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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]PP here - my phone messed up and I couldn't finish the last post. The MCCPTA gifted chold committee approves of the changes  (which include creating more seats and more centers btw) and they tend to be critical of mcps offerings for GT services, so that is saying a lot. [/quote]

PP (from the above post) here:

Here are the powerpoint slides that were presented by Meredith Casper (head of AEI) at the GT Liaison and Parent Meeting in November: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B185q2cGgUpJdU1BQ3J3NFNHdDQ/view

Here is a video of the MCCPTA Gifted Child Committee Presentation from the meeting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3ccs1ercMU

If you are actually interested in knowing more about GT education and advocating for it in MCPS, I strongly encourage you to attend the meeting each year - it always happens in November.  You don't have to be the GT Liaison to attend, any parent can attend.  And attending helps prevent misinformation on DC Urban Moms threads like this...
That said, if there's no GT Liaison at your school, the best way you can protect and increase access for GT services in your school and MCPS is by becoming the liaison for your school.

What may seem confusing with the field test is that parents do not have to submit an application the way that parents in the non-field test schools do.  This can make it seem like parents don't get to nominate their child, but that is not true.  It is just eliminating the 1st barrier to a child attending an HGC program because their parents don't know about it OR they don't feel empowered enough to apply for their child (Meredith Casper mentioned in interviews with families she heard from people in some cultures that the parents didn't feel qualified to make educational decisions about their child and wanted to be told by the teacher what to do, so this universal screening helps to catch those students who may very well be qualified and need the instruction but aren't being nominated by the parents).  If a school/teacher does not nominate a child for testing, the parents can still request that the child be tested, just like usual, they just don't have to fill out an application form to do it.

Meredith Casper also reiterated that there are NO QUOTAS of the types of students who will be admitted to each center - it is solely based on test score, teacher recommendations, and parent recommendation (in schools with traditional applications).  The place where the change is happening to increase equity is in the potential diversity of who is applying to the program due to changes in the screening process.

Also, there have been complaints for years that there are not enough seats in the HGC programs, and this field test is the pilot to increasing/creating more center programs in ALL districts.  It will not water down the curriculum or take students who are not up the educational level, it is just making more room for the students who are ALREADY qualified but as of right now do not get into the program due to space limitations.

Also, Meredith Casper is great and will talk to any parent personally and work with your school to get your child access to the accelerated and enriched instruction that is required for your child.  Call her or email her and talk to her if you have concerns about the level of enrichment your child is getting in their school OR if you have questions about the HGC application process instead of relying on inaccurate info on DCUM.

Hope this helps clear things up.

- GT Liaison (in a non-field test school) and parent
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