Re: Brainiac

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

We have been involved in a local charter school for nearly 10 years. Charissa

needs sp.ed. services for the extra help, and is alot like your Destiny -

so I have one at each end of the spectrum! I believe different states can have

slightly different regulations, and I know that each charter is unique - so it

might depend on your individual school and/or state regulations. Here in

Alaska, each school (of any type) receives an additional budget amount for

sp.ed., and these funds cover the testing & services (in theory anyway!). Our

particular charter school is actually a part of the local city schools, and when

the charter was established the sp.ed. funding was left with the local school

district. This means that the charter school does not get the additional

funding amount, and therefore does not provide any sp.ed. services. All sp.ed.

services are provided by the city school - the student goes to their

neighborhood school (the one they would normally attend if not in the

charter school) for any and all sp.ed. services - including testing. I have

heard that this is an unusual situation, but I don't keep up with all the school

politics nationwide. There are probably other students in your school receiving

sp.ed. services (and yes, gifted is considered sp.ed.) - how does your school

handle testing & services of those students?

in Alaska

RSS-Support wrote:Message: 24

Date: Fri, 11 Mar 2005 01:52:50 -0800

From: " Christensen "

Subject: Brainiac

Hi all,

Again looking for educational advice. Destiny is very mild RSS 6yrs old. 43in

andunknown lbs at this time but starting to look a little dare I say chunky! She

is now more height challenged than weight challenged. A far cry from the 11

1/2lb 21 in one year old I came to this group with. She's actually at 3-5% 0n

the growth charts.No GH etc. I have been home schooling her through a charter

school this year for kindergarten. Problem is she is doing third grade work in

everything but math which is now end of first grade level. She reads, spells,

and comprehends at a sixth grade level. How do I get my district public school

to give her the Stanford-Binet? They don't usually start their GATE program till

3rd grade. However I know of a first grader that was tested and is in their

highly gifted program. But I am not in a district school. I felt that the

district Kindergarten would bore her silly.Is giftedness a Special Need? Her

teacher is suggesting that we promote her to second next year

but Destiny wants none of it even though it would make no practical difference

in minutes worked per week or level of instruction. I don't know whether I

should honor her wishes or override her for her own good. I am also looking at

another charter school that has an on campus multi-age program with good test

scores where she could be in a pass or fail 1st through 5th classroom. I worry

that they will not expect her to achieve at her true level given her size and

her ability to fake people out that she is just a baby. Even the other child

that I mentioned who scored as highly gifted {and is not as far ahead in some

areas as Destiny} said her favorite subjects are art and recess. As a former

gifted kid myself I do remember feeling pressured to succeed. Although I

resented it then, when I got to college I held myself to the standard of a 4.0

and never regretted doing so. However my oldest daughter also highly gifted now

28 never ended up going to college and my oldest son, also highly

gifted joined the army and is currently unsure what he will do when he gets

out. My third child who is artistically and theatrically talented { but not

academically) is oddly enough the one who is determined to get a higher

education.

So sorry, I'm venting here. I know this is just a tiny trivial issue. but I'm

really wafffling on what to do. I want her identified so that I have more

options, and I want her to be happy and enjoy learning new things as much as I

do, I never get tired of learning! And I want input so I can hear things I may

not have considered. Thanks for you're advice in advance!

, Mom to Destiny RSS and a host of others