GT in your school

Littlejen22

Just curious but how does it work in your school? I am always surprised in here to read how many schools have a GT teacher meeting with Kindergarten students. In out school it is enrichment in the class until first grade.

neverblushed

In my school district, nothing happens until 2nd grade.  At that point every kid is tested automatically.  If your kid qualifies for gt education, you get a nice letter at the end of 2nd grade, but nothing changes.  In my kids' home elementary school, GT = above grade level classes.  About half of each grade is above grade level, so the GT designation really doesn't mean squat.

However, in 3rd grade, kids can apply to a magnet program for 4th and 5th grades.  My daughter attended the magnet elementary program, and it was rigorous but also provided the kids with an appropriate GT experience: lots of choice and creativity, engaging and meaningful projects, etc.  Teachers have a good deal of control over their curriculum.  I also liked that the kids could advance beyond one year above grade level in math.

In 5th grade, kids can apply to the middle school GT magnet, but they must choose the humanities path or the math/science path. it's more competitive than the elementary school program.  My daughter is currently in the 7th grade humanities program.  In 8th grade, kids can apply to an even more diverse selection of magnet schools, including: humanities, computer science, math/sci, visual arts, environmental sciences, performing arts, and engineering. Fortunately, more programs = more spaces = slightly less competitive.  We also have two IB high schools in our county, which are regarded as even more rigorous than the magnet programs.

I can't believe that in just a few months my DD will be deciding where to apply! 

carlab44

They start testing in Kindergarten here. It's part of the MAP (Measurement of Academic Progress) testing. If you score high enough on that they do another cognitive assessment. Based on those scores you may qualify for Academically Gifted or Academically Highly Gifted. There are certain schools that have AG programs, and I think two schools in the district that are solely AHG.  

Many of the schools also offer what is considered Advanced Learning Opportunities for those that test into the AG or AHG programs but their parents don't want to move them. That was our situation with DD. She tested 95%ile and qualified for the AG (borderline for AHG) but we really didn't want to move her to a different school because we are very happy with her current neighborhood school/community.

What is weird but benefits us is as long as she's enrolled in an ALO program she maintains her Academically Gifted status. No matter how she scores on future tests. This will be nice because come middle school we'll want her in the AG program. 

Littlejen22

carlab44:

They start testing in Kindergarten here. It's part of the MAP Measurement of Academic Progress testing. If you score high enough on that they do another cognitive assessment. Based on those scores you may qualify for Academically Gifted or Academically Highly Gifted. There are certain schools that have AG programs, and I think two schools in the district that are solely AHG. nbsp;Many of the schools also offer what is considered Advanced Learning Opportunities for those that test into the AG or AHG programs but their parents don't want to move them. That was our situation with DD. She tested 95ile and qualified for the AG borderline for AHG but we really didn't want to move her to a different school because we are very happy with her current neighborhood school/community.What is weird but benefits us is as long as she's enrolled in an ALO program she maintains her Academically Gifted status. No matter how she scores on future tests. This will be nice because come middle school we'll want her in the AG program.nbsp;

We do MAP and PMAP in Kindergarten and 1st. He only scored 75 in math and 85 in reading first test in fall Kindergarten but scored 96 in math and 99 in reading for spring. My understanding is that the gifted teacher takes all of the kids in one group starting in second grade and in fourth and fifth the top two percent can go to the magnet class. It is a suburban district with 9 elementary schools and only one class per grade for the magnet class but if they don't qualify for that they continue with the regular gifted program. I have already been told that he will not he identifies for the program for next year because he does not show that he wants to learn more in class. I also think part of it is because he did not score as high in spring even though I think the teacher believes the spring test was more representative.

I am not sure how I feel about any of it. I don't want to push for him to be in the program until I see how he does next year on the testing because I would hate for him to qualify in first and not in second since it is not automatic. And he is a quite follow the rules kid so he will not push the teacher for more or ask questions to learn more detail which to me does not necessarily show he does not want to learn but rather that he is quiet and respectful in school. At home he are doing more for him. Ugh raising kids should not be so hard!

neverblushed

Littlejen22:

And he is a quite follow the rules kid so he will not push the teacher for more or ask questions to learn more detail which to me does not necessarily show he does not want to learn but rather that he is quiet and respectful in school.

Being a "rules" kid is one of the hallmarks of a GT kid.  My DD is so rules-conscious that it at times caused her difficulty in primary grades.  Once, in first grade, she gave herself a terrible case of constipation because the teacher told the class "Some people are taking too long in the bathroom. If you spend too long in the bathroom, I'll move your clip to yellow."  To my DD, that meant "don't poop at school or you'll be breaking the rules."

Because GT kids are cognitively advanced but emotionally typical, it can lead to misunderstandings like this.  It's really hard to anticipate and to deal with!

Andrewsgal

MrsLee04:

Our school GT teacher doesn't normally do K, either, but my son's K teacher convinced her that he could benefit from meeting with her because he definitely needed more.  So she has made an exception for him. 

This is us too. She will officially start pull out in second grade, but the GT teachers has been pulling her in K and will continue in first. It is actually her and another little boy.

jlw2505

Our school starts the gifts program in kindy.  Same way as they start the programs for the kids at the other end who need extra help.  The 1st 6 or so weeks of school are spent reviewing the basics and figuring out where the kids fall and then they place in groups for things like reading and math.  My older DD is in kindy this year and due to her speech delay, is behind a lot of her peers for reading (hard to sound out words when you can't even say the sounds!!!).  She is pulled out of class 2x a week for speech with a therapist 1:1 for about 20 mins every 3 out 4 weeks and the 4th week the speech therapist comes and observes her in class to see how she is doing with what they are working on in real life.  For reading, she and a small group (not sure how many) are pulled out for a special reading group for those that are behind.  Same thing happens for those at the other end, they are pulled out for a small reading group.  Basically the class is broken up into a number of reading groups based on their level and the kids that fall in the middle stay with the teacher for reading while the special groups go with the gifted teacher or the special ed/reading teachers.  They do the same with math and it grows from there.  I think this is great and will end up possible with a kid at both ends as my PreK DD (kindy next year) is already starting to read.  I love that you would never know just by seeing these groups which was the gifted and which was the ones that needed extra help - they are treated the same and not called "gifted" or "special ed" or anything like that.  I think my DD reading group is called PALS.

heyitsme

In our district the screening process begins in the end of 2nd grade. (Before that it's enrichment in the classroom.) You're notified in early 3rd grade if your child has been identified based on a variety of info. You fill out an application and agree to further testing, then they select the GATE students from there.

In 3rd grade the students in our school rotate in groups three times/week. The GATE kids are grouped together and they do various things (reading, math, etc.) but work at a higher level than the other students. There is also a 6-week half-day pull-out program (so 6 half-days total) for them, and at the pullout they are connected with kids from another school and they are taught about whatever the selected topic is (this year it was the brain and they did all sorts of projects and experiments, heard from a neurosurgeon, etc.). Due to budget cuts and a large # of 3rd graders in the program this year, it wound up being that each kid only got to go to 3 half-days, which sort of sucked.

There is also Expert Night, which just happened. The kids individually choose a topic and create a project where they are the expert. The results are really whatever--one kid did something on the USC Trojans while another child did DNA... it's whatever they're interested in!

Once they reach 4th grade the pull-out program moves to 2 six-week, half-day blocks (let's hope that the now 3rd graders get the same amount of time next year). On top of that there are supplemental courses the kids can take after school. Some of the ones this year involved space exploration and ended with a trip to an Observatory, a physics one that culminated in a trip to Disneyland to discuss the physics of roller coasters, etc. Any of those courses are paid for by the parents, though.

They also do day trips (on weekends). Science museums, guest lecturers, zoos, etc. that are also optional and out-of-pocket.

And finally, there is Battle of the Books. Teams of 4 from the schools compete against each other. There is a book list all the team members are supposed to read, and then there's a competition as they "battle" each other by answering questions about the required reading. It's really cool.