Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment DYS recommendation letters

Hi, everyone, I did a search on this and didn't see anything pop out so I apologize if this has been covered countless times.

Asking for the recommendation letter: from friend, piano teacher and K teachers. Friend, since age 2 has thought DD "amazing" but we don't see that often. Not sure what the K teachers will write. They know we are not going back to the school since she got into a gifted school. And piano teacher is great but has limited experience with DD, just the lesson.

We are submitting a DVD of her concert on Wed. She is first and the Director introduces her as 5, taking piano for year etc. And then she plays 3 pieces. Not super hard pieces, as she is working on note reading but pretty far above what you expect a 5 year old to play.

So I would appreciate insight on the recommendation letter. How to get someone that thinks highly because sometimes the teachers don't see it or people who do, don't see the child very often.

Thanks
Ren

The recommendation letters are problematic for many families. Honestly, I don't think that you should worry too much about it. The facts will speak for themselves.

If my recollection is correct, you only need one letter. I suppose if an applicant has borderline scores or below, then extra letters might be important to tip the balance, but otherwise I would not spend too much time worrying about the letters.

Good luck.

Yup, what she said. Don't stress.

Find someone who knows gifted kids or knows that your DD is smarter than the average bear. As long as the person isn't going to write "This kid is NOT gifted," you're probably fine. The teachers who know the child is going to a gifted school next year are probably fine.

I suspect the letter is just to make sure some other person knows that this person is real and has a child. Seriously. I suspect it's more about confirming that we exist IRL and we're not fakers who are just trying to get access to a list of PG kids than anything else.

Thanks.