Hi all.
My oldest son's principal just called to make an appointment for tomorrow afternoon. He's in first grade, and the meeting is to discuss testing him for giftedness. The principal said that my son's teacher, the school psychologist, gifted coordinator, and Special Ed somebody or other would be there.
The suggested plan is to test him for readiness to skip to second grade. That would make him eligible for the gifted program, which starts in second grade. Otherwise, he'd just have to wait for a year for any real sort of enrichment. I've already asked on Mamapedia for opinions about this plan of action, so I'm not asking for those now.
I'm a bit worried about his teacher. I haven't had much interaction with her, but on Meet-The-Teacher night, she blew us off when we had a minute to talk to her about our son's exceptional reading skills (he's reading 6th grade books.) All she's written home is that he has trouble sitting still and not making sounds (in my experience at home, that means he's bored stiff!!!)
My question is what can I expect at this "EIP?" (I'm not sure it's actually called an EIP, hence the quotes.) Does anyone have any advice? I don't want to be pushy, but I want to advocate for my child so he gets what he needs.
I was pleasantly surprised. I took some of my son's work in to show them, but they were not at all antagonistic. They were properly impressed by my description of my son's accomplishments, then explained the testing thoroughly. They wrote up minutes, photocopied them, and the psychologist asked my advice on my son's attention span. She also said he sounded "fun" and she couldn't wait to meet him. I thanked them for making everything so easy.
Later, while I was waiting for school to get out, the gifted coordinator came out and talked to me some more. She said that some parents want their kid to skip just because they'd been to a good preschool, but obviously, my son exhibits gifted attributes. She also said that since he attends a magnet school, there are proportionally more gifted students, so they're quite used to doing these GIEP's.
He has to test in the 98th percentile to get into the gifted program. I remember being that high when i was a kid, although I didn't know what it meant at the time. So hopefully, he'll qualify!
Weeks later: He was tested and we just got the results yesterday. He qualifies and then some for 2nd grade and the gifted program. His academic level is 5th grade for all subjects except one, in which he tested in the 11th grade! Crazy! So we will definitely be skipping him. He starts next Monday!
Hi Susan,
Call Idaho Parents Unlimited, Toll free: (800) 242-IPUL (4785)
Boise (local call): ###-###-#### or http://www.ipulidaho.org. They will be a wealth of information about giftedness and the "IEP" or Individualized Education Plan.
It's an IEP... Individualized Education Plan... DO IT! States that offer special education for students identified as "gifted" often are able to provide these exceptional children with amazing opportunities. As a special ed administrator in a state that does not recognize that classification I am envious of you!
At the meeting, they will discuss a battery of assessment which will be used to determine your son's eligibility. They will also talk with you about the model of gifted/talented education they can provide. You may be asked to provide early developmental history and other information, so be prepared. Above all do not feel pressured to sign consent forms at the meeting. You should take the information home and process it yourself before agreeing to testing. Your son will probably love the process, but make sure you are okay with having him accelerated.
If you eventually decide that it's not for your son/family, you simply request a meeting of the team to discontinue services.
An IEP is an Individualized Education Plan. It's a good thing! Go with an open mind and listen to the options being discussed and work together with the team to make the best decision for your child. Also, Meet-the-teacher night is not the right time to have a discussion about your child's abilities. Save those conversations for meetings like the one coming up, conferences, etc.
I think you might be going to an IEP meeting. That stands for Individualized Education Plan and, through testing and observation, if it is determined that your son qualifies for special education then his goals and accommodations will be written through this document.
I wouldn't worry about the teacher blowing you off and meet the teacher night - if there are 25 kids in the class and every parent wanted 10 minutes to talk about their own individual child, then she'd be there all night! The conversation you were probably wanting to have is better suited during an individual conference and definitely can/should/will happen during the IEP meeting.
What the IEP should do is work on your son's boredom.
Basically, it'll give him more to do (though it differs from state to state and even school to school).
Some kids go to a special school, some kids are pulled out of class, some kids may just do "extra" work in their classroom.
I wouldn't hold anything against his teacher from Meet The Teacher night. She had a lot of parents to talk to, and (nothing personal) they all wanted to talk about THEIR kids.
Good luck!
Go to the meeting, you will have opportunity to hear from your son's teacher. This second meeting should help you get a better evaluation.
My second son is the same, he skipped a grade and was still advanced for his grade in reading and math. He had a teacher that was unable to handle him. He was 5 years old in first grade trying to do the second grade work, but she wouldn't let him (it was a combo class). One of my biggest regrets was keeping him in that school. His teacher was terrible, she called me all the time to come pick him up because he would get on the floor and spin on his knees. Every time I'd pick him up after school she had something negative to say, "He won't stop tapping, humming, fidgeting, etc.". She never spoke in a positive way about his academic abilities. She eventually sent him to the kindergarten class to do his work because she couldn't handle his fidgeting and humming.
If this teacher is as bad for your son as you think, do whatever it takes to get him out of there. I wish I had!
Be vigilant. I think you mean IEP which as others have stated, is an Individualized Education Plan. 90% of the kids that have an IEP are in Special Ed for a learning disability, an attention deficit, CP, developmental delay, autism, etc.
Of course it is also used to develop a custom education plan for gifted kids. But just make sure the school isn't using this gifted IEP to slip in a comment or label re: your son's attention challenges (which from previous psots, you have disclosed). Unless you want this issues noted in the IEP in which case, no harm no foul.
It is called an IEP individual education plan. Both gifted and challenged students have them in order to assure you that the teachers are doing what needs to be done to help your student. The IEP should spell out every intervention that should be taking place for your child. I wouldn't worry to much about the teacher but if she brings things up just make sure you speak up for your child. Although the teachers often will have good suggestions you know your child best. Be open minded but push for what you think will benefit the child.
Good Luck
My experience with my children is you may have to fight to get what you think your son needs. Our district uses ALPs - Advanced Learning Plans, and gifted and talented learners do not qualify for IEP benefits (this varies from state to state). When our school GT teacher position was eliminated last year for budgetary reasons, I had to fight to have my girls visit a grade ahead for instruction in math. The principal was not sure that he wanted to let this happen, but after having my then 5th grader working ahead for 4 years (she is 2+ years ahead), and my second grader working ahead for a year, I could not have them become bored repeating work. Reading and spelling are much easier, they work ahead individually and their ALP states that their expectations are higher (eg sentence structure, punctuation, etc).
My best advice woould be to continue to be your son's advocate, be creative in your suggestions, and volunteer to help in the class room so that the teacher has the ability to spend some time with your son. I have volunteered to run reading groups in kindergarten, spelling for the entire class so that the kids could be separated by ability ( our second grade class last year had 4 groups, one group doing 5th grade spelling).
If your son's teacher says anything about him not being able to sit still or stop making noises you can just tell them your concerns for him being bored and that giving him something more his level would help with that, as I'm sure it would.
I have a gifted son he is now in grade 8 but our school system refuses to see him as gifted or even test him. He has been ahead of his whole peer group since preschool. The only things that we have been able to do for him are enrichment programs. Basically an out of class project that gives him something to do in an area of his choice. One teacher let him take his math book home and work through it at his own pace. He was done several months ahead of everyone else and only because he actually had to write out all the answers, otherwise, he could have challenged the whole book and been fine. He is at the start of his 8th grade year and already bored, done ahead of everyone else, and our schools won't do anything about it.
You know your son better than anyone, if you think he can handle this transition then push for it, even on a trial basis. Maybe he stays with his peer group for certain subjects and then moves up for the others. He could still go to phys ed with his 1st grade class and art, music, library, etc... But go to 2nd grade for math, science, Language Arts... etc. Just have him enrolled in a 2nd grade class so that he qualifies for the programs. Then he may not feel like he is giving up all his friends. Give the panel suggestions, so that they don't have to do all the thinking. I have found that alot of the time the school system does what meets their needs and less of what meets a families needs so you really do need to advocate for this.
If he is getting an IEP meeting it should mean that they are taking you seriously because that is alot of upper position people that they have to call together to discuss your child. You can expect an eval, to see his report cards, feedback from his teacher, principal, and anyone else that works with your child. And hopefully a GIEP plan. If they have a plan to present take some time to review it. This could be the preliminary meeting and not the planning stage yet. If it is the planning stage, make sure you stay involved in the process to get what you want and all that is available for your son.
Best of luck and be very thankful that you have this opprotunity.
S.
