Are all GT centers GT/LD or are there special GT/LD programs in MCPS
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Anonymous
Not OP, but do you have a link listing these programs? |
Anonymous
| Here's the info on MCPS GT/LD programs: http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/enriched/gtld/ |
Anonymous
Barnsley is the only elementary GT/LD program of its kind in the county as far as I am aware. One other program that was at Wyngate was closed down a few years back. At Barnsley, we were told that the child would only be "in the program" for the classes in which there was IEP goals. So, for example, if your child has difficulty writing and has goals for that and organization, but no specific goals for math or reading, there is a good chance your child would be sent there and only be "in the program" for a small portion of the day and would be mainstreamed for the rest of the day. Ask very, very careful questions about what a child would be getting there. IMO, the Barnsley program is in NO WAY similar to the HGC programs. It is not the same curriculum as the HGC. Also because Barnsley serves a much bigger area, it is likely to be a LOT further away than your home cluster's HGC. Also, to "get into" Barnsley takes the recommendation of the whole IEP team. Begin with Marisa Stemple, the county GT/LD specialist. She will need to become involved in your IEP meetings. I had a child in the regular HGC. There were definitely kids there who were GT and ADHD and kids who were GT with a auditory processing disability. Probably also some kids with dysgraphia, but more related to the physical output of handwriting and not so much the expressive part. These kids got a scribe as part of their accommodations. The style of our center also allowed for kids to skip certain work if they already knew it or do alternative projects. There was, however one big writing project that no one "skips" or modifies as far as I know. If you have an IEP, the bottom line is that the school must consider your child's application on the same basis as all others, and must provide the same IEP at the HGC if accepted. IMO, the time to worry about this is if your child is accepted. IMO, the likelihood of this for LD kids of high cognitive ability is still quite small, because the tools of the admissions process act as a natural screen. Admission depends heavily on scoring very well on the tests, first and foremost. Then teacher recommendation and "grades" become important. Many GT/LD kids have an extremely hard time scoring well on standardized tests due to their LD. For example, many ADHD kids find it hard to stay focused enough to do well at the level required, even with extra time. (And the extra time provided is only provided "if the child asks for it". So, that's pretty unlikely to have an 8 y.o. "ask" to spend even more than the 2-3 hours they already are given). Many LD kids also make classic "mistakes" like mis-bubbling answers or giving the least answer when asked to give the most, etc. They may have a very high IQ and be very smart, but demonstrating that smarts in the way of the test is harder. Even if they do well on the test, there is the problem of the teacher recommendation. We have seen over the years, our child's LD is interpreted by his teachers as his "not being motivated", his ADD as being "uninterested", etc. He is supposed to have a lot of accommodations in the classroom, but the gen. ed teachers rarely give them, this results in complaints by me, etc. Even when politely done, the end result is a teacher who is unwilling to write a strong recommendation for a GT/LD child, especially if there are other "easier" kids in the classroom who also write recommendations. Of course, this is not true of all teachers. He did have one year a fantastic teacher who recognized his GT and was instrumental in getting him help, but this was an area of expertise for her. Finally, there are grades. Last year, under C2.0 in 3rd grade, there were mostly "P's" (teacher admitted not giving ES to anyone) for all and no acceleration in math. So, there was no way for DC to demonstrate being above grade level in the classroom. If your GT/LD child makes it thru these hurdles, that is a pretty good indication that he/she could probably survive in a center. Once accepted for admission, I would accept the seat and then ask for a spring IEP team mtg. at the "new" school (i.e. the HGC) to transfer his IEP and talk with the teachers. You will get a pretty good sense if it will work after that. IMO, thinking about our HGC, if you already have a pretty good IEP, it will be implemented and the teachers are good with that. But, if you don't have a good IEP and you would need it to be beefed up in order to enable your kid to participate fully, you would have a hard time, as our principal and central team members (IMO) are terrible about sped even while the Center (but not the homeschool) and sped teachers are good. |
Anonymous
| Start with Marisa. She's smart, knows her stuff and will tell you what are good options for your child. My 2e math-strong/weak writer is thriving at the center. I have friends in Barnsley GTld and they are thrilled too. |
Anonymous
+1 |
Anonymous
|
Barnsley is great. But plan to leave the GT/LD program for MS. The GT/LD programs totally fall apart in MS. We (and other parents) are finishing our first year in MS GT/LD after 3 great years at Barnsley, and then we are leaving for private (we are waiting to hear) or our local public. We will not be returning to Lee, and I will shout it from the tree tops for other parents to steer clear.
There have been many posts on this subject, but in a nutshell, your kid will be left high and dry in MS, no Marisa in sight. Very sad. |
Anonymous
I don't agree with your post with reference to the GT centers. GT centers are not there for "actual gifted kids who can't perform in normal academic settings." According to MCPS, GT programs are there in order to "meet needs which cannot be met by the home school." This might be because the GT student in the home school is actually performing very well and many grade levels ahead of his/her age-similar peers. (At least 2+ years ahead in reading is the generally expected norm for HGC students, but a significant number of HGC students are reading at late middle or high school levels in 4th grades.) Other students may be admitted to the HGC who are NOT performing well in the home school. This usually occurs because of boredom, difficulty fitting in social due to the difference in skills and interest, or because the home school teachers do not understand how to meet the unique needs of the GT learner (cannot differentiate or fail to recognize GT or fail to recognize presence of GT w/disabilities such as LDs or ADHDs). It is NOT true that MOST of the truly gifted have learning disabilities. All the information I have seen in the literature suggests that the incidence of LDS in the gifted population is about the same as in the "regular" population. If anything LDs tend to be under identified in gifted kids because they are better able to compensate for their LD and it takes them longer to "fail" if ever. The truly gifted may have different needs at school, but that is quite different from having a learning disability. True giftedness sometimes comes with "relative" or "absolute" deficiencies in other areas. My oldest GT child is "relatively" deficient in math -- DC is only 2 grades ahead in math and cannot be accelerated any further. But, DC is about 10 years ahead in terms of the reading decoding and comprehension. Some GT kids do fall below average in some skill areas, but not all will. Traditional learning styles may or may not work with a GT kid. But, almost certainly what won't work, is the traditional scope and sequence of the curriculum, because many of these GT kids will be ahead to varying degrees in some or all areas of the regular scope and sequence. My oldest GT kid is NT and went to an HGC. My youngest kid is also GT but has ADHD and an LD. The HGC did not teach "differently" in the sense of teaching to non-neurotypical kids, but it did teach with a different scope, sequence and depth. My GT/LD son will likely not be successful at the HGC because they do not really teach to non-NT kids -- for example, they do not provide explicit language-based instruction that a kid with an LD is likely to need. What they HGC does do is provide accommodations (on a 504 plan) or specialized instruction (on an IEP) for the small segment of the HGC population that is not NT but still managed to qualify for the HGC. Specialized instruction might address different learning styles, but that is not the only purpose of specialized instruction -- usually it is much more explicit and sometimes also more repetitive than the regular curriculum in addition to more thoughtfully incorporating different learning style approaches. By contrast, the GT/LD program is specifically designed to meet the needs of the GT/LD or GT/2E child via "specialized instruction". In theory, the GT/LD programs should be BOTH teaching at a different, more accelerated scope, sequence and depth and at the same time, using "specialized instruction" to meet the various non-NT learning needs. ( I say in theory because there are many parents who complain that the GT/LD programs don't actually provide enough acceleration or they don't actually adequately address the LD needs.) |