Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy New here - battling with big, bad School District.

What do you mean, "of course"?

I had this mental image of my two kids at the table, arms and legs waving helplessly...

It's close, but not quite true. They're mostly just trying to ruin my good kitchen table!

Anyway, carry on.

Boundaries are very important. It's good to have them already decided so that in the heat of the moment you don't make threats that you don't want to carry out. Think about your must-haves and also time limits. Advocacy takes time and the schools use that to their advantage

OT, but my kids have been known to spread white glue on their hands (and the table in the process) because it's so cool to peel it off when it dries

I was just talking to a 4th grade teacher about this the other day. Apparently we don't do tracking or ability grouping by classes (which is what we had when I was in school), but we do WITHIN the classes. This 4th grade teacher is at our school and teaches math and science. She explained that she teaches math to small groups of students. The small group method is required by the principal. She loves it because it makes her job easier when she has such varied levels within the same class.

I didn't realize others don't have reading groups anymore. I guess things are behind the times here in TX. In this case, I guess I'm glad.

Wow - thanks for such a warm welcome and excellent advice. I'm so glad I found this board...

I think I'm just starting to realize that the 'get more flies with honey...' saying doesn't apply to GT advocacy and I need to be more demanding. Sometimes I feel I have to play nicey-nice with the principal so we can get a grade skip, and that if I ask for too much by demanding a detailed GIEP with further subject acceleration etc., she'll say forget it to the skip.

Unfortunately, we don't have other educational options outside of public school. Homeschooling won't work for our family and $$ is too tight for private school. I do have a copy of the Iowa Acceleration Scale and DS6 would probably score high (some of the required scores are missing). I actually was going to put a copy of the IAS with my note to the principal along with "A Nation Deceived". My DS however,was convinced that the principal would be so offended by the suggestion that she needs to be educated that she would shut down and stand firm with not accelerating. Maybe I'll call the principal this week and if she says nay to 2nd grade then I'll start alluding to the law, due process (etc.)

Dottie and Gratified3, I'd like to contact you about experience with PA system as soon as I figure out how to PM!

I'll keep folks updated about DYS - I guess I should be hearing soon since we applied for the April 15 deadline.

Thanks again for the support,
Jool

I think trying to figure out how to thread that very challenging needle of too pushy vs. not pushy enough is just crazy-making. I hope you're oh-so-much better at it than I am. It sounds like you must be!

It is a fine line to walk! My strategy was to lead them to the conclusion that whole grade acceleration would be the least trouble for them--and truly it is. There was no way that my son's K teacher would have had the time or resources to give him appropriate work. Also, I feel that socially he is better off in a class where he is doing the same thing as everyone else instead of being pulled out or set to work by himself on a separate project.

It is so hard to negotiate with people who could make life very unpleasant for your child. If you have no other options then they have more power over you that way.

I just wanted to say hi and welcome. DS5 is in K and he loves binary numbers too. He picked learned it in a museum last year.

Good luck with the DYS application and the school. I hope you won't have to go through the whole due process, but at least you have the option to do so if needed.