Monday, August 19, 2013

Top 10 Advocacy Tips for Parents of Black & Hispanic Gifted Students

{Pt 1 in Series of 6 ‘Going Back to School Empowered’ articles}

School districts nationwide are being challenged by scholars, families, educators to do a better job of including more students of culturally diverse backgrounds in gifted education services. Your role as an advocate for your child is critical. School districts will become  more responsive when parents speak up and stand up for their children’s rights.  

If you believe your child/teen has high potential/ is gifted as demonstrated by their unique responses to the world around them, school performance, exceptional gifts as demonstrated in community or church related events, arts activities, test scores or school grades and they have NOT been considered for the school district advanced learner or gifted education program services, use the following ten advocacy strategies to  help get your child noticed, identified, and served in gifted education or advanced classes.

Resources at the end of this list will also provide additional support for your advocacy:


1-      If you would like to have your child evaluated/tested for the gifted program, at the beginning of the school year, check the district’s website, gifted education section for the evaluation timeframe. Check specifically for dates that schools are collecting/soliciting referrals or nominations from parents/family members.  If the school does not list this information online, call the district office, ask to speak to the Gifted Education Specialist/Coordinator for more information (Bright Talented & Black provides information on testing and evaluation procedures used in gifted programs nationwide).

2- If you believe that your child needs additional academic challenge based on their experience the prior year, make an appointment early in the year to speak to your child’s homeroom teacher or content area teacher to ask how the school intends to challenge your child and what services are available (Books listed below & facebook pages have information on special program services for gifted students).

3- Keep a diary/scrapbook/electronic journal to collect artifacts and samples that demonstrate your child’s unique performances/work production over time. Share this journal with school personnel. Include letters from community members, out of school teachers/instructors that describe your child’s behavior and exceptional gifts & talents.

4- Attend all parent-teacher conferences, make sure you ask at least three questions during the Q& A time during group meetings. Show up at school often within district guidelines of course. (In research studies, high achieving African American & Hispanic students note that their parents were ‘always at school’, helping, talking with teachers, seeking out information).  


5- Ask school about intellectual and problem solving competitions (Destination Imagination; MathCounts; Math Olympiad; Olympics of the Mind; Chess; National Society of Black Engineers programs, etc). Offer to coach, share information with other parents of culturally diverse students. Far too often, these programs exist but are segregated and limited to students whose parents are better informed or have available funds to pay extra fees.

6- Volunteer to serve on the district Gifted Education Advisory Council or school based advisory council.

7- Find out more about how your state supports gifted students by reading the ‘STATE of the STATES report’ published by the National Association for Gifted Children. (Reports are available at a minimal cost via www.nagc.org)

8- Be patient with the evaluation/referral/nomination/evaluation process, however, if you sense inconsistencies or inequities, keep notes, and make an appointment with school district coordinator/principal or other personnel to discuss your concerns.

9- If your child is already identified and served in the gifted program, monitor instruction  to ensure that-
a.  materials are ‘culturally responsive’ and challenging, and
b.  your child is not singled out as ‘the only culturally different’ child in the program. If this is the case, ask district personnel what is being done to improve services for more students. (see Recruiting and Retaining Culturally Different Students for more information)

10-Always remember, you know your child best, you are their first teacher and they will count on you more than any teacher to ensure that their intellectual, psycho-social, and academic needs are met and to come to their defense when others simply don’t believe in their potential. Please, don’t let them down.

Below are other helpful resources. If you would like to share more, please write in the comment space below or send me an email. My best to all of our gifted students for a school year filled with challenge and positive, productive opportunities!!

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Books:

Bright, Talented & Black: A guide for Families of African American Gifted Learners by Joy Lawson Davis http://www.amazon.com/Bright-Talented-Black-Families-American/dp/1935067028

Retaining & Recruiting Culturally Different Students in Gifted Education by Donna Y. Ford 

African American Students in Urban Schools: Critical Issues & Solutions for Achievement by James L. Moore III & Chance Lewis http://www.amazon.com/African-American-Students-Urban-Schools/dp/1433106868


Special Award Competition:

CTY Announces New Award to Support Pre-College Math and Science Research 

BALTIMORE August 15, 2013—Young scientists ages 13 to 18 with promising research ideas can now be awarded funding of up to $600 through a new annual competition sponsored by the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth (CTY). CTY is establishing the CTY Cogito Research Awards to help offset the costs associated with conducting research in math and science for selected middle and high school students.  
More information is also available on the Cogito site at: https://cogito.cty.jhu.edu/?p=39168.



Log on to Facebook, search for the following pages:

Parents Advocating for Gifted Education
International Gifted Education
WeAreGifted2
Mirror Books: the Power of Positive Images
The Brain Café
Prep For College
Uplift, Inc.
National Association of Multicultural Education

Upcoming Workshop:

National Harambee Education Summit Sept 19-22, 2013 Washington, DC
For more information: www.sankofaed.org

Upcoming NAGC Webinar:

Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2013, 7-8 EST Beyond Colorblindness: Building a Gifted Education Classroom that Honors Cultural Difference



Your comments and ideas are greatly appreciated!! Dr. Joy



3 comments:

  1. Great information here. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for reading. Please share with your network!!

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  2. Are you the parent of a gifted black or Hispanic student? If so, you know that advocacy is key to ensuring your child receives the education they deserve. Here are our top 10 advocacy tips for parents of black and Hispanic gifted students: 1. Get involved in your child’s education. Attend school meetings, parent-teacher conferences, and other events. 2. Speak up for your child. If you have concerns, make sure that the school staff.

    ReplyDelete