Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Need more advocacy advice. Long...sorry.

To bring you up to speed - DS8 is in the 2nd grade. His MAP scores at the beginning of the year created some attention and he was placed in differentiated math, spelling, and language arts. Still, he never had math homework and told me that his math boring. He took the SCAT in December and tested very well. I have utilized the IAS - thanks Dottie - and actually conversed the Susan Assouline (IAS author) via email. I met with DS's teacher and then his principal. I have spoken with my district's assistant superintendent for student performance as well as the consultant in the gifted and talented office at the state dept. of education. All were supportive and the consultant suggested I used the IAS, which I already had. I showed the IAS to DS's teacher and discussed it with his principal. We are now in a wait and see mode. They have given him multiple 3rd grade end-of-the-year benchmark tests and have differentiated his curriculum a bit more. He is working independently using the school's computerized curriculum program. His activities are based on his MAP scores. His principal agreed that if he was ready for 4th grade next year she would make it happen. I thought things were going smoothly until last week. DS said he didn't want to work on the computer in the classroom, that he wanted to do what his class was doing BUT that it was too easy. I asked him what he would think if the school decided that he should go to 3rd grade right now. He said that he would like that because he would be learning new things. I asked him if he would be scared and he told me that me might be a a little scared but that he would make friends quickly. I passed this information to his teacher so she would be up to speed on how he was feeling. We are really trying to take a team approach to this and include the school on what's happening so we can make the best decision for DS.

I have discussed the situation with some teachers at the school, whose opinion I greatly respect. I was told that he should be able to "test out" of areas of learning - that 85% is the gold standard. It was also suggested that he be able to go to 3rd grade for social studies. The SS curriculum is huge in our state and he would miss a big chunk my skipping 3rd all-together. I was also told that when his benchmark tests are graded that his inability to compute the math problems 100% correct should NOT be an issue. Apparently students who are gifted in math have the ability to understand the relationships between the numbers but might not be able to compute the problems perfectly. This is normal.

So...I don't know where we stand. I don't think his benchmark tests have been graded. He did get into the gifted and talented program, which will open a few more doors for him, but his principal wants to wait until he takes MAP again in March. Meanwhile he is burning out in the classroom. His teachers knows that how he feels, as I shared that with her. I asked if he could go to 3rd grade for SS and was told that was up to the principal. Do we ask to meet with the principal again or send her an email about him going to 3rd for SS? I don't want to be the pushy parent. We have gone to great lengths to make this a group effort but I don't want my DS so suffer because of our desire to "play fair".

What to do.....

The first thing that helps me get through advocacy with my DS6 (2nd grade) is making peace with others labelling me a "pushy parent". Accept that it will happen - by parents, teachers, and administrators! And remember that it will be worth it in the end when you're kid has a good academic work ethic and good attitude about school. You can vent here about it :), but don't let that fear get in the way of doing what's best for your DS - you know him best.

That said, sounds like they are willing to be flexible for your DS. The tricky thing is knowing when you're asking for reasonable accomodations so that he gets "meaningful benefit" or asking for perfection.

Sounds from what you're saying that your DS is ready for 3rd grade material in a number of subjects. He's not going to get a 3rd grade education in a second grade class in every subject. One option is to move him to a 3rd grade class now, but you would have to look at all of the pros and cons of that. Others on their board have done mid-year grade-skips and can talk more about that. If he doesn't skip to 3rd now, what I would do is pick 1 or 2 subjects that you think it's important that he be exposed to accelerated material in (sounds like you have a good rationale for SS) and try to get it by writing a letter to the principal. I think it's important, though, to be open-minded in how you get it. One option, as you said, is move to 3rd grade SS. Another option is to ask the school to provide him with the 3rd grade SS materials so he could do it on his own. Is the computerized learning accelerated to 3rd grade and not just enriched? If so, sounds like a good way for DS to be exposed to the materials. If he's uncomfortable with doing it in the classroom, could he be excused during SS classtime to go to a resource room?

Do you know where you read this or if this can be "backed up" with research? I have a child in this boat and I want to show it to my school administration.

Good luck az1 and sorry to post on your thread but that comment got my attention...

momx2 -

I was told this by a teacher at the same school who has her master's degree in gifted education. Then later that same day I received a packet of info from Carnegie Mellon's C-mites program (DD9 is participates in C-mites). It is full of information for the gifted student -"Gifted Students in the Regular Classroom", "What Research Says About Ability Grouping", "Academic Acceleration" (last 2 by Dr. MAry Ann Swiatek, "The DT-PI Model", "Enrichment in Mathematics"(From Gifted Child Today march/April 1990, written by the director of the C-Mites program and Susan Assouline (author of the IAS), and a few more pages of resources.

In the article entitled "Issues" number 6 is "Students can be extremely talented in mathematics, but still make mistakes in computation". It goes on to say " Studies have demonstrated that mathematically talented youth perform significantly better on conceptual tests than on computational tests. These students seem to show a good intuitive grasp of mathematics, but they lack the same level of skill in computations. They might make mistakes in computations because they have developed bad habits such as not writing down their thought processes while problems solving. Perhaps their computational skills have not caught up to their advanced conceptual understanding of mathematics, because they have not learned the appropriate terminology or algorithms. These students should be challenged by learning new concepts while polishing their computational skills. They should not be held back because of a relative weakness in computations."

When my son was first moved up a grade for math, they skipped him one year. Then we all held our collective breath to see how it went. Now he's ahead 4 yrs in math. I think the key is to start slow, let them know that you realize that it begins as a trial, if it doesn't work he can move back. But the key is to convince them it's worth the risk. It sounds like you've done your homework and should be able to stage a good argument.

Good Luck!

I reread Ruf's book, "Losing our Minds" this morning. One sentence stood out for me - parents have to heroically advocate for their kids to get them the education they deserve.

Thanks az1. I appreciate you taking the time to give me such a detailed answer!