Can anyone give me any feedback on your district's gifted and talented program? My daughter is in first grade and scored extremely well on both phases of the test. I gave permission to take the second portion, but have no idea when it was administered, so there was no prior preparation. I received a letter asking to attend an open house and info session for the district magnet school that houses the program. I had initially said that I was curious about the test, but had no desire to place her in such a program. I have heard that they can be quite stressful on the children. But in the last week, her teacher has said she seems to become distracted really easily in class and so I'm worried she may be bored. While she claims that the work is very easy, until now, she always completed it as directed with no issues. I'm still unsure of the program, but I also don't want her to do poorly by disregarding work she can complete in just minutes. What to do what to do?!? TIA
I agree with Melissa in that you can pull her out if you or she finds it's not working out, however, I don't think you'll have that problem. My girls were in the academically talented programs for reading, but not the full gifted programs and I thought it was great. It helped them in so many ways, I really don't see a down side to at least trying it.
I was in the gifted program when I was in school and I loved it. I hated being stuck in classes where I already knew how to do the problems and knew the material. I used to always get recess detention because I didn't see the point in writing vocabulary words 5 times if I already knew how to spell them. I would read during recess detention, so it suited me just fine. I've been through several different school districts and each of them had differences if their gifted programs, but I enjoyed every single one of them. The gifted programs had tougher material and taught you critical thinking skills. There usually isn't preparation for the tests. Every time I took one, it was just basic information, patterns, how you respond to questions, etc. You can't really study for that. I would talk to your daughter and see how she feels about the program. I am so glad that I went through the program. I would encourage you to try it. The only concern I might have is that it is at a different school, so it might not be so easy to take her out of the program if she doesn't like it. All of the programs I went to were at the same school, either separate classes, or a pull out a few hours a week. Talk to some of the parents of the kids already in the program and they should be able to address your concerns. Good luck!
Our children attend the gifted school in our disyrci which starts at 3rd grade. Consider your family very lucky she's been identified gifted at this age. My children were moving all around to higher grades within the school as young children, it was quite disruptive. Yes, you should go to the open house.
Also, consider this- gifted learners require programming suited to their needs the same as special needs children. There's no controversy in this, it's fact. If gifted children's needs are not met , they become bored and disruptive and have a high failure/drop put rate. It may not happen to your child in particular but it illustrates the seriousness of it.
Also, please contact Wisconsin Center for Academicallt Talented Youth "WCATY" they have a website -the director is Carole Trone and she is a wealth of information and probably knows about theagnet school in Kenosha.
When I was in school I was placed in a gifted program that was housed in a separate building. I am also a fourth grade teacher, and in my district the gifted students aren't identified until third grade. Our model is a pull-out program. These programs aren't meant to be stressful to students. They are designed to enrich them beyond what they could do in a "regular" classroom. I'll be honest, it is very difficult for me to meet the needs of my six gifted students this year, and I am majorly in favor of the type of program your daughter's school has. I LOVED it as a child.
In addition to academic benefits, a gifted program has social benefits. Most parents don't realize that gifted kids may struggle socially. Although not all kids are this way, but many tend to be "quirky" and stand out socially. Peers have difficulty relating to them because they often have deep knowledge on many topics, process quickly, and may be considered weird (not saying anything about your daughter). By placing gifted children in a program with other gifted children, they are surrounded by students that may be able to "get" them. A downside, however, is that they may lose out on the opportunity to learn to work and coexist with students not on the same intellectual wavelength.
Whatever you decide, just know that as a parent you have the right to decline the services after she starts. If you feel it is too stressful, have her return to the regular education classroom. However, I have a feeling that once she starts you will feel very comfortable with her experience.
There really isn't anything to do to prepare for the tests anyway. So no concerns there. Why not just attend the open house with an open mind and go from there. Do you have any prior experience with gifted and talented? Do some reading on the subject. It isn't just being smart.
I have a daughter who is in a gifted program (as was I). It is wonderful for her. Her program is a one day a week pull out, where she spends all day at a different school in a class of nothing but other gifted students with a dedicated "gifted" teacher. It is the only class that she ever talks about as far as academic work goes. She has complained of math being easy and boring since 1st grade. This year she at least is stimulated fully that one day a week. And her grades in her "regular" classroom haven't suffered a bit. Still straight A's (95 and up, some 99/100's in every single subject).
I wish we had a magnet school she could attend every day.
Do your research, then attend the open house. And go from there. ASK ASK ASK questions!
good luck~
