Reply to s/o Gifted classes in DC schools

Forum Index » DC Public and Public Charter Schools

Reply to "s/o Gifted classes in DC schools"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]There hsa not been a lot of actually verified information being bantered around on here. DCPS has purposely not chosen to have a test-in gifted and talented pull out program as many of its surrounding jurisdictions to. It is not accidental. There is a major disparity among the races regarding who is selected by the criteria used by most jurisdictions so that white and Asians are by far overrepresented compared to the average. Nonetheless, DCPS does believe strongly in providing real differentiation in the form of resources and opportunities for advanced learners in elementary, middle, and high school. At some levels this looks like curricular units that are above grade level and designed to be used in small group settings. In other grades it looks like special pull-out programs, and in others we're talking about Advanced Placement which while it is open to all, is especially good for precocious learners. [/quote]

Yes, this. The point here is that it is possible for advanced kids (kids who in our day would have tested into gifted and talented programs but weren't profoundly gifted in the calculus-at-age-8 sense of the word) to do very well in DCPS without a designated "gifted" program. A combination of differentiation, pull-out, and AP (in the HS years)--done well--will challenge these kids. The issue is that it isn't done well across the system, in part because many schools have many, many kids who aren't operating at grade level. That's a major problem.

But if your kid is at a JKLM school and you're sweating this, one (or more) of the following things is true:

1. Your kid is profoundly gifted and in need of a type of attention and acceleration that he/she won't get in pretty much any public school, with the possible exception of a TJ-type magnet.
2. Your kid isn't actually at the school yet and you're pre-worrying about a problem that likely won't materialize.
3. Your kid is smart but not disciplined or self-directed and thus needs the hand-holding you can pay for at private school or the immersive, aggressive rigor of a BASIS to remain focused and successful. (I think this one is more common than many think/admit.)
4. You have lots of friends in MoCo and Ffx whose kids have been placed in "gifted" programs and fear that your child isn't getting a similar quality education if he/she hasn't been labeled.

[/quote]

There you go again.  We are not all able to go to JKLM schools.  What do we do?[/quote]

I think (the list post) is an extremely informative post.  It is consistent with my experience of a high-achieving child (likely would test into a traditional GT program/not profoundly gifted) at a JKLM.  It highlights that DCPS has the capability within its structure to address most students, inclduign gifted ones, but that it has not implemented this city-wide, not even close.  This is the city-wide problem of low performing schools.  The problem is not necessarily a lack of a GT program but a lack of successful schools within the DCPS system.

[/quote]

It is the lack of a city-wide GT program.  The fact that a few schools have dealt with the issue on an acceptable level for some does not help the rest of the schools at all.  It certainly does not attract the parents to those schools.  If DCPS wants to be a viable option, they can't have some below the radar secret handshake crap, they need to announce a real program.  [/quote]

To "there you go again" poster--yes, I know! I made that point--that this isn't happening citywide but should be.

The result of a citywide GT program would be to help a very small segment of kids, while good differentiation not only addresses the needs of advanced students but also ensures that all kids are learning at the appropriate level. Pouring resources into a gifted program won't actually improve DC schools overall. What's happening at JKLM schools isn't "below the radar secret handshake crap"--it's out in the open for all to see, and it works. Why shouldn't we want that for all DCPSs?[/quote]

Because this only works if most of the kids are proficient if not advanced, such as in the JKLM schools.  Those of us (the vast majority of the city) that are not zoned for such schools have no similar programs.  [/quote]

So your solution is to create a magnet program that can pull out identified G/T kids and put them in a separate school that also does not serve the vast majority of the kids in the city?  I know everyone's child is gifted and all but I suspect there would be a backlash from the families whose children have the capability to succeed but are not given adequate educational choices because their child did not test G/T.[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics