. She was willing to take everything I said sight unseen. She also specifically requested that he be her student and was willing to fight to get a transfer to go through if that was what it would take.

We applied for a interdistrict transfer and they were going to make us go through a bunch of red tape since we hadn't even enrolled in our home district yet. However the person in charge was the first person I had talked to originally and I told her exactly what had happened and she pushed it through on her end, the only thing that went smoothly for us in that district. We had to wait till the day school started here to get the official confirmation that it went through though, but it did and now Wolf is blasting his way through 1st grade through high school level work. He's even getting to study Logic and Spanish to keep him challenged. He is loving it and the fit is perfect.

His teacher helped us apply to Davidson and made it possible for us to meet with someone in the district who works with gifted kids to get some idea of what to do with him, since she and I are mostly flying by the seat of our pants.

It took a year of being taught very roughly that school districts and most school staff are less interested in a child's education than keeping the status quo and fitting all the pegs in their round holes whether or not the pegs themselves are round or square, but we found the perfect fit in the end.

Wow! Thanks for sharing that experience. I think it's a really good example of how looking elsewhere for a good fit after exhausting all your options; can sometimes be the best solution.

I am very happy to be able to contribute to this thread.
We've been advocating for DD7 all year with very little success. However, last week DH and I meet with both elementary school administrators, and her classroom teacher as well as her math teacher and "reintroduced" DD to them . In other words, reminded them of what level she was at when we moved here (at the beginning of this school year), what her test scores were, how her intensities come out when in certain situations, etc. etc. etc. Basically this was a meeting to try and get major changes to take place since we had again gotten to the point of DD not wanting to go to school because she was so frustrated with not doing anything all day in school.
After my rather lengthy intro, and me explaining what DD thoughts were about her situation, her teachers had some questions about what we expected them to do, and why was it that they were not seeing her giftedness all the time if "she is as gifted as you say she is". One of them actually seemed to be saying that she was just a spoiled child, and should be made to do all of grade 2 work, even though it is at least 2 grades below her level.
After much discussion, and us giving them some suggestions of some types of differentiation that they should be doing with DD we left the meeting with a promise that they needed a week to get things organized, but that things would change and they would get back to us once they had come up with a plan.
Well, that was on Wednesday last week, on Friday DD came home from school saying that school would be changing for her starting next week (ie this week we're in now). She would no longer have to do 2nd grade grammar or reading, and would be doing independent reading and assignments based on that instead. Her spelling activities would be different as well, although she would still be required to do spelling (a good thing). She was given the option of not continuing to do rocket math (40 simple questions in 1 minutes, which she is convinced she can't do, and as a result she won't do). She chose to continue doing it but is now only required to complete 20 in a minute before moving on to the next level.
Her math teacher has given her options of doing the same homework as everyone else (which is already at gr 3 level), or some enrichment problems instead if she already knows the regular stuff. If she knows the enrichment stuff too she can write a math story about the topic instead.
It is like DD has changed schools! In 3 days the differences we have seen have been amazing! DD is happy to go to school again, she does her homework with no complaints and is doing them well too, rather than sloppily as she was before. She is even getting more encouragement and praise from her teacher, rather than not much response to her work.
So, it appears that the issue all along has been that they really have no idea of how to handle a HG+ kid like DD, and since it is a private school, they do not have anyone trained to handle any gt kid ("we have lots of GT kids here, we all have extensive experience teaching high ability kids"). Since we were able to get a friend to give us suggestions that she has used when she as gt coordinator for a different school, they are happy to try to meet her needs.

Wow Kerry! That's amazing! It does pay to be pleasant and persistent. And I'll bet that when they see how much better she responds to more appropriate work, It'll make the next time you have to visit with them much easier. If there is a next time, lol!

It's also an important point that you bring up in that once the school really does see that there is a difference between the needs of an HG child within the GT population, it becomes much easier to get accommodations. I sometimes think that's the biggest hurdle and you did a great job!

Neato

I hesitate to use the word success yet, but it appears things are going quite well for us and definitely moving in the right direction. I had testing done on DS5 when he was 4 yrs old and discovered that he was a PG child (although I pretty much knew that, but the testing confirmed that). We live in NY, which is an awful state for gifted education. There are no mandates, no funding, and our district actually does not have any gifted programming at all...so the thought of school for him has always been a little overwhelming. But I decided to see what our local public school could do. I sent the report to our district superintendent and then called them to follow up to request a meeting. I then had a meeting with the principal and the curriculum superintendent and asked what they would be able to do for DS5. They were a little unsure and talked about having lots of good K classes and they were sure they could find a fit. I suggested that they meet him. The principal was excited about this and spent an hour with him one afternoon taking him to a couple different classes. She quickly determined that first grade would be a better fit (probably in part due to his discussion with her turning decimals into fractions at 4yo).

This past fall DS5 started first grade. They waited a month or so to really give him any different work than the other students. He was also acting out and not behaving during this time(acting quite immature) mostly due to the lack of mental stimulation and having never been in a school setting. About two months into the school year they purchased a computer program for him to use in the classroom for Math and reading that is supposed to be able to move at his level, which was a big step for them. So...there have been some bumps in the road, but at this point he gets his own spelling words (probably 4+ grades above), weekly individual math enrichment (about 5+ years), use of the computer program and reading in his classroom for math and reading that is several grade levels above. He meets with another student and teacher to do more critical thinking in LA and reading. There are parts of the day where the teacher will make certain activities optional for him if she knows that it is not appropriate for him. And they are finally going to do a Math assessment and reading assessment to determine what his actual level is (even though they have been giving him work that is several years above).

He is challenged at times with his math enrichment (they are doing some HS level stuff), but I would say that is the only area right now...but it is still amazing that they are willing to go above and beyond his grade level as I have heard so many horror stories.

I am hopeful that as they get to know him better they will do more and more. They are already talking and meeting about what to do next year and looking into computer programs. They also talked about developing an IEP for him. I was concerned that they might try to label him with something that he doesn't have, but the principal replied that the IEP would be through their school and not through special education and it would be "to address the exceptionality that he brings to the table, not a disability." the principal also stated "while IEPs are typically used to address individualized programming at the lowest end of the continuum, they are designed to meet the unique needs of students at the other end too". that was quite positive to hear and makes me feel like they do get it. I am always somewhat cautious, but quite hopeful that things will continue to get better and better : )

Just a quick rehash of DS's current situation. He did not want to be grade skipped so chose subject acceleration, we have therefore ended up with dual enrolment at high school and university. This lead to him not being eligible for any scholarships as he did not meet the criteria. By and large the majority of scholarships are for school leavers or continuing students attending on campus.

I have not been satisfied with this situation and a lot of this dissatisfaction isn't necessarily monetary but rather the lack of acknowledgement. The years and years of working above grade level, being a role model, putting in the hard yards etc and I'm not only talking about my son here but all gifted children.

So at the beginning of last year when he started his degree I started lobbying. I wrote to my State member of parliament, my Federal member of parliament, the education minister (State and Federal) and the university. I received replies from all of them but alas nothing was available. Every couple of months I would send of another round of updates regarding my son's progress and lamenting the lack of recognition and support that the gifted population receives. In short what a shocking and deplorable state of affairs this was.

Well today I received word from the university that they would like DS to attend a ceremony where he will be presented with an Award ( a term they use for awarding an amount of money not associated with sholarships). I also received a phone call from the undergraduate scholarships committee stating that the criteria for all their scholarships is now under review. I think this final phone call is the most satisfying for me because at the end of the day it boiled down to it being the principle of the matter. Who knows, the review may not change anything but at least it is happening.

Jobs for Gifted Students

Kids Talk Radio

We had success finding jobs for 8 gifted students this summer. The Long Beach Unified School District helped us to get the word out and they did a great job. We are training 8 students to become student backpack journalist and they will work for Kids Talk Radio. All of our students will post audio and video Podcasts to Kids Talk Radio, Super School Teen TV, Super School Press and Youth World News. We want to interview other gifted students and tell the world about their success stories. Gifted students and their parents are always welcome to visit and to submit success stories to Kids Talk Radio Kids Talk Radio.

Last year, I kept thinking I just have not presented our situation well enough. How could a school not understand learning needs? Finally, I realized that our school was just not going to be what was needed. Having the support from our FC and the discussion board really helped me make this decision.THANK YOU!!!!

It has been about 7 weeks at our new school for Gifted Kids. My kids are happy after school. They enjoying learning again and feel challenged. This will do so much for them.

The commute to school went from 10 mins. to 45 mins and yet my life feels easier.

I hope this will encourage someone. Last year, I felt so worried that our situation was hopeless. Things can really change.

The Montessori school that both my kids now attend have been very accomodating with us. Our 6-year is engaged in academics @ a 6th grade level and will soon be ready to move on to 7th.

The school was originally accredited up to 6th grade, but our boy gave them the push to be accredited for up to 12th so he would have some sort of home for a while.

Our youngest just turned 4 and the school allowed him to skip Pre-K and K and is peforming 1st grade academic work and his teacher is trying to figure a program that will engafge him on the same level as our oldest although he is not a "driven" as our oldest is.

I wanted to post here because I feel we are a semidecent success story right now, at least in terms of school. DD, who tested MG but appears more HG, transferred from a small charter with a seemingly high # of bright kids to a gifted magnet school. Though some things could be better, DD is clearly much more stimulated. The school uses a project-based curriculum that really allows kids to go deep into the subjects. There are also a lot of excellent guest speakers and field trips on topics of great interest to the kids. Science is strong, with an on-site lab. She did a compacted math curriculum and is now working through a curriculum for the next grade up. Interestingly, the teacher seems to be doing almost no "reading" instruction other than providing a lot of time for free reading. I was skeptical of this at first, but it no longer bothers me. Her teacher and the librarian seem to be doing a decent job of keeping her in books that are somewhere around right. The downside is that there is too much homework, but when I ask DD how her day was, her answer is always "Great!" This was definitely not the case at her old school. She also appears much more socially connected and happy.

DD9 started partial schooling in January in gr 6 (a month before her 9th birthday). This was after almost a year of advocating for her to get a radical acceleration from entering 4th to entering 6th. After we were refused the acceleration for the fall we started homeschooling her at the 6th grade level and it was clear that this was a good spot to try her at. So, after continued pressure she was admitted and she likes it a lot. Science and art are not at her level, but her language arts class is a gifted class and it is pretty close to her level. Her teachers are very happy with her and she loves being in classes with kids that understand her more than in the past.