Anonymous wrote:
I am sure your child needs it!!

I sincerely believe that you are indeed "sure" of what my child needs. Such is the sine qua non of a busybody, no?

"Well thank the heavens you are here to save us from ourselves.

You have not been there, and have not done that. You have indirectly experienced one child's development path and the choices that implied for that individual. All children are different. Other children might have different needs and different optimal paths. Your "experience" is inapplicable at best, and obnoxious at worse."

I am sure your child needs it!!

There is a big difference between advocating for your child by putting together a strong package and/or appealing the AAP selection criteria and pushing the child so hard that they can not have a normal childhood.

We are not talking about the parents spending thousands of dollars, and countless hours preping the child for the CogAT.

The AAP selection process does pretty well, and probably gets it right 90% of the time. However, they are people and are not perfect.

I am the first to admit I am biased in regards to my DD, but I admit the biases. I did have to do a parental referral. (her test scores were about 120) I worked with the 2nd grade teacher and AAP teacher...they encouraged me to proceed with the AAP parental referral. DD got a 15 on the GBRS.

At year one in the AAP center, she is doing fine. The workload is not to much, and she is reading at a middle school level.

Anonymous wrote:However, had your "ds" needs been unable to be met in the general education schools he/she would have been placed in the AAP center in the first place.

Your logic is flawed, as it implies that since the DS did not get in to AAP, his needs are being met by GE. Many readers here have had experience to the contrary.

Anonymous wrote:Your mere emphasis on the AAP center for him/her is a detriment to your child's self esteem.

You are assuming the other poster shares this emphasis in front of DS, and are being quite condescending as a result of this assumption. Did it occur to you that assumption might be wrong? Again, judgmental about a person whose situation you know nothing about.

Anonymous wrote:I am not even sure why I am reaching out to you except I have been there and done this trust me your just making your life harder and really not doing you child any favors.

Well thank the heavens you are here to save us from ourselves.

You have not been there, and have not done that. You have indirectly experienced one child's development path and the choices that implied for that individual. All children are different. Other children might have different needs and different optimal paths. Your "experience" is inapplicable at best, and obnoxious at worse.

I am just curious do you have a child in the GT program? My ds (same as above) who has been in the program now for 2 years could not be happier. In third grade he said his teacher was his favorite ever. When I asked why he replied because we do lots of cool stuff. Yes there is alot more work but that is not a bad thing for all kids. He loves it. His schedule is plau outside for 2 hours come in and do homework for about 1.None of us find that a stressful schedule. Now does he complain sometimes about doing homework YES, but like you said he would not be a kid if he didn't.Now there are days when he will have a project due or a test and that will require more time but not that much.
Now to my next son. You think we are pushing hime into this,but I would have to disagree. He had well above test score on the NNAT 140 and above average on the Cogat 126 to 129. The only thing he did not do so well on was his GBRS. His report cards have been higher then my other sons, he scored higher on the NNAT and yet we should not fight for him to have the same chance as my other son because of the opinion of one teacher?Oh I forgot we had him tested with the WISC and he received a 139. I feel that if he does not like the program we can always take him out,but why not let him have the chance to try it.

However, had your "ds" needs been unable to be met in the general education schools he/she would have been placed in the AAP center in the first place. Your mere emphasis on the AAP center for him/her is a detriment to your child's self esteem. All children want to please their parents and your showing a disapproval by pushing for this program. If he is so advanced he will be advanced in any school. Kids have a funny way of demanding what they need. All good parents want their children to be successful but being successful has a whole lot more to it than cramming academics down their throats in elementary school!! In my opinion the AAP children are not getting the "whole lot more"!

I have a nephew who just graduated with honors from the honors college at his university. He was actually targeted by his teachers in elementary school for the AAP program. My sister wanted him to be a kid and didn't want his childhood to be all study and no play so she kept him in the general education program in SC schools not Fairfax County schools! He was able to experience many other academic and social activities which he would not have had if she had sent him through the AAP program.

You need to let it go and move on for your child. Guide them but do not try to make them "keep up with the Jones" it is absolutely ridiculous. This obsession is for you and the perception you want others to have of you and your family - not for your child. Think about it. Unfortunately you are not alone.

I am not even sure why I am reaching out to you except I have been there and done this trust me your just making your life harder and really not doing you child any favors. I find it really sad the pressure so many Fairfax County parents are placing on their children. If your child is not asking for it, and, is successful where he/she is, leave it alone.

May God bless you in your decisions.

I wish I could agree with you but the education my son is receiving in 5th grade is so different from what the other 5th graders are receivng that I feel I would not be doing the best for my ds if I did not appeal the decision we were given.If the appeal goes badly then we will know we did all we could.I do agree with you that elementary school is not a time to make learning stressful.

I think you are all nuts! In the end your child is no smarter than the kid who makes strait A's in the general education classes. There are a few kids out there who are self motivating. These children will most likely be successful as adults. The other 85% you all have pushed to over achieve as elementary children will spend all of their hard earned cash on therapy! Let your kids be kids for goodness sake!

Thanks

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that should have said summer after 2nd....

Anonymous wrote:I just don't get HOW a kid with high test scores, mostly O's, positive comments from teacher and no behavioral issues could get low GBRS's. Is is a teacher/AART who doesn't know what the heck they are doing?

Sometimes I wonder if they just put the kids name in a hat and pulled them out.

All is fine and dandy if you have the funds for a WISC, but if you don't are your just plain out of luck?

We were in this boat, though behavior was a bit of an issue (mainly due to boredom). We could not, and did not want to shell out our $$ on WISC. We were denied, BUT, in 4th grade, we had a much better fit, a teacher who understood the distracting behaviors were due to too much time on his hands, and voila, a child on task with a more challenging load. No WISC scores this year, parent referral, old COgAt and Naglieri, in on parent referral with a stronger GBRS.

There is no "behavior" component to the GBRS at all, BUT when ds's teacher told me she felt ds would mature over the summer before 2nd, and would coast on on parent referral, I knew her commentary was influenced by behavior.

So, if WISC is not an option, I recommend you stay on top of things, and try again next year. I do think that most who win on appeal do have WISC. We did not, and therefore all new material was subjective, letters, work samples, etc.

GL

I am sorry that was a 38 not 138.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are new to all this and do not understand many things. We met the school's gifted administrator. She is saying that the appeal is now between the FCPS and us and the school is not involved at all. In all our meetings with the classroom teacher throughout the year in the past, she indicated that my daughter has been one of the top performers in the class and is above her grade level in Math and Reading. However, she did not indicate so in her file. We are trying to meet with her if she can help my daughter's case some how but she does not want to meet with us. She is asking us to meet with the school's gifted administrator and we already did! I do not believe the school presented my daughter's case in a fair manner. My daughter is devastated with her rejection and with this mental state I am not sure how she would perform in WISC. Does any one know what can be done if we disagree with the GBRS and completeness/fairness of the school provided information? Thanks.

We have the same issue and he is in 3rd grade. My son`s GBRS score was a 7. His Cogat scores were a 136 composite. His DRA is 138 and also he has mostly O`s on his report. The school said that we need to deal with the appeals and I don`t want to pay for a WISC. The comments and the GBRS do not match at all.

How is his DRA a 138? I thought that reading level scale only went up to 80 or so? See http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=4476

I'm not being snarky, just curious as to what that 138 number is. I am moving into Fairfax with a rising third grader this summer and will be submitting my child's packet for review for placement in the AAP program as soon as we get him registered. Should I include his reading level (currently DRA 44) along with the test scores?