Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy A meeting you should all have

We just had a meeting with DS8's school to discuss what to do with his ALP now that he's settled in this year--we had the first meeting at the start of the year, and this was followup and tweaking.

What I wanted to share with you guys was what the principal said at the end. She said that they consider a prodigy (her word) like him to be a gift to them, that only comes around once in a career if they are lucky, and that working with him validates them as teachers when they can figure out something that works for him.

Anyone wonder why we refuse to move out of this district?

For the nuts and bolts of the meeting, we settled on leaving him in 5th grade math class for the rest of this quarter and then dropping that, just to give him more time with the teacher, then having the teacher just be his mentor with ALEKS for the rest of the year in case he has any questions. The 11th grade math teacher will be his ALEKS guide, but he will continue working on it from in his 3rd grade classroom, if that makes any sense. 5th grade teacher says he is way beyond the 5th grade class, and 11th grade teacher says he expects he will finish ALEKS 3rd grade math by Monday (he started him there to make sure there were no gaps and because he hadn't met him yet, LOL), run through 4th grade math in another week or two, 5th grade by Thanksgiving, and probably finish 6th grade by Christmas break.

The 6th grade science teacher has offered to include him in the science fair this year, which he is excited about. I didn't even know we had science fairs around here! So now I'll be coming to you guys for project advice.

They have a new 9th grade GT student who asked to work with DS8 on some sort of project and they think that will be good for both of them.

Very importantly, everyone agrees that he is doing enormously better socially and behaviorally this year, which I attribute almost entirely to solving the poop problem. Yay!

And he gets to take the WJIII test again to see what we're actually dealing with now--the last time he had it, he was 5! I'll be interested to see what it looks like now.

All in all, great prospects coming together, and hopefully enough to keep him busy!

Wow, that's wonderful! I'm so glad to hear it was such a positive meeting and that your son's needs are being met! Thanks for sharing!

That is so fantastic. It's great to hear such a story.

Thats Awesome!! It's nice to know there are a few people in the world that are willing to extend a little effort!

WOW! What a statement we wished all school faculty had about our kids! Sadly, they don't all get that kind of appreciation!

Sounds wonderful!

Hooray, hooray! So happy to hear that! I'm excited also, because we had an incredible IEP meeting for DS7 where everyone talked about him so positively. I was turning red because I was so overwhelmed with all the praise they were heaping on him! What a difference an appropriate placement makes. Even within the gifted school, he stands out (which I knew...but it is nice to have it validated all the way around).

Congrats to you and your son Nautigal

Yay Nautigal and NanRos! So great to hear about these meetings. I have one to add too. My DS6 skipped 1st grade this year. Everyone seemed to really understand that DS learned differently and would need a lot of differentiation in certain areas, while they completely supported him in his age appropriate skills (e.g., writing). During the discussion, the principal said she keeps forgetting that he's already been accelerated a year, he's been fitting in so well in 2nd grade socially.

WOW I'm speechless! I wouldn't dare move from a district like that.

Dazey

Wow! That's so exciting! Did your DS hear that said? The recognition and support from the principal shows a lot of leadership.

No, the kids were off in another room during this meeting. Probably just as well--he hears enough people telling him how smart he is, doesn't need a bigger head.