Gifted and Talented Program

[admin]

My BPI child was not nominated into the Gifted and Talented Program, going from Kindergarden to First Grade. I never received any notice about this event, and I have no idea how the tests were actually conducted, eg I have a RBPI child and I know that she is always tested with her right arm at the mouse to respond to questions...her arm gets tired, her hand is not always precise....

I hate my local school system because they have never made any effort to understand my child. From Early Intervention that never came to fruition; getting necessary services in that Kindergarden despite the fact that my child has developed contractures in their school; and now delaying her education with blatant exclusion from the Gifted and Talented Program...prehaps becuase my disabled yet very intelligent kid would bring down their performance/certification statistics...

Someone has to help me here....

[Dulcet1pms]

Hello, I do not have a BPI child, my husband is, however, I do have a gifted ADhD son. He has been tested by his school. We had been woking on a 504 program for him to achieve academic and social success, and in one of the meetings his 504 program director met with him and decided to test him. We have the fortune of going to a small wonderful school. However, in order to recieve everything your child is entitled to, you must be the advocate. I would suggest that you request a 504 evaluation to be done for your child. This they must do for you at your request. They may require some sort of doctors note or reccomendation for the child, as my son had to be diagnosed by a mendical proffessional before they could implement the program. It is my understanding that if diagnosed your school MUST make accomodations for your child for academic, and in some cases social success. If the school does not respond, go see your school district. If that does not work, take it to your govenor etc. the most important thing is for you to not stop trying until your voice is heard and you get results. If you want to talk about it more, please feel free to contact me, as I have been through the whole process from homeschooling to private school to charter school, and now, where we belong, a country school. You have rights, and so does your child! Good Luck to you, and let me know how it turns out.
Polly dulcet1pms@yahoo.com

[BIGJAVSMA]

I know the feeling. Last year my older son had to be put into a special reading program. This was in PreK, but still upsetting. I found out that his reading skill wasn't behind- he was too shy to read aloud. I knew he could read. Then he tested to pass KG and go right into first. That didn't happen because they claimed he was too young. Now, he is the oldest kid in his class. I think that the public school system has lots of flaws, beginning with the teachers low salaries. But don't take this as a blow, consider it extra help, they are probably tested every year. And demand from now on to be notified of ANY and ALL testing before hand. I had to do this, after finding out they put Manny in a coping program for older siblings. Without my consent.

Best of Luck-

Happy Mother's Day.

[ptrefam]

I am not sure how they test for this. My son who would color, read or daydream during school but always knew the answer and got straight a's also was not nominated for the program. When I asked them to put him in the gifted and talented they told me he was too "immature" (which is supposed to be an indicator that they need the program). I kept telling them it seemed he was bored. So anyway to make a long story short he went through school in the regular but sometimes high level classes without the extra's the gt programmed offered. He signed up for the AP courses in high school. He graduated high school with 32 college credits without their help. So, though I know it is disheartening, I felt that way a lot!! hang in there. I don't know what that 504 test is but ask. I also spent a lot of time at the administration, they don't like waves and I made a lot. This helped me get more cooperation out of teachers. Our system here seems to listen better if you have lots of money. But I made such a nuciance they had to listen. I like to wear jeans and not so many dresses so they didn't take me serious, but they found out that was a mistake. So ask for the test, go to the administration if the principal won't listen. Be persistant!!! And don't worry She can still do it all without the GT program.
Sue

[Jake'smom]

I am a kindergarten teacher. In my school district the GT program doesn't actually start until 3rd grade. Their are some above level programs, but not the official GT program. But it is decided by a couple of factors. One is a standardized test that they take in 2nd grade that determines ability. The other factor is performance in school and maturity. Can the child handle the extra work load and pressure of the gifted program.
I don't think that your child's BPI should play a role in the decision. If it did then you need to talk to the school teachers and administrators about it as that is blantant discrimination! However, you might want to discuss why your child wasn't accepted into the program. Perhaps it has nothing to do with her BPI, but some other factor.
Either way you need to discuss this with the teacher so you know what the process is for acceptance into the program. If you think your child was unfairly excluded then go to administation about it.

[Jake'smom]

Oh yeah and at age maturity and application are HUGE! By application I mean do they apply themselves. As you guys know there is more to scholastic acheivement than mere ability! One must have to drive and maturity to handle extra demands.

I can totally see Manny, bigjav's mom because I've seen kids like him. They are soooo smart! They just don't have the maturity at that point to handle the program. Every school I've been at however considers children for the program every year! So if in 5th grade he matures and is applying himself more readily, he might be placed in the program at that time.
We've all known those super intelligent people who are a MESS. I'm not talking about any of your children...just making the point that it takes more than ablility to acheive academic success. There are also kids who get into the program who aren't naturally gifted but work really really hard.

[CW1992]

I agree completely with Jake's Mom. First discuss with the teacher - WHY? My daughter has a LOBPI and is in the gifted program, but is right handed. There are MANY kids turned away from the gifted prgram for all sorts of reasons like maturity, problem solving skills, and so on. First step is to find out why your child was denied. I could have nothing to due with her injury, but if it did because of her inability to answer questions correctly with her injured arm - then you can take it from there and fight them. Good luck to you,
Christy

[Jake'smom]

Sorry I keep forgetting stuff. 504 is absolutely how your child will qualify for accomodations. It's also known as "Other health impaired." Which means they have a medical condition that requires some modifications in classroom. I would look into that if you're concerned about testing on computers with mouses and even writing tasks if your childs writes with the affected arm. Like others have stated the district MUST meet your child's needs and provide the least restricted environment. IT'S THE LAW! Let them know that you know that and your not going to settle for anything less than your child's least restricted environment.

[CW1992]

Me again, when my daughter moved to a new school when she was 7, I kept hearing the word "nominate" to get into the gifted program. I waited for her to be nominated by her teacher because I felt that she obviously WAS gifted, but the nomination never came. Come to find out - parents were the ones that were expected to nominate their own child and have them tested. I nominated my daughter, and she was tested. Her tests were both verbal and written - no computer.

I personally do not feel that having a disability in any way would bring down the school's performance certification like you had mentioned. Schools WANT to bring up their school's name by having their students score highly academically. The gifted kids and the above average kids are the ones that improve the schools percentages, and show that the kids are doing well in that school. A school can be rated exemplary, recognized, below average and so on. They want to find those gifted kids to bring up their school's ranking. Please just talk to the school and find out why they felt that your daughter did not qualify.
Again, Good luck,
Christy