In our local market, public schools begin screening for giftedness in third grade. There are limited elementary options, with only one school expressly dedicated to gifted students. Even there, the definition of giftedness is fuzzy, as the admissions cut-off is 95%ile on WISC-V.
I was surprised at the lack of openness to indiviualization at a purportedly gifted school. The officer I spoke with insisted there was no possibility of grade skips for students whose needs exceeded the one-year across-the-board acceleration (2 in math) the school offers on grades 1 to 7. The idea of a child being 3+ years advanced was scoffed at. I don't think it's an unrealistic question to ask given our family history--I was accelerated 3 years (and probably needed more), and DH wrote all his high school science and math exams at the beginning of the year to be excused from class. DS is showing every sign of being on the same path. That's reality for our family--and many others on this forum.
I asked about subject acceleration where students show need from out-of-level testing and was told that, "all our students are 2-3 years advanced." (Which might be true if they follow the province's marshmallow curriculum.) But, juxtaposed with their 1-2 year advancement, does that not just say that the school, as policy, commits to under-serving its student body by 1-2 years? I was told students can be tested for the need for advanced material, but that they don't like to remove students from their age-peer cohort. That, to me, reads as enrichment, not acceration.
That last point is a trend I've encountered locally. Does anyone aware of Ontario guidelines know if ministry-regulated teachers are even allowed to teach out of grade-level material? I've heard anecdotally that teachers are required by the ministry to move in lockstep with age-linked curricula, even for students with gifted IEPs. The mantra seems to be "enrich, not accelerate." I'd like to determine the veracity of the claim.
Thanks folks. I have to shake my head. Call me naive, but when I see a school advertising itself as a gifted school, I hope to encounter at least open-mindedness around students' need for acceleration beyond their standard offering.
