Repost Re: The limited gifted services options in CPS and the sacrafice we make!

[dpip...@cox.net]

I wanted to repost my reply to a question from the last post, so it
doesn't get missed if someone goes directly to the page and didn't get
the email.

Hello Julie,

My recent post is discussing the upcoming 5 year plan for gifted
services.
My 6th grade son is in a solely gifted (homogeneous) group as well at
his
middle school and it has been great. He stated to me that he feels he
has
gotten much more acceleration and enrichment at the middle school than
he
did in the clusters in 4th and 5th. My 3rd grade daughter also
shows
potential, but did not make the talent pool for screening even though
she
scored 135 or 99th percentile on their Naglieri ability screening
test. I
was told that last year they needed 90th percentile above on both the
Naglieri and one composite area of Reading or Math on the Stanford.
She only
got 87th percentile on her math composite score so she missed the
cutoff,
probably due to her missing like one or two question. Her math
problem
solving was in the 94th percentile, but I guess that didn't matter.
Henrico requires 96th and Newport News 88th on just the abilities test
to
make it into the talent pool for screening for possible eligibility
for
gifted. If we lived in Henrico or Newport News she would have at least
been
screened. The problem with requiring both for screening is students
who are
twice exceptional (also have a disability, yes you can be gifted and
have a
disability like (dyslexia, ADHD) or other factors that may hinder
their
performance to met up with their ability. I do believe the plan may
be
trying to address some of these issue. This will be something I will
follow
into the future. So, I have a very similar situation as you do. Also
our
district does not offer services for Specific Academic Apptitude (SAA)
from
K-5 (like math only) just General Intellectual Ability.


The gifted child learns, thinks, and expresses themselves in a
different
way than high abilities learners. Not all gifted children are the
same, they
can be very different. I think if you have a very well trained and
experienced teacher in a cluster classroom instruction will be better
than a
poorly trained and inexperienced teacher in a homogeneous classroom.
If
you read my post clearly you would see that the proposal calls for
clustering only and there are no option listed for homogeneous
grouping.
Which means we only have one option instead of two options. This is an
issue
for me especially at the middle school level, since honors is
available for
the high ability learners. Also, there is no requirement for
extensive
training or endorsement. Which means that the possibility of having
cluster
classes with untrained teachers increases. The issue is these
grouping
options and endorsement requirements were promised and approved and
now are
absent in the new plan. The issue is that most other school divisions
similar to ours offer many more options and more teacher training than
we
have and for good reason. I had a principal who wanted to have half of
the
fourth grade (4 out of 8 classes) in a gifted cluster classroom. I am
sorry
but half the school is not gifted nor needs gifted services. The
National
Association of Gifted states that about 6% of the student population
is
gifted and certainly some schools will have a higher percent if their
parents are neurosurgeons or nuclear physicist. Some indicate that
the
population could be between 5% to 20%. Even if we take the top 25%
that is
still a far cry from 50%. Currently, my son's school has about 25% of
the
students in the gifted program, which I feel is a very broad range
from
mildly gifted, moderately gifted, to highly gifted. If there are any
profoundly gifted students in Chesapeake, I hope they have been grade
skipped or receiving their education by other means than our public
schools.
This is why other school divisions (VB, Henrico, Chesterfield) have
mixed
clusters for the mildly gifted at the home based schools and separate
schools/centers for the moderate to highly gifted. Our division is no
way
near or willing to provide these services at this time so we have to
work
with what we have. We have to try to serve the mild to the highly
gifted
with one option. In my opinion having half the school in cluster
classrooms
will pull instruction to the mean and the moderately to highly gifted
will
not be served appropriately. If a child is mildly gifted than the
cluster
option with high ability learners and a well-trained teacher will
probably
work well. But due to the lack of options given to us, I can't
justify
serving high ability learners in place of moderately to highly gifted
students, since we are talking about "GIFTED SERVICES"! We need to
refocus
our attention and ensure that the regular mixed ability classes in
the
elementary school differentiate for high ability learners so there
needs
continue to be met as well. That's why the honors classes are
provided in
the middle and high schools for high ability learners. I do believe
that
staff development training is available to all teachers regarding
differentiation, so this should be strongly encouraged.


My suggestion regarding your 3rd grade son is to appeal the decision
and try
to get information and an understanding as to why the committee found
him
ineligible. If you feel that testing is a problem than see if you can
have
him independently testing with an individual IQ test like the WISC. I
believe these test are much more accurate that the group screening
ability
tests, but they are more costly and that is why the school systems
don't use
them for gifted. But they do for special education decision. I know
this
because I have a Master's degree in School Social Work and used to be
a
member of the eligibility committee for special education. Perhaps, I
will
do some follow up with my daughter as well. If I do and the results
indicated that she is not in need of gifted services, then I will be
fine
with her not being in a cluster class. I might ask the teacher to
differentiate in math since that is a strength for her and provide her
more
opportunities to do her artwork. My daughter wasn't cluster this year
or in
2nd or 1st grade and has been doing well and is happy. If honors
seems
appropriate for her in middle school than that is where she will be
placed,
maybe just math, who knows. I am blessed to have a bright, happy,
daughter.
I do not feel that my child not being placed in a gifted cluster class
is
criminal. What is criminal is that the school system has focused the
regular
classroom environment towards the average and below average
students!!! What
is legally criminal is for the school system not to provide
appropriate
gifted services for all gifted students as required by the state
regulations
for gifted education.


I truly appreciate you reading my post and becoming active in the
discussion, whether we agree or disagree.


Thanks,


Deborah Piper