Hi All,
I am wrangling with a very difficult decision for next year. My son will be
starting 3rd grade and has qualified for gifted. This year he is in a clustered
class with all kids grouped by ability. Next year they will pull him out of
his classroom for part of the day for "gifted" class. I have a fundamental
problem with this approach to learn. I feel a) it will isolate him from
his class members b) he will get picked on/teased for being different
c) when he gets back to the class he will be left out of what they are doing.
I just really do not like the model.
This leaves me with two choices a) move schools or b) pull him out of
the "gifted" program. I really like the school we are at, it is one of the
top districts in the State and we bought our house for this school.
I just really don't want him pulled out. On the other hand he is over
three grade levels ahead in reading and even farther in math. Academically
he does fine but socially he is behind. Much more of a follower than a
leader.
I am looking at the CATS program in Chandler since it is self-contained.
Any ideas? I don't really think he is "gifted" per say just academically bright.
Thanks,
Janet
One thing that might be
One thing that might be interesting to know is how many kids in his class will be in this program, it would seem strange if he is the only one, but if he is one of 5 or 6 kids in a class that gets pulled out, no one will notice any more than they notice he is "three grade levels ahead in reading and even farther in math."
Lovemy4 is a discussion leader for North Central Phoenix, tired mother of 4 great kids and wife to one great husband.
I'd have to agree with
I'd have to agree with lovemy4. When I was in elementary school I was in the gifted program and several of us were "pulled" out of class to go to the gifted class. I never felt isolated from the rest of the class and it was a great experience for me. Of course, it was a different program and maybe not all children will benefit from it like I did, but you could be passing up a great experience for your son.
I think it does depend on
I think it does depend on the size of the program. But this could be a good thing for him - he could be more comfortable socially in this new setting with kids on his academic level and you never know, you might find him leading more than following.
Susie is a discussion leader in the east valley for arizonamoms.com. She has two sons, ages 6 and 2.
My son was in the CATS
My son was in the CATS program in Chandler off and on since kindergarten. He was in the consultative program-where he just received extra work to do on his own--from kindergarten until second grade and then attended the all inclusive program on and off from third until seventh grades.
My son was far advanced in math and quite advanced in reading. He skipped first grade and while in the consultative program, he was allowed to move up three additional grade levels in math--of course, this took A LOT of fighting on our part. Schools will try anything not to have to accomodate gifted children. That just might be a Chandler Unified School District thing though.
Anyway, he would simply leave his kindergarten class and attend math lessons in a third grade class. When in second grade, he went to a fourth grade math class. This worked very well. Then came third grade.
Once he hit third grade, he was placed in the all inclusive CATS program. It was a nightmare. The teacher refused to teach him fifth grade math--though we had been assured by the gifted programs cooradinator that once my son was in the "offiicial" program he would finally be with kids at his level and receive the education commiserate with is intellectual level. What a joke!
The problem with the Chander CATS program is that there is no consistency. The gifted teachers are pretty much allowed to do whatever they feel like in the classroom. If the teacher only has one or two kids in a third grade class capable of doing ninth grade math, they aren't going to teach it.
Acutally, from what I observed, the gifted teachers do less teaching. They seem to have the idea that if these kids are so gifted, they shouln't have any trouble in school at all and never make a mistake. I will never forget when my son's third grade CATS teacher showed me a vocabulary test where my son had used the word/answer associated the letter b twice. She waved that paper under my nose with my son standing right there and said, "There is NO EXCUSE for this!"
Ummm.....okay.......
Plus, the quality of the program varies depending on what CATS school your child is slated to attend and the personalities and temperments of whatever CATS teachers that school has. There is no accountability. If you have a problem and are unhapppy about anything--too bad.
We actually had to complain on two occassions to the superintendent for elementary education about the poor quality of the program, and the lack of education our son was receiving.
In fourth grade, our son startet attending classes at Chandler Gilbert Community College. He started with a couple of online math classes and absolutley loved it. CGCC would accept him as a full time student once he tuned twelve. It was the only thing that kept him going. The knowledge that once he was twelve, he no longer had to go to the "torture chamber" helped him finish seventh grade.
In all fairness, he did admit that the CATS program for junior high was a little better than the CATS program for elementary school. However, it was still a nightmare trying to coordinate his classes. By the time our son had started seventh grade, he was alreay taking Calculus at CGCC. The school put him in eighth grade CATS math which was basically tenth grade geometry. It was a wonder he survived.
He is now in his second full time semester at CGCC. He loves it there. His maturity level--which somehow always seemed to be an issue in the CATS program--is right on par with the other students. No one gives him a hard time. Not the students and certainly not the teachers. When people in his class ask his age, they are truly impressed by his intelligence--not threatened or intimidated by it. He is allowed to think at his level and express these thought without fear of "annoying" his teacher or "disrupting" the lesson. Such a difference from the CATS program.
My advice to you is that if your son is happy where he is leave him there. If he is that far ahead in reading and math, there is really no program that is going to help him. Most gifted programs are geared for those who test in the bottom of the top three percent. Those whose test scores place them in the top one percent are just out of luck.
Look into the Maricopa Community College in your area and contact their underage admissions advisor. There is a placement test to determine what classes your child should take and then it is a simple matter of signing them up.
Whatever you decide to do, keep in mind that nothing is more important for you child to be happy.