Thanks for the input! Unfortunately, the G&T program continues to be a dead end. Despite what their website says, it seems like the primary question they ask for admitting a student is "is the teacher able to meet the needs of this student in the classroom." If the answer is yes - no extra enrichment. It's incredibly frustrating because it's a subjective question - particularly for kids who don't fit into a typical G&T mold. Apparently they think the answer for my daughter is that her needs are being met, even as she's telling me she's bored and appears to be disengaging. The wonderful school psychologist thinks this is unfair because my daughter is reserved/cautious and not the type to be the squeaky wheel in the classroom - but she has no power to change the decision.
We met with the district-wide director of the G&T program last year and it was not a pleasant meeting - she wasn't very receptive and it was clear from the beginning of the meeting she was not going to change the decision, nor had she even taken the time to learn about our daughter. Our district is large (10k students/10+ elementary schools) with I'm sure a lot of overbearing parents, and the vibe I got from her is that she does not want to be seen as ceding to parent pressure. She was not a pleasant person to deal with, and I'm not sure how to get around her.
I do think there are some major equity issues here. My daughter has a serious, chronic blood disorder that leaves her very anemic and therefore constantly fatigued. She gets monthly blood transfusions for treatment, which help, but she is physically extremely small for her age and physically weak. I'm not sure how much is her medical condition and how much is just personality, but she moves through life at her own (slow) pace and definitely takes her time with school assignments, and tells me she is often the last to finish things in class. It's hard to know exactly how much the disorder impacts her academically because she's always had it, but common side effects of chronic anemia include brain fog, dizziness, and difficulty concentrating. Honestly the fact that she is able to keep up - and now excel - academically in the face of this makes her an absolute superhero in my mind. I am so impressed by her each and every day.
She previously had an IEP based on speech and physical delays, and transitioned to a 504 last year when she "graduated" speech. We don't currently have any accommodations with her 504 except for that she gets pulled for PT/OT and also sees the school psychologist weekly. She doesn't have any specific accommodations for extra time, although we're keeping an eye on whether that is something she may need in the future as she moves into middle school. She is often catching up on work she's missed due to medical appointments/getting pulled out for services in school, and just moving at a slower pace. She also can present as kind of...spacy? The school psychologist thinks she presents as very cautious in the classroom in part due to her medical history. I feel like this is unfairly impacting how she is viewed in terms of giftedness.
I didn't provide the exact WISC IQ score for privacy reasons, just the percentages for reference, but she is well above the typical IQ standard for giftedness (130). The G&T director knows this, but made a point of saying they don't base admission for the program on testing. They seem to see her IQ as a standalone trait, without the (externally visible) drive/motivation they are looking for to meet the G&T profile.
I'm debating whether to take this further with the district with an equity complaint, although I think this is unlikely to change things for my child in particular. I honestly think the program is in dire need of an overhaul and think other children could benefit from a less opaque admissions process in the future, and a less rigid (yet also weirdly subjective??) idea of what gifted children look like.
Long story short, I'm basically considering the program to be a dead end and wondering what else I can so to support her at school.
We have a 504 meeting coming up but I'm not sure exactly how to present what we need. It's not that she needs accommodation to meet grade level standard - she's obviously doing fine - but I truly think she needs enrichment accommodations to meet her full potential as a learner. I may do some research and post my ideas here, but would be super curious to hear what's worked with your son's 504/gifted combo (realizing that all disabilities/504s are different!).
