Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy GIEP meeting this afternoon

The meeting made me and . Hope your meeting went better than mine, Crisc. Our district is so rigid, I realized halfway through the meeting that the it was a waste of time. I learned that they will *not* test the limits of his levels in math and will *not* provide him with above-grade level material for the rest of the year (even though he knows most of the curriculum). He has to sit through the regular math. Period. It was very hard to endure over an hour of edu-speak about how everyday math is challenging for every child with all of the "extension" activities and spiralling and blah blah blah... Thanks for letting me vent. Okay, time to break open my stash of dove chocolate...

Rigid school systems are stinky! I'm so sorry, Jool!

Mourn as needed, but I'll press on. Just please feel free to ignore this until you're ready to deal with it...

So where does that leave you? What is your next step? Will you escalate the issue, or are you going elsewhere?

UUgh!! DD6 is doing Everyday Math and it's so slow. I looked at the workbook at the beginning of the year and realized there wouldn't be anything new and challenging for her. I asked the teacher about pre-testing and compacting but no luck. Instead she agreed to let DD work on a workbook I sent in. She does the more challenging stuff after she's completed her Everyday Math journal.

It's frustrating because with the MAP results there's good information about what she's mastered and what are the next things to learn. Unfortunately the school doesn't seem to be using this information to differentiate the curriculum much.

Thanks everyone for your support. G3, I did (in a non-threatening way) remind them of the law, both in a letter beforehand and at the meeting. They said that present levels "according to the district's policy" have already been tested. (88% in Dec. on a grade 3 placement test in math, where 90% is required by the district to even do further testing to see how much he knows of the curriculum in grade 4, 5, etc.). The curriculum specialist, gifted supervisor, and curriculum supervisor all know I know the law, yet they do nothing.

Oh, and on the placement test, 90% is mastery at the *end of the year*. He got 88% in Dec!

hugs Jool.

(Whine alert): I know.... The idea of due process is just so daunting....

I think you're allowed to whine...

Today.

Tomorrow we'll expect a complete plan of attack! :p


(Totally kidding! Too soon to kid? I hope not...)

Kid away Kriston! And I think if you weren't kidding you'd be right I don't think I can wait until tomorrow to start planning, though. I can plan an attack at the same time I whine!

I agree that the choices are pretty limited, Dottie. I think that's a very helpful thing to keep in mind, too.

Sometimes fewer choices is good though. If there are only 4 basic choices--and #1 is pretty much unacceptable, I suspect --then that makes it easier to decide what to do.

We're here to talk it through, Jool!

Thanks for helping me clarify my thinking by laying out the options Dottie. You're awesome


1. Don't think I can accept the status quo. There's something in me that just can't back down when DS is not learning math.

2. Thing is, the school and teachers are good overall. Probably better then most in that the kids are well-behaved, they emphasize respect and cooperation, the art teacher is *fabulous*, he likes school (except math), etc... From what I've heard about private schools in our area, they're not much better at educating HG+ kids.

3. I don't feel homeschool is the best answer at this point. But if he ever became miserable, I would consider it as a possibility.

4. So I guess filing for due process is the logical next step.