Our meeting went very well today. We spoke with the gifted coordinator of the district and observed in the 4th/5th grade magnet class as well as spoke briefly with that teacher.
I got all my questions answered and we had a chance to watch the kids working on some independent projects. They were actually making podcasts - something that would NEVER be a project at our school! And the teacher said that the magnet program works about 2 grade levels above regular curriculum with differentiation for those students who are even further. They emphasized that the gifted programming is both accelerated and compacted as well as still offering differentiation within that programming. Hopefully they weren't just telling us what we wanted to hear!
I made a point of asking whether they differentiate further within the gifted programs - be sure to ask that, Squirt!!
I was quite impressed with the overall school district aside from the gifted programming. I think the coordinator was very upfront about the testing procedure for a new student in the district. They would do all their own testing as soon as possible when a previously identified gifted student enters the district but also allow a short time for teacher observations before making placement changes from a regular classroom. She said while they consider previous testing they prefer to have all their students take the same tests - apples to apples comparisons for placements.
The kids all looked so happy, on task, motivated and self directed. I could totally imagine MrWiggly in the classroom and loving it. It was so much like his CTD classes in terms of structure and learning/teaching styles.
Now if Obama could get the housing market fixed a little sooner rather than later......<sigh>
Good luck with your observations, Squirt.
