Who did you use as your nominator? The child's teacher? DS6 meets criteria on testing. He's in a 1/2-day K program and I suppose I could ask his teacher, although I'm not sure she has viewed him as gifted to this point.

We used DD's occupational therapist, who wrote a great letter with specific examples of unusual behavior. I think it's nice if it's someone who works with children a lot, so they have a clear idea of normal grade level behavior, and it's good to pick someone who "sees" your child. Maybe a children's librarian?

I think if you have qualifying IQ and achievement it is not really critical so long as they genuinely know your child and are not a relative. We just had my son's tutor serve as our nominator. Nothing fancy. I think if we had been using a portfolio I might have chosen someone different (ie maybe with more credentials).

I'm sure his teacher would do it, and I think more recently she understands what an outlier his is, but she certainly didn't view him in this way until recently.

He has an OT but we just started and I do not feel she knows him well either.

I could certainly ask our librarian. She sees him in there 3x/week but I wouldn't call them "close"...

I have family friends who are educators who have known him since he was a baby, but I'm not sure that's entirely appropriate.

I think it's tough with a kid who just turned 6... he hasn't been in school long (and only 1/2 day) and he's still dabbling in various extra-curricular activities so it's not like he's done anything for "years" yet.

DD's school libranian did hers as DD had spent a lot of time with her whike researched why Pluto wasn't considered a true planet in first grade which was an early example of DD relentlessly digging in u til she found answers.

We had a teacher teacher nominate DS. She specifically teaches math, so it seemed like a good fit.

I think the rule is that family members cannot serve as nominators.

A librarian might make an excellent nominator- I hadn't thought about that.

Are there additional references? I think now the nominator serves as a letter of recommendation. I didn't read anything about references but maybe I missed it.

My concern is that the two adults who work in the school that know my son the best (his first grade teacher and the reading specialist) think of him as a nudge and they believe he's reading on a second grade level when he's been assessed on a 5th grade level. But, he's in K so perhaps it doesn't matter since he has DYS scores and is above grade level?

Am I over-thinking the importance of the nominator when you have all the other boxes checked? Perhaps I'll write a letter to go with it.

I used a therapist DD had seen when she was in Kindergarten (she's now in 2nd) who had also had PG kids and who really "got" DD. Her OT or Kindergarten teacher might have been reasonable choices as well--but not her teachers for 1st, 2nd, or sped, who all probably know she's gifted but don't really care to deal with it.

What about friends who are educators? I used to work in public school and so we often have play dates with other teachers. It was these individuals who helped me determine he should be tested for giftedness.

Yes, I think you are over-thinking the importance of the nominator. I think it's a good idea for it to be someone who works with kids, and who "gets" your son. Family friends should be fine, or a teacher, or a librarian, or almost anyone who's not a relative. If you have teacher friends who are able to say things like, "When he was five, I observed him reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe to himself and he was able to discuss it with me," then use them. (That's a made-up example to give you an idea of what observation of out-of-age behavior might look like.) But if you have test scores, I really don't think the nominator piece matters much.

Thanks, ElizabethN!

Thanks KT for starting this thread and advice here. I asked DD's piano teacher over her kinder teacher and wondering the same thing.

How about a pediatrician who sees your kid once a year?

Can the pediatrician speak to out-of-level behavior and/or accomplishments?

Thank you, Solaris.

I think I'm going to use a friend of the family who is a veteran teacher. She was in a mothers' group with me when I had my son and she's known him for years.

Thank you for starting this thread! It is timely for us too...
Just got the scores back from the WISC and he qualifies, but we didn't do comprehensive achievement testing, so I am submitting a portfolio....
My son is 6 yo, and I'm struggling who to choose for a nominator. He has a former sitter who has watched his development from birth. She is an advocate for people with disabilities and knowledgeable about IQ scores, normal development, etc. But she's not a teacher. Really hoping it is ok to use her as a nominator because she GETS it!!

Speechie... I'm a rookie here but I would go with the sitter as she has background plus she has seen your son in action. That's just my two cents

The point is, who (outside of family) has had the most contact with our children and knows them best? The pediatrician who sees them once a year. Obviously, that won't work, so we can't do this.

It's not obvious to me that you can or that you can't. Our pediatrician could definitely speak about the giftedness of our kids, despite seeing them relatively rarely. Others might not be able to.

Thank you for your encouragement
If our beloved sitter is unable/unwilling, then I will approach his teacher/reading specialist. The school is pretty good, but I'm not sure that they get HOW different he is, just that he's bright, yk?
I want someone who has good examples of his drive and desire to explore his interests in depth, his early language development, etc...

I completely understand. Until very recently, my DS's teacher just thought he was a good reader

Any one who has been through this process- what kind of questions do they ask the nominator??
Are they similar to the ones the parent fills in?

I emailed DYS and got this response:

In regards to your question about the Nominator for the Young Scholars Application, in the past, we have had families submit forms from various sources; teachers, gifted coordinators, school administrators, and even family friends. You may want to think about using someone who knows your child and their abilities. Ultimately, it is to the family’s discretion to who they use as a nominator.

The types of questions that are asked in the nominator form include how the nominator knows the applicant, what they know of the applicants advanced abilities and how the applicant would benefit from the Young Scholars Program. You are more than welcome to share this information with the nominator so they can make the appropriate preparations.

oh, thank you! That helps!

You're welcome