Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Regions Pennsylvania - Chapter 16 discussion

I wanted to start a post for PA folks so we can compare notes about how our children are being educated in PA. Here are some general questions to start off the discussion:

1. What grade is your child in?
2. What types of accomodations have been made for him/her?
3. How did you get those accomodations?
4. Describe advocacy efforts that have worked and those that have not. Describe those that backfired.
5. Is your child's GIEP individualized to his/her needs?

1. First grade (early entry so this could be considered a skip of K). This was outside of chapter 16. A case where local policies were used.

2. Working through the GIEP right now. Ideally we'd like math and potentially reading acceleration.

3. Haven't gotten any accommodations just yet. Just the standard offering of the pull out program. We didn't approve our plan (but we didn't disapprove it either).

4. So far what has worked (to a very limited degree) has been keeping an open dialog with everyone. Last summer we spoke to school admin, to principals (both K-school and Elementary) and tried to be as diplomatic as possible. Nothing has "backfired" but nothing has been worked out quite to our satisfaction either. I don't completely blame the school though (although both my DW and I agree that they could do more). Our DS is now starting to act out at home and at school. This is the closest to "backfiring" but this is rather complicated and may not be strictly GT-related.

5. Not yet! Work in progress.

We're still very early in the process.

JB

I forgot to answer my own questions

1. What grade is your child in?
2nd

2. What types of accomodations have been made for him/her?
Skipped 1st grade. Is in a once/week 1 1/2 hour gifted pullout.

3. How did you get those accomodations?
For grade skip, requested evaluation for acceleration while DS was in K. Also wrote a letter to principal stating that I felt that acceleration would be best for DS's emotional needs.

4. Describe advocacy efforts that have worked and those that have not. Describe those that backfired.
Trusting teachers to figure out that DS needed more challenge did not work. Trying *not* to be a pain in the rear did not work. Both of these passive approaches backfired in that there was delay in DS getting any attention since he is not a "problem" child.

Writing letters, not approving inadequate GIEPs, and being persistent (okay, tenacious ) have worked better than anything else so far to get the district to listen. However, we have a long way to go.

5. Is your child's GIEP individualized to his/her needs?
Not yet, but I have another GIEP meeting on Friday to try again to get it right.

We are having similar experiences (except our son is now becoming a "problem" child). All we're asking for is that our child gets appropriate work, and after waiting half of the school year, we're still not there yet. Our adjustments in school have been to give our son additional worksheets that don't map to any sort of curriculum. Unfortunately our team building that we did to prep DS for early entry into first may have backfired in that his academic needs are still not met. So we have a kid who was so excited to enter school ("I'm ready for first grade!") to a kid who knows he isn't learning nearly as much as his neighbor. Additionally, we may have a "Spirited Child" or a child with a low end sensory integration issues.

We're not sure of the LOG that we're dealing with. IQ tests say one thing, achievement tests say another...

Bit frustrated right now...

JB

JB, any chance your DS may qualify for special ed under Chapter 14? Now that both issues have to be combined in one GIEP (and Ch. 14 has more "teeth") perhaps that is one road to an enforceable plan for him...

1. What grade is your child in?

I have 2: DS7 in 2nd and DS6 in 1st

2. What types of accomodations have been made for him/her?

Originally full-day pullout but I couldn't get anything else and the school was non-responsive. I finally pulled them out into a Charter school that was supposed to be more intensive by default. DS7 gets 45 minutes of pull out, and DS6 will get that in the fall.

I have pushed for pre-testing for both and added activities to keep them interested.

3. How did you get those accomodations?

Constant frustration, meetings, using up all my vacation time in dealing with the schools. Becoming a "pushy" mom.

4. Describe advocacy efforts that have worked and those that have not. Describe those that backfired.

I find that you cannot antagonize the school. So you explain that you're trying to support both the teacher and your child. You work to try to get the administration to reach the same conclusion you did.

I could barely get the school to see the link between behavior and academic enrichment. DS7 now has an IEP that says he's autistic (even though he's not really) because he kept disengaging in the classroom and throwing fits when forced to do work (especially writing).

5. Is your child's GIEP individualized to his/her needs?

There are no GIEPs for Charter Schools. I feel very strongly that this is a weakness in our Charter school system. They are required to support IEPs, but not GIEPs.

Even then, the GIEPs in their old school were not individualized. Or if they were, they were only individualized up to a certain point, and mostly based on what the teacher thought was the child's strength. So, DS7 who tested 6th grade equivalent in vocabulary at the time, and 1.5 grade equivalent in math, would get math enrichment. Why? BEcause he was more engaged in the classroom in Math as opposed to being bored out of his skull in reading.

We're in PA too. But in private school. Two boys -- K and 6th grades. My older son did a math grade skip and younger one they are giving worksheets from math curriculum in higher grades. We had to push pretty hard for the adaptations with our older one, but with the younger, we let them know he was coming and was every bit as gifted as the older and they've been easier to deal with.

Are there any full time schools for the gifted anywhere in Pennsylvania? I grew up in PA in public school with a GIEP that was not worth the paper written on so I don't really want my kids to go through that system, but ANY school that is targeting the gifted population, we'd like to hear about it.

thanks.

My kids (3)go to private school. For financial reasons we must move to public & I am REALLY dreading all this.

The last time I had oldest tested he was in 2nd grade (currently in 8th now) and the IEP offered was horrid - the same folks who wouldn't accelerate for K (missed age cut off by 10 weeks), 2 years later wanted son to take half his classes with 2nd & half with 4th grade - rational was he had now "matured" & could sit thru a 4th grade class -- funny since they refused under terms of the law to evaluate him for K how they could possibly guess he couldn't sit thru class.

Now I am looking at having 3 evaluated - current grades 2nd, 3rd & 8th.

Hope I have enough fight in me

There is one Charter school in PA for Gifted kids, but I'm not sure it isn't just nominally for gifted. Charter school laws tend to state that you cannot discriminate based on intelligence, which tells me that it would be hard to get a gifted charter school started.

Here is the one gifted charter. Reviews for it are mixed:

http://www.infinityschool.org/infinity

Cyber charters supposedly have a lot of flexibility for gifted, but that entails homeschooling.

There are a lot more options for children in high school and middle school than elementary school.:/