Grinity,
I love your input...thank you.

I don't know how routine it is. I think the parents are good at getting the kids identified. There is a policy for acceleration and they use the IAS. But my impression is most parents think it is sufficiently challenging and know the high school is a pressure cooker. I think there is a large work load and most parents think the kids don't need further acceleration (although I did find one anecdote online where a parent went through the process for a full grade skip in elementary and it seemed smooth). But I guess most of their kids aren't in the 99.9th%, right? I don't get the impression the principal is familiar with Explore or the IAS or DYS.

She has only been in school a month. Honestly I think she could benefit from being with the 6th graders. I think it will be a big change in expectations, and she needs the practice in 6th grade (i.e. she is overwhelmed by this gifted pull-out project on frogs...setting the deadlines for herself, breaking it down, etc.)

She has made some friends (of course the girl she has clicked the best with is going to the other middle school) but I do think she will have same age friends in the orchestra and drama programs. She is pretty at home in her own skin and seems very confident that she wants and can do the 7th grade English. (proud of herself for finishing Pride and Prejudice over spring break.)
Here is the e-mail to principal--please give me feedback!

"Dr. X,
Thanks for getting back to me!



I apologize--I think I may not have provided enough information in my letter.



Dd has been idetified as gifted by the school district and is currently receiving gifted services at xxxxx. She is a candidate for the Davidson Young Scholars program (as soon as her mom finishes the application!) Based on data we already have, and according to input from specialists in the field of gifted education and the Iowa Acceleration Scale, she is a good candidate for full-grade acceleration.


The IAS addresses every factor that any parent, teacher or administrator has ever considered, including size and motor coordination (Dd is in the 95th% for height and weight), behavior (We like to think she is very mature and well behaved!), social participation, both inside and outside school activities, even attendance, motivation, self-concept and attitude towards learning. And given most weight are the ability and achievement tests, particularly in and out of grade level achievement tests. Rather than a full-grade skip, we would like to focus on her greatest strength, (language arts) and request that she be placed in the 7th grade Advanced Content language arts class, while remaining with her age peers in 6th grade for other subjects. The following is the data we have so far which is used in the IAS:



WISC IV: 99.9th % Verbal Comprehension Index, 99.8% Full Scale IQ



Terra Nova Complete Battery (I apologize I don't immediately have the report in front of me--but in both 3rd and 4th grade she was in the 97th-99th% in Reading and Language)



ACT Explore (nationally normed for 8th graders) English 98% compared to 8th graders, 98% compared to other gifted 4th graders; Reading 91% compared to 8th graders, 94% compared to other gifted 4th graders; Composite 85th% compared to 8th graders, 89th% compared to gifted 4th graders



According to the report from the Belin-Blank Exceptional Student Talent Search at the University of Iowa, students who score above the 50th% are ready for enrichment plus accelerative options, even in an exceptionally high-achieving school like xxx with a large percentage of children identified as gifted. I am interested to know what percentage of 6th graders at xxxxx take the AC Language Arts class.



I understand the criteria for placement includes the CRCT scores, but I read on the district website that a request for a full grade acceleration can take up to 9 weeks to process, and even though we aren't asking for a full grade acceleration but only subject acceleration, I wanted to get the ball rolling, as we believe that her needs will be most appropriately met in the 7th grade AC class. I know there is a Reqest for Acceleration form but I don't know if that applies in this case.


We appreciate your guidance in this matter, and are looking forward to working with you and to dd entering xxxx. Thank you for your assistance.


Warm regards,

S."
p.s. I am copying the gifted ed. department for their input as well