GATES (gifted program)

[tarynsmum]

I know this is an older kid thing, but I've been thinking about it a lot. My DN (turned 7 in February and in 1st grade) just got her scores back from her PSSAs (standardized test, I could start a whole other post on my feelings towards that, but another day) and they qualified her for the GATES program at her school. We thought, oh, great! She's a really good student and could use some "extracurriculars". So Shae comes home with a questionaire-like document/ parental consent form for us to fill out. Some sample questions from said questionaire (which could be considered "booklet size"):

"Was your child relatively early, late, or on time with these developmental milestones: teething, crawling, walking, first words, speaking full sentences..."

"Describe your labor: Was is relatively easy or difficult? Cesaerian Section? Epidural?"

"How many children are in your family? How does your child relate to his/her siblings?"

I could go on. It's really a lot of incredibly personal/ in-depth questions.

Now, I don't really understand WHY it's necessary for the PUBLIC SCHOOL to need all of this information for my DN to qualify for a gifted program. Is all this common in other school districts/states? I understand if they are using the information for some sort of research, but why would it be in the preliminary questionaire and not after she was enrolled in the program?

Also, IF (and she might not be) still eligible after they have looked at her questionaire, she then sits down with a psychologist to see if she is "emotionally ready" for the gifted program.

I'm pretty sure I didn't go through this much work to get accepted into college. Geez...

[Saartje]

I don't know what to say to that, except to wonder WTF that school is thinking and why they are asking such intrusive personal questions on an entrance questionnaire.

[heidiann]

Heather,
My DD (who is now 15) was accepted in the gifted program in 5th grade I filled out a questionaire just like that. We live in Pittsburgh, not sure where your at. I ended up not putting her in the program though after all the paperwork I filled out and her talking to the school psychologist I decided I didn't want her in the program.
Now that she's in High School is did go into the program but that was b/c there are extra classes for her to take and she didn't want an extra study hall. LOL... weird huh, I loved study hall LOL...

Heidi
Mom to Jillian 10/20/05

[tarynsmum]

This is West Deer School District (it's a really small school, but I really like the curriculum). We're about 3 minutes from the new Pittsburgh Mills (isn't that exciting).

[ColorBlue]

I just registered my DD for kindergarten and we filled out a form with the exact same type questions....I joked that next we would need to give a blood sample!

Any teachers/administrators out there that can explain why they would want this info?

Tracy

[firsttimemommy]

I'm probably not much help on the "why", but I taught a Gifted and Talented program for a school in the 6th largest district in the state of Texas and never ever were there any questions of a personal nature for the family to answer for their child's admittance into the program! Maybe there are reasons I don't fully understand, but I can't imagine why I would have needed that info for the curriculum and instruction of my gifted students.


Ronda
Proud Mommy to 2 adorable munchkins - 1/03 and 4/04

"Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes........that way you are a mile away and you have their shoes."

[ErinMC]

I was in the gifted program in junior high/high school, and I do remember meeting with the psychologist before I was accepted into the program. I know my parents didn't have to fill out a survey with personal questions like that though. My mom wouldn't have filled it out, thinking it was too personal.

Can you call the school's program and ask for more information on why this is required? I wonder if it's not actually *required*, but something they need for grant funding or research, and they present it that way to make sure it's filled out by as many people as possible. If you explain that you have concerns about it, maybe they'll waive it for you.

Let us know!

Erin
Mom to Chase 2/2004
... and another little guy coming in June!

[mamato1]

OK here goes with the answer for my state at least. In Kansas, (and it sounds like your state too) gifted is classified under the special education umbrella. What that means is that it is subject to all of the federal and state laws that are often written and intended for the kids at the opposite end of the special ed spectrum from your child. In my state for a child to be accepted into a gifted program there has to be proof that a child needs enrichment above and beyond what can be offered in a regular classroom. That can be a tough thing to prove. So, for us one of the first steps is a parent questionnaire that attempts to see if a kiddo has been especially, bright or advanced from the beginning. If I had to guess, I would imagine that your district is using the same parent questionnaire for all kids being considered for special ed. In the case of a child who is struggling or even severely delayed, the questions that you objected to would really be pretty impt info to have. In your case, not so much. I think you could probably object to filling out those questions and still be able to proceed with your child's placement. At the very least I would contact your school psychologist or gifted facilitator to find out why they want this kind of personal info.

HTH
Chris

Mama to Brendan (aka Boomer) 01/04


http://b3.lilypie.com/FnI6m5/.png

[overcome]

I teach 1st grade in PA and I agree w/pp re: special ed. I have seen those questions on our forms as well...for students w/learning difficulties as well as gifted. Special ed is all wrapped up in $$ and red tape.

Here is my 2cents re: gifted programs. I can only speak from my experience in my district...your district could be completely different. If your DD qualifies and they pull her 2x a week for 30-40 min., you have to ask yourself if it is worth it. They will tell you that when your dd is pulled she won't be missing anything in her regular class, but that is rarely true. And how much acceleration can really occur in that time period? My advice would be to revisit it when she is older and can be in a class for "high achieving" students. That is much more beneficial.

HTH
Good luck w/whatever you decide.
Ashley

[firsttimemommy]

Those are good points to keep in mind - but on the flip side of that consider the "boredom factor" for your child - if they are gifted and ahead of the rest of their regular class, they may get bored quickly and the pull out time - even if short - would be a welcome challenge in their schedule. Of course this often applies more to older kids then say kinder, but still....

The program I taught was 1.5 hours a week (all at once) for 1st and 2nd graders and 2.5 hours a week (again, all at once) for 3-5th. I was responsible for providing instruction and enrichment in all areas (not just reading or math, etc) so that they didn't technically "miss" anything in the regular class. However if they were working on something really important or had a test (even though the teachers weren't supposed to schedule tests on the days they were pulled out) they would stay behind in the regular classroom occasionally so they wouldn't miss it.

Ronda
Proud Mommy to 2 adorable munchkins - 1/03 and 4/04

"Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes........that way you are a mile away and you have their shoes."

[cheyennemom]

Kindergarten screening in our district includes the same questions. I skipped many of them.

[megs4413]

They pulled me out of class a few times a week in elementary school for "gifted" and honestly it was dumb. It's supposed to be enriching and all that but it was just a bunch of creative "projects" and even at 8 I knew I had no creative bone in my body. For me it was just a free pass to get out of some other stupid class. Maybe find out what your gifted program has to offer. If it's nothing more than building scale models of this or that (oh yeah we did that) or inventing a new product (that one too) then maybe consider if DN would enjoy something like that.

Another one of the big problems was that generally it required parent involvement to a high degree. My parents weren't particularly involved in my life and I didn't do as well in the program. I mean, an 8 year old doesn't know where to buy the equipment to make a miniature theme park. KWIM?

I just never really got the value of the program. For me, it really hurt me more than it helped. It made me feel like the "regular" classes weren't good enough for me and I was justified in feeling "bored" in them. I think pretty much every kid is bored in school and it wasn't just because it wasn't challenging.

Good luck. It's a tough decision.

[Dcclerk]

I agree about checking out what is involved. I did the GATE program when I was little, but it was the entire class. There was a school that all of the GATE kids were bussed to, and we were altogether the entire time. It wasn't a pull out program, but basically honors courses for little kids. My sis and I both did it, and it was vastly superior to anything that my brothers did (who weren't in the GATE program). We had fantastic projects that really incorporated all kinds of disciplines into one theme. I think I probably learned more in my GATE classes than I did in most of my honors classes, or at least it stuck with me more. That being said, my mom teaches a regular class, and it is very comparable to what I had in GATE. She does projects like mummifying chickens, creating imaginary states out of clay, etc. that were the type of things that I did in GATE. If I had a choice between my mom's class and a pull-out GATE program, I'm sure I would keep my child in the regular, but really good, program like my mom teaches.