Thoughts for the "appealers"!
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Anonymous
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Hey Everyone,
If you are reading this, you are likely one of three categories: 1) Planning an appeal 2) Wondering if you should plan an appeal, or 3) One of the mindless rabble who discourage people from appealing for reasons which continue to escape me. Group #3 is summarily dismissed and I STRONGLY encourage Groups #1 and #2 to ignore them. First, I am sorry you are in the position to appeal. That said, yesterday was NOT a final decision. First, DEEP BREATH! Think about what you believe will most benefit you child and let that be your guide. If you decide to appeal, you are entering a period that will be stressful. Do what you can to keep the stress from your child. I had a successful appeal for my son two years ago. It seemed obvious he needed AAP to me. He had the test scores plus some. He could do mental gymnastics that escape most adults like multiplying 2 or 3 digit numbers in his head. However, his AART and 2nd grade teacher decided that despite this, he needed a low GBRS and didn't get in. Remember, first, DEEP BREATH! After that, start to work on your strategy and go request a copy of the package that was submitted. It may be obvious why your child didn't get in from the package! Low GBRS? Poor work sample? Who knows, but make sure your strategy addresses the weaknesses and highlights the strengths. Step #2, you need a WISC test. GMU offers them as do some other places. It is really hard to know what score you are looking for but 120 likely won't do it. 130 likely will. Two years ago, the accepted benchmark when I read EVERY post was WISC 126. Almost no one lower got in that year. I don't know about last year. Step #3, work your strategy and make your appeal package as strong as possible. Ask questions on the board, most people will really try to help you. Ignore those that don't. I really believe that being positive helps a lot. If there is something in your package that you think is just wrong, don't argue against it (i.e. The teacher doesn't like, doesn't know, doesn't car, etc.), instead focus on positive. My child can do, whatever, and give an example. Use all of the pages they give you for letters, samples, whatever. What ever happens, it is OK. GOOD LUCK! Oh, and a note about the people who say there is a stigma for the appealers. There isn't. No one ever asked or knew for us. The biggest problem is that you miss orientation. So what! If you get a positive result to your appeal, call the Principal. Ours gave us a private tour during the last week of school. Remember DEEP BREATH! 
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Anonymous
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Original poster and others,
This is great advice. Take advantage of this person's kindness in taking the time to offer you this advice. I wish I had had it two years ago when I was considering appealing for my first child. |
Anonymous
WISC touts will be out in force soon. Go with the paid tester who is a personal friend of Carol Horn. Yeah, that's the ticket. 
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Anonymous
| For you appealers: Try to get a letter from a swim coach. Apparently that is working this year. Soccer or Tae Kwon Do may work as well, depending on what the specific comments. Good luck! |
Anonymous
| Ok, I'll bite. My DD's Wisc was 125 but the Verbal was 99%, rest were pretty low, NNAT and COGAT in mid-120s. Thinking I will not bother to appeal. Any thoughts from you BTDT moms? |
Anonymous
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OP thank you for taking the effort to post this.
Ignore the trolls! Seriously they are the ones that need a real job. If I didnt care about a particular topic, I wouldnt bother reading it, leave alone posting on those threads!! |
Anonymous
Your arrogance is amusing. I'll give you that. |
Anonymous
| If you use words like "appealers" in subject lines when the proper word is "appellants," then you had better hope your precious little snowflake didn't inherent your intellectual genes. |
Anonymous
If you correct others about things you are obviously clueless about, you had better hope your precious snowflake didn't inherit your intellectual genes. http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/appealer |
Anonymous
DS WISC was 125. Appealed. Killing it at TJ. Who knew? |
Anonymous
Collins is published in Scotland. We are in the United States of America. There is no such word as "appealers" in the American English Dictionary. Try again. http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/spellcheck/american-english/?q=Appealers |
Anonymous
| If you feel that your DC should be in AAP, but did not make it, appeal. You can always drop out. Most appeals are accepted. |
Anonymous
No you try again you annoying twerp: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/appealers Scroll to the bottom: 4 : to arouse a sympathetic response <that idea appeals to him> — ap·peal·abil·i·ty noun — ap·peal·able adjective — ap·peal·er noun FYI, if you google, "most respected American dictionary," Merriam Webster pulls up first. |
Anonymous
I get that this is meant to be snarky, but anyone who has ever spent time volunteering to coach a youth sports team knows that a coach sees a lot of the qualities in kids that would help or detract from success in an AA program. Coaches see which kids learn quickly and can apply new knowledge quickly. Sports is not entirely about athletic ability: many time the smartest kid is also the best player on the team. |
Anonymous
The dictionary you gave a link to is the Cambridge Dictionary. It is published in the U.K. http://www.cambridge.org/about-us/contact-us/ To quote my dear friend, "We are in the United States of America." |