What's Behind Door #2?

At the end of the school year, I had a meeting with the acceleration committee at Caitlin's school to discuss whether or not she's a good candidate for moving into 4th grade next year. If you recall from my previous post, Caitlin was undergoing a garden variety of testing and talking with the school psychologist to evaluate her readiness.

After weeks of testing and observation, everyone gathered to share their thoughts and a decision was agreed upon. While Caitlin's test scores put her consistently in the 99 percentile for both her age and grade and she showed intellectual maturity, it was decided that she is still very much a 7, almost 8 year old girl who enjoys activities appropriate to her age and has the social maturity of an 8 year old. It was mentioned that 3rd grade is a big developmental year for students, both academically & socially as they cross the threshold into the intermediate elementary grades and the expectations that come with it. The G&T coordinator also noticed that Caitlin enjoys being "top dog" or "teacher's helper" in her current class and if she was to accelerate, she would not be the top student in the class but rather one of the high-average kids. Caitlin thrives on being a leader and a helper and we didn't want to deprive her of that.

However, it was duly noted that she does need more advanced lesson plans and grouping with like-minded peers in order to continue to meet her needs academically and to keep her challenged. So, Caitlin has been accepted into the Gifted & Talented program through the school district and will receive services starting in the fall. These services will continue as long as she wants or needs them without her having to re-qualify every year. The services will include a pull-out once a week with the G&T teacher where she will work on special projects with other 3rd-5th grade advanced students. She will also receive curriculum assistance in the classroom meaning that her teacher will work with the G&T teacher to "enhance" lesson plans to meet her advanced learning level. Caitlin will also be clustered in a group within the classroom of other G&T students who will be working on more challenging lessons with her. All of these services will be summed up in an ALP (Advanced Learning Plan) which will be followed by her teachers and the gifted and talented coordinator. A new ALP will be drafted every year with new goals, techniques, recommendations and procedures for implementation.

Caitlin was a bit disappointed at first, not to be moving to the 4th grade but once I explained the reasoning and that next year would be so much better than this year (in terms of the boredom), she was on board. I think she likes the idea that she'll still be with her peers but also able to do work that challenges her. I think it's a win-win combination!

I have to say, I have been so pleasantly surprised with her school and their coordination with the acceleration request. It is so comforting to know that so many people were determined to find the best fit for Caitlin, always keeping her best interests at heart. I was really unsure about the schools here when we moved, but my expectations have been far exceeded, for both girls.

Acceleration

In a previous post, I mentioned that I was going to talk to the principal at Caitlin's school about possibly moving her into the 4th grade next year, thus skipping 3rd, due to the material not being challenging enough to keep her from being bored.

Well, I did have a meeting with the principal back in mid-April and I addressed my concerns to her. Turns out, she had been aware of Caitlin's academic progress and had a feeling that I would be coming in to discuss acceleration. We sat down and she informed me of how the process works and also the options that we have for Caitlin. I was relieved to see that the school does have a method for dealing with acceleration requests and also has other options available if acceleration is determined not to be the best fit for the child.

The process is pretty grueling, surprisingly. First, Caitlin would be tested using practical intelligence testing methods to determine where she was academically (problem solving and reasoning being a big component). These tests were broken down over a few weeks as to not overwhelm Caitlin nor to make her miss too much classroom instruction. Caitlin said that most of the questions were very easy for her. The next step was to have her meet with the school psychologist so that he could determine her social and emotional readiness for acceleration. The counselor also sent home several behavioral surveys for me to do about Caitlin so that they could get a complete picture of her. The final step of the acceleration process is a team meeting which consists of myself, the principal, the gifted & talented coordinator for the district, the school's gifted & talented teacher, the school counselor, Caitlin's teacher, a 3rd grade teacher and a 4th grade teacher. Everyone will share their findings and then we will come to a conclusion of what we think would be the best plan for Caitlin for the fall.

Regardless of the decision to accelerate or not, Caitlin will be in the Gifted & Talented program next year which includes both pull-outs with the G&T teacher and collaboration with the classroom teacher to make assignments more challenging for her. In addition, Caitlin will be "clustered" within the classroom with other G&T peers. Caitlin & I both are hoping for acceleration into the 4th grade, but if that doesn't seem to be the best place for her, all things considered, it is kind of comforting to know that there is a back-up plan in place. Should everyone agree that acceleration is best, she will be put into 4th grade, in a "cluster" there as well and she will be continuously monitored by the G&T teacher as well as the school counselor to make sure that the transition is going smoothly.

The acceleration team meeting is on Wednesday and I am anxious to hear what everyone has to say and for a decision to be made. Caitlin's best interests are in mind, so I feel that either way, she will be challenged next year.