Anonymous wrote:I find this extremely difficult to believe. If your child were truly “gifted” (and I say this as a parent of a child with exceptional academic abilities) you would have seen signs of it before testing and it would have been clear in class,

I was thinking this was such a nice thoughtful helpful thread and then I hit this post.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If he is gifted why is he only getting "okay grades" in 2nd grade?

The discrepancy between his capabilities and academic performance are the exact concern. His mental ability shows he should be achieving more academically than he is, which is why we’re considering either a school switch and/or ways to support him through MCPS.

Our hope is to stay MCPS but not sure if it's possible. Kind of hoping to hear some success stories from similar scenarios...

What would that look like? The teacher can’t give him enriched content if he hasn’t shown he can do the on-level stuff.

I find this extremely difficult to believe. If your child were truly “gifted” (and I say this as a parent of a child with exceptional academic abilities) you would have seen signs of it before testing and it would have been clear in class,

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If he is gifted why is he only getting "okay grades" in 2nd grade?

The discrepancy between his capabilities and academic performance are the exact concern. His mental ability shows he should be achieving more academically than he is, which is why we’re considering either a school switch and/or ways to support him through MCPS.

Our hope is to stay MCPS but not sure if it's possible. Kind of hoping to hear some success stories from similar scenarios...

Private school with a more flexible curriculum. MCPS is rigid and gets more rigid as the kids advance in grades. I would not keep a child like yours in MCPS. It might work out for some but there's a big risk they will get the interest in learning killed in them by the busywork MCPS provides. It's so much worse in MS and HS when the teachers make up rubrics that are like 2 pages long. The whole assignment has a smidgen of learning in it but the rest of it is just learning to follow complicated directions that often don't make sense and then advocating with the teacher. for a kid with ADHD it's a recipe for learning to hate school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If he is gifted why is he only getting "okay grades" in 2nd grade?

The discrepancy between his capabilities and academic performance are the exact concern. His mental ability shows he should be achieving more academically than he is, which is why we’re considering either a school switch and/or ways to support him through MCPS.

Our hope is to stay MCPS but not sure if it's possible. Kind of hoping to hear some success stories from similar scenarios...

There is always going to be boring content. My magnet high schooler is also bored sometimes - not because he is too smart for the content but because it's just not a subject that catches his attention. There's still an expectation that he does well.

Teaching your child to deal with boredom is the success story here, because dealing with boredom is a life skill, and he needs to demonstrate he can walk before asking the teacher to let him run.

Outside of school, success looks like teaching him about the relationship between hard work and mastery through music lessons, language, or other content that might not come easily.

Anonymous wrote:If he is gifted why is he only getting "okay grades" in 2nd grade?

The discrepancy between his capabilities and academic performance are the exact concern. His mental ability shows he should be achieving more academically than he is, which is why we’re considering either a school switch and/or ways to support him through MCPS.

Our hope is to stay MCPS but not sure if it's possible. Kind of hoping to hear some success stories from similar scenarios...

If he’s gifted and you want more you need to homeschool or go private. Lots of smart and gifted kids get nothing extra.

If he is gifted why is he only getting "okay grades" in 2nd grade?

The realistic answer here is probably two-fold.

First, OP can talk to the teacher about getting enriched content, to the extent that's realistic in a heterogeneous classroom.

But before that, OP's child needs to show mastery of the existing content. With only okay grades, presumably only okay test scores, and unmotivated behavior, the school is not going to accept an external evaluation before actually asking the child to demonstrate they can do the work in front of them.

So op needs to sit down with the child and be very clear about expectations for completing work and demonstrating mastery of the existing content. Only then can they make a compelling case for enrichment.

Anonymous wrote:Are teachers able to make adaptations for one student? Or not without an IEP - would it even be an IEP or something else?

In MCPS you don’t get an IEP for being gifted. And if you have a disability and are advanced to the point of being bored it would be difficult or impossible to show an adverse impact.

Also from OP’s post, I’m not clear as to whether he has a disability. Seems like she thought her child had ADHD but found out he doesn’t. Instead he’s bored.

Are teachers able to make adaptations for one student? Or not without an IEP - would it even be an IEP or something else?

^ Great advice. If he's happy, try some modifications to his current learning and see if that helps. You can also try some new extracurriculars to keep him stimulated.

I have gifted kids with adhd and kept them in McPS. We just always had good books from the library (fiction and non fiction) available to read. Teachers let them read in class when done with work. We did get lucky with a few teachers who were inctedible with gifted Ed — my oldest just graduated and we ran into one of those teachers at a social event. She remembered my kid 8 years later and was so happy to hear how well she was doing! It’s worth talking to the teacher and potential the admin — just tell them this is what the test showed and ask if they have any suggestions for how to get your kid more motivated. Some of the teachers will have phenomenal ideas. And sometimes admin will say “oh, we know the perfect teacher for him for next year.”

There are some phenomenal teachers in McPS. I wouldn’t assume private school will be all roses.

Also, once you hit 4tj grade, there is a lot more differentiation. The compacted math actually moves pretty quickly. The accelerated social studies in middle school is decent. And the HS curriculum is as tough as you make it. (Although there’s a real problem with teaching writing that is probably not solvable due to class size and lack of teacher grading time.)

Try the special needs board

You want to get them into magnet. Some schools have local magnets

Looking for shared personal experiences here:

Our 2nd grader does fine in his regular MCPS classroom. His grades are OK but he's unmotivated and struggles with attention. We decided to complete neuropsych testing for possible ADHD and it turns out he is gifted and likely needs a more dynamic curriculum and a more stimulating classroom environment.

He’s sensitive to change though and has really thrived in his current social setting. I would love to keep him with his neighborhood friends.

Any insight into how to navigate MCPS so that he can reach his full academic potential while staying in a social environment where he is comfortable and happy? Or do we really need to consider private?

Already scheduled time to talk with his teacher but any help/guidance/input from those who have been through something similar would be helpful. TIA!