Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment What steps to take.....

E-beth, we cross-posted. But, I agree. That's why I think az should take the postion of information gathering before attempting to advocate. You have to be confident about what you are advocating for.

At one point, when they actually started listening to me, I was asked what I wanted them to do. Ummmmmm, I didn't have an answer, because I was too busy trying to make sure they did something. Nutty. BTW, that was.........awkward.

Sounds what az is looking for. Now, does the school have to give over the results to the parents?

On hold with the district.....no one seems to know the answer about their policy! Hmmm! I tried the state dept of ed first. They said it's county by county. Will let you know what I find out.

I am hoping that Grinity knows how to get a copy of my students MAP report directly from the company because I had NO luck.

No written county policy. None. I spoke to the school district's general counsel office. They said if a policy existed it would be in the promotion/retention section and it is not. The told me that in that case it really is up to the guidance counselor, principal, and teacher.

Now what do I do?

No written county policy. None. I spoke to the school district's general counsel office. They said if a policy existed it would be in the promotion/retention section and it is not. The told me that in that case it really is up to the guidance counselor, principal, and teacher.

Now what do I do?


yep - I would LOVE a 30 page MAP report!

So they don't have a specific written policy on promotion/retention, but they do have a school policy, correct? I'd get a copy of that because that's the framework you're going to be working within. They may have other policies that will need to leverage. Doing so really just helps educate yourself for when you do start having the conversations in case "that's not our policy" is thrown around. Not saying that it will be, just that it's good to be prepared.

JB

The county's general counselor's office did not know if there was a school policy or not. She told me to contact my child's guidance counselor and teacher. I want to keep my cards close, as suggested here, and I don't think I want to put out my "feelers" at his school yet, especially before we've had the conference. Wouldn't that be jumping the gun? I think if I called the school and asked about their policy on grade acceleration it would put up red flags all over the place and put them on the defensive even before we got started. Also - the school secretary knows me and my voice.

Yoohoo...Grinity......how do you get those 30 page reports on your kid's test? Do you have a secret contact person at NWEA (MAP manufacturer)?

Yup, I would try to do this without calling a lot of attention to it. You're not doing anything wrong, but I can tell you from experience that just by leaving a message with our Principal about early admissions into first grade caused her to contact the assistant (now current) superintendent.

Does your school district have a web site? You might find all of your policies online. Also, your local library should have the policy as this is supposed to be something of public record.

Also, you don't have to ask specifically for the policy on acceleration. You could just ask for your schools published policies. Probably a nice thick binder like ours

JB

Well, az1... You could look on the bright side of things! Not having an acceleration policy in writing could mean that it is not forbidden. In other words, they don't have a policy against it!

What is your general feeling on how your school handles gifted kids? If they have the MAP test (which I am DOK... drooling on keyboard... about!!!) and a gifted program, then they may be pretty good about accommodating gifted kids.

OTOH, my son's school is a great school, with a wonderful reputation for teaching the best students. That actually worked to our disadvantage. The school naturally assumes that ALL of the kids are gifted, and that ALL of the kids benefit from the same level of gifted services. What you start to realize is that there are levels of giftedness. If you have been around here for several months, then you have probably already checked out the Hoagies gifted web site, or read some of the books on gifted kids. But they come in all shapes and sizes... from moderately gifted to profoundly gifted. Schools are used to dealing with moderately gifted kids, through pull-out classes and gifted services. Most schools are not used to dealing with kids that are higher up on the gifted scale. They need special services, like subject acceleration or full-grade acceleration. We have been working on this for over 2.5 years with our school and they are just starting to realize what my son, now 8, needs. It is a very long process for them to accept that different kids need different levels of services.

Hopefully the MAP test will indicate to you and the school what your son needs. I poked around google for a bit while writing this by typing in 'map test scores for gifted kids' to the search bar. You can find all kinds of school web pages that discuss gifted policies based on MAP scores. Here is one from Kansas City that looks typical.

http://www.nkcsd.k12.mo.us/board_of_ed/I/IGBB.pdf

They throw the MAP scores in with the Iowa Basic Skills Test, so maybe they are equivalent?? Sometimes if you find out what other schools are offering, then you have a better idea what to fight for.

I just saw JB's posting and heartily agree with the suggestion to go on-line. Our school's policies are clearly stated there. In fact, if your school has a gifted teacher, then he or she would have a web page that should address this issue, hopefully? They should at least talk about MAP scores and what they mean.

If you already have a child in the gifted program, then perhaps you already know some of these answers? I'm speaking from the point of view of a first-time parent who is fighting the system. You may be ahead of the game if you already have one child in the pipeline. You just need an upgrade on your services to your pipeline!!