Thursday, July 2, 2009

Game Set Match

"To the Parents of AJ Spy:

Your child, AJ, meets the requirements ot participate in the XXXXX School District Gifted Education/Academically Talented Program in the areas of:

x Language Arts x Mathematics

Identification for the Gifted/Talented program is based on school ability and achievement test information as well as teacher recommendation derived from a checklist of gifted characteristics.

Students identified for this program are placed in a heterogeneous classroom. The classroom teachers work with the Gifted Resource Teacher to support students through the use of enrichment activities, increasing the level of expectations, and requiring the use of higher level thinking skills.

Students identified in math will be placed into an accelerated class beginning in fifth grade. A new identification process will determine gifted placement in seventh and eight grades.

For students identified in Third and Fourth Grades:

The Gifted Resource Teacher will collaborate with your child's classroom teacher to provide alternative curriculum or enrichments according to student or curricular need. In the area of math, this may mean pre-testing, contracts, more complex problem-solving or enrichment packets. Students might read and study alternative, though related, novels or enrichment activities, if identified in language arts. The Gifted Resource Teacher may introduce new concepts to students as scheduling permits. Attempts will be made to schedule Junior Great Books or other intensive studies on a semi-regular basis."

So I guess being a persistent pain in the ass pays off (although I'm underwhelmed by "Attempts will be made...") There is a family orientation in September (a month after school starts). I am so relieved about this.

4 comments:

LSM said...

I'm so pleased this all worked out for AJ. Umm, let us know how that "semi-regular" Junior Great Books study goes. I think I would have just left that part out. :)

Harriet said...

Yeah, between the passive construction and the non-committal schedule, I kind of wondered why they bothered to mention it at all.

Jeanne said...

Maybe they're looking for parent volunteers to help with the great books? Volunteering, which I know you do anyway, is a great companion tool to use in conjunction with periodically having to be a pain in the ass.

FreshHell said...

I'm glad all your hard work paid off.