Advocating for your child’s placement in Gifted and Talented programs

By Dr. LaShonda M. Jackson-Dean

Being the parent of two extremely talented sons, I have discovered, advocating for proper education is a never-ending journey. Many of our African-American children experience the marginalizing effect of the lack of talent recognition during their school years. We, as parents have to not only recognize our children’s gifted and talented ability but also, when it is not being recognized within the education system. Parental engagement and support of their children’s education encourages better scholastic performance. We have all heard the African proverb, “It takes a village, to raise a child.” This has never been truer than in today’s time. Our children’s potential for excellence increases with continued love and support. Teaching our children to be well-rounded individuals, involves excellence inside and outside the classroom. The responsibility of the academic excellence of our children includes the active support of the parents, school administration, and the community.

The underrepresentation of African-American children in Gifted and Talented programs has become a topic of concern. The majority of Gifted and Talented programs are highly populated with non-minority participants. Increasing the emergence of African-American children into these programs is essential to them being academically prepared for college. Identifying gifted African-American children within the public education system has been a debatable issue for several years. To date, programs of such include Advanced Placement and Honors Placement in courses of Math, English, and History. These courses can lead to receiving college credit while in High School. With all of the potential at stake, knowing the actions parents should take to ensure proper placement of their children in Gifted and Talented programs is vital.

Knowing who to contact at your child’s school is the beginning of the quest for knowledge for better education. I recommend scheduling a conference with the education and guidance counselor to discuss the available options for the district. The district should provide an environment for conferences between parents and school administration. The conference will provide the opportunity for gaining insight into your child’s educational progress. It will also lend way to becoming more knowledgeable of the district’s program availability. Both, the parents and the administration should be interactively involved. Take time to listen and be heard.

Prior to the conference, request a copy of child’s educational records to prepare for the meeting. Research the records for proven academic results. Determine the subjects where your child identifies as GT. Search outside the school system for additional information on the subjects to bring to the conference. At the conference, listen attentively to the counselor’s program description; inquire about the requirements and placement tests. It is important to take notes as the requirements are described. Ask questions concerning the placement tests and the preparation for them. While in the conference, observe the demeanor and attitude of the participants. Ensuring the support of the administration will be available to encourage your child throughout the program is of absolute necessity.  The educational atmosphere must be nurturing and comfortable in order to cultivate an environment for learning. This is an important element of your child’s education. The administration should welcome your input and interest in your child’s education. They input and interest should be at a level where you, the parent are comfortable with the process of the program.

After learning about the program services, use your child’s education records as a justification for testing and placement. This information will provide the parent with the ammunition to determine the true skill level of their child on a more personal basis. The parent will be more cognizant to whether their child is truly gifted or in need of a more challenging curriculum. Higher learning opposed to advanced placement may be key in challenging those students. If the parent determines their child is truly gifted, continue the process of getting the child tested and placed. Communicate with the administration the expectations you have for your child regarding the program and align them with goals of the program. There must be commitment to the program from your child and the administrators of the program. Your child must know the administrator is there to assist with their success. Knowing there are custodians available to ask questions will provide an even greater success rate. Your child has to know the parent is committed to them and the program, as well. Provide your contact information to the administration to demonstrate your availability and support for the growth and learning of your child. Ensure your child is prepared for the testing. Attend available functions and meetings regarding the program.

Research every opportunity to enhance your child’s knowledge, whether it is through books, online courses, or tutoring. As a parent, you have to be vigilant and vocal in ensuring your child receives the proper education to assist in releasing the greatest within.

Correspondence to Dr. Dean can be forwarded to DrLaShondaJacksonDean@gmail.com.

Visit her online at www.DrLaShondaJacksonDean.com

Black Gifted Students- APPLY Today for the 2016 Jenkins Scholar Award

Three years ago, a committed team of African American Scholars determined that it was important for our nation to recognize and honor the legacy of Dr. Martin D. Jenkins. Dr. Jenkins was the first scholar to research and publish case studies of highly intelligent Black students in several urban areas across the nation in the early 20th century. 

One of Dr. Jenkins' study, the "Case of B" described a young Black girl with a measured IQ of 200. This remarkable case study was published with the help of his mentor, Dr. Paul Witty and made history. For the first time, a Black scholar was able to document his research and have this work published and disseminated widely. For more information about Dr. Jenkins' work, see: Profile of Dr. Martin D. Jenkins

This year, at the 2016, National Association for Gifted Children Convention, we will honor a third group of remarkable scholars whose life story is similar to that of students chronicled by Dr. Jenkins early in the 1930s and 40s. These students (and their families) like others in 2014 and 2015 will be invited to attend a special session of the NAGC Convention in Orlando and share their achievements and visions for their future. 

We are currently seeking students to apply for the 2016 Jenkins Scholar Award Project. The application and all supporting materials can be located at: 2016 Jenkins Scholar Award Application

All applications will be reviewed by a selected set of Gifted Education Scholars from across the nation. 

We are also seeking donations to support the Scholars Project, please go to the following link: 
DONATE TO JENKINS SCHOLARS AWARD PROJECT

Your support and dissemination of this information is greatly appreciated!!

Why We MUST Refer: Increasing Equity in Gifted Education through Teacher Referral

By Sherley Jackson

Have you ever taught a student who has an increased speed at which he or she learns and responds to new information?  What about a student with increased creativity or imagination?  

Are you the teacher of a student with an almost obsessive need to do something or learn every detail about a specific topic? Is there a student in your class who earns high grades in a subject or multiple subjects? Maybe you have that one student in you class who has the answers to everything.

If you answered yes to any of the questions above you may have a child who is exhibiting characteristics of giftedness. Deciding to refer a student for gifted testing can be difficult, but it really does not have to be. Asking yourself a few simple questions, like the ones above, can help making a referral a little easier. At first you may second guess yourself, but the longer you teach and the more student referrals you make, the better you will be at recognizing many of the common characteristics of gifted children.

After sixteen years of identifying and treating children with speech and or language delays as a Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) I am confident in my ability to recognize characteristics of gifted children.  Fourteen of those years have been spent in public school settings, in 3 different states and 4 different school districts. My experiences have made me a proficient identifier of children with delays. Conversely, knowing what a delay is, allows me to determine what average and above average abilities young children possess.

I recently read a study that reported the significantly low amount of minority students being referred for gifted services.  The disparity does not exist because of a lack of potential students, but because teachers are less likely to refer minority students.  Studies also show that minority children are referred for special education or behavior problems more than any other group. If teachers are comfortable identifying students with disabilities, we can become just as comfortable referring minority students for gifted.  As educators we must do better.

What can we do? As educators of minority students and or students from low income homes, we have to first believe and expect that every year we will have students who can be referred for gifted services. We have to work at looking past external factors that mask students' true abilities. There have been instances where I have shared my recommendation for a gifted screening, and have been given a variety of reasons as to why a referral may not be the best option.   "Yes, he's smart, but he is so unorganized.   Or she is smart, but her attention span is so poor."  An identification of an academic or medical impairment does not disqualify a child from being gifted.

A gifted child could be one of our students who always has something to say about everything and everyone. The student who is the doodler or the daydreamer may be that one child who does not know how to express all that they are creating in their minds. Think about the student who may have good grades and would rather converse with you then his or her classmates. We all know these children. We all have these children. Unfortunately, when these students are minorities there is a tendency to describe their behaviors as defiant, arrogant, or smart-mouthed. Daydreamers are often punished for not paying attention. The student who will not leave your side is perceived as being needy, when in actuality this could be a student seeking higher level conversations. 

Unfortunately, our perceptions, often keep us from discovering our children's true abilities. Many of our students live with home situations that we as adults can't handle, and they still find a way to excel in the classroom. We have to rethink what "gifted" children look like. Gifted children are not perfect. Gifted students are the students sitting in your classrooms waiting for you to acknowledge their abilities.

Yes, there will be a school year when you may truly feel that you don't have any students to refer for gifted services. If you ever feel this way, I would suggest you pick your best student and refer them for the gifted process. Even if a student does not qualify for services, the information obtained will be beneficial. Learning about a student's specific strengths and weaknesses will help you facilitate higher academic performances.

As an educator, I know the wonderful feeling we get when our intuition about a child's ability is confirmed. As the parent of three gifted little girls I am forever indebted to the teachers who saw something special in them. We are educators, and we are appointed to help our students excel beyond their own expectations. When the new school year begins, go ahead, make a referral, your students are waiting to reach their highest potential.

Guest writer: Sherley Laurin Jackson is a certified and licensed Speech-Language Pathologist with 16 years of experience.  She is. Graduate of Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida.  Mrs. Jackson has provided parent trainings on early language development and is an advocate for adequate early and special education in the public school systems. She has a passion for reading, college football and creating beautiful things. She is a wife and mother to three gifted young girls. Currently residing in Baton Rouge, LA., Ms. Jackson works for the East Baton Rouge Parrish School System as a Speech Therapist and Speech Assessment Consultant. 

Why Gifted Education Belongs in Public School

By Emily Villamar-Robbins, guest writer

I am a believer in public school.  Growing up, I attended public school from K – 12.  During law school, I explored the history of educational inequality in the United States, including segregation, desegregation, the risks of tracking, and inadequate school funding.  I believe that each of us has a civic and moral responsibility to

support and fund public schools, and that we must actively defend the right of every child to access a free public education.  I believe in diversity in education, and in the critical importance of equal educational opportunity for all populations.  

As you can imagine, when I had children, I planned for them to attend public school.  When my older son entered first grade, however, we faced a situation not uncommon for children identified by psychologists as gifted: without significant adjustments, the curriculum did not fit his development.  For him to learn in school, we needed help from our district’s gifted specialists. 

When a few family friends learned of his learning levels, some made well-intended comments:

“Public school won’t meet his needs.”

“Public schools have limited resources.  They can’t help kids like him.”  

While this may be the temporary reality in some cases, and especially in states without gifted education laws, I would argue that these statements are offensive:  many parents of children “like him” cannot afford alternatives. 

As parents and educators, we must work to shift perspectives. 

The decision to pull advanced children from public school is common, particularly in areas with inadequately funded schools.  Resigning ourselves to this practice, however, would reveal a terrible bias:  if we fail to hold public schools responsible for meeting advanced learning needs, we assume that (a) children from low-income backgrounds cannot be advanced learners, or (b) advanced learners from low-income backgrounds somehow have less right to learn than students with average academic development.  Experts know that intellectually advanced children are present in culturally, linguistically, and economically diverse populations.  We need increased research to improve methods of identifying giftedness in underrepresented populations, but in the meantime, we can already identify children in families unable to afford alternatives to public school.

If we permit public education to remain underfunded, and if we excuse schools from serving high-ability students, where does this leave gifted children from diverse backgrounds?

For students with any learning difference, flexible strategies and continued monitoring are often needed.  Luckily for my children, our state has gifted education laws, an advocacy organization for educators and parents, and state recommendations for serving gifted children in diverse populations.  We are lucky to live in a district with dedicated gifted specialists and administrators who work hard to identify and meet gifted needs in all populations.  Not all families are so fortunate.

Unfortunately, some education advocates have criticized gifted programs as elitist, unfairly blaming the concept of gifted education for disparities in school quality.  While any strategy can be misapplied or misused, research supports the need for gifted education:  just as children with learning challenges require different interventions, depending on their difference from the norm, children with extreme, advanced differences need curriculum modifications.  As much as we wish it were simpler, schoolwide approaches, in isolation, may not succeed with some learning differences.  Students with extreme differences – including the ‘gifted’ – exist at all income levels. 

To succeed in our commitment to equity and the needs of all students, education advocates must find common ground.  As educators, parents, researchers and lawmakers, we must advocate for improvement in public education as a whole, and we must increase efforts to better identify students with learning differences in diverse populations.  At the same time, we have a duty to advocate for programs, professional development training, and interventions needed for students with all types of special needs and differences – including gifted needs. 

About the Author

Emily Villamar-Robbins is a graduate of Harvard Law School, and she is a parent to two gifted sons from a diverse cultural heritage.  Part of her legal work has involved serving as a staff attorney at Legal Aid and representing clients living below the poverty line.  She currently volunteers in support of local education in Texas, and she is a candidate for graduate certification in gifted education.  She is a contributing author for TheFissureBlog.com, an innovative resource on education and the evolution of learning.

INTERESTED IN WRITING FOR WEAREGIFTED2?  CONTACT Dr. Joy Lawson Davis at profjoy1022@gmail.com

The Strength of Parent Advocacy: Tips for Getting School Districts to Recognize Gifted Children of Color

Today's post is written by: Adeyela Albury Bennett, parent & guest writer

It hurts that my brilliant eight-year-old twin daughters were denied access to Gifted Education services in our public school district. It also hurts that my daughters’ teachers view their loquaciousness as a behavior problem, rather than as a sign of giftedness. I am taken aback when my children’s knowledge of Arabic language and culture is dismissed. I am crushed that a teacher rated my twins low on a creativity checklist, yet recommended one of them to display her artwork at a prominent jazz and arts festival. I have sleepless nights when my twins’ unorthodox responses to essay prompts meet with a large, scarlet “F.”

My daughters are clearly gifted, but yet to be recognized as such by the school system. So, yes, I used to cry.

But, like Fannie Lou Hamer, I grew weary of crying. I grew sick and tired of my girls being left out of special school programs that, ultimately, would provide them with a more positive educational experience and put them on the fast track for scholarships to prep schools and Ivy League universities. Armed with divinely inspired wisdom, knowledge, understanding -- and courage -- I am now fighting back against inequities at my daughters’ school. Instead of crying, I now pray … and advocate on behalf of my children, and all children of color, who are brilliant and creative, yet unrecognized as gifted.

Nationally, six to ten percent of the population is intellectually gifted, according to the National Association of Gifted Children (www.nagc.org). Sadly, children of color are dreadfully underrepresented in Gifted Education programs. In fact, white children with identical standardized test scores in math and reading as Black children are twice as likely to be placed into gifted programs, according to a recent study by researchers from Vanderbilt University (Grissom & Redding study)

                                                

At our daughters’ school, a significant number of students in kindergarten through Grade 5 at our school have been identified as gifted. The overwhelming majority of the gifted students are white, either Caucasian or Hispanic white. Most of them attend gifted classes all day, but some are enrolled in the full-time Extended Foreign Language program, and study in Spanish and English

Here are six tips for parents who want their children considered for their school district’s gifted program services:

1. Cultivate a positive relationship with teachers and administrators. Get to know your School Board representative and become active in the Parents Teachers Association. Be visible at the school. Teachers can be your greatest ally or worst enemy in your quest to have your child recognized as gifted.
 
2.       As early as Kindergarten, request for your child to be tested for gifted. Keep a record of all communication. If you have the economic means, also consult with a private psychologist, preferably of the same racial and/or cultural background. Prep your child for the IQ or Ability Test evaluation. Find out the minimum Ability Score OR full scale Intelligent Quotient score your state requires for gifted placement. However, they may have to meet additional criteria, such as high academic scores on the report card and standardized tests, and high scores on the teacher-rated gifted characteristics and creativity checklists.
 
3.       Prior to meetings with school officials, request advanced copies of student records to be discussed. This gives you a chance to review the data for accuracy, and prepares you to intelligently discuss your child’s education. Take a knowledgeable family member, friend or advocate with you to take notes and lend support at meetings.
 
4.       If your child doesn’t qualify, find out why. Know your rights to appeal. Find out if the IQ instrument used by the psychologist is culturally appropriate. Also, check for inconsistent or disparate scores in the psychological report that could indicate a disability that may qualify for federal Section 504 Accommodation. Closely review the teacher-rated checklists, because they are subjective. Be aware that districts generally fail to provide teachers with adequate training on identifying gifted characteristics.
 
5.       Network and form alliances to stay abreast of scholarly research and news articles about gifted education. Seek advice and support from school educators, academics, parents of gifted children, religious organizations, social media bloggers and civic groups that focus on education equity issues.
 
6.       Speak up! Attend advisory council meetings. write elected officials and the school superintendent to report any discrepancies in the process. Write newspaper editors, and radio and television stations to tell your story

We must ALL do our part to ensure EQUITY and ACCESS in Gifted Education!

Adeyela Bennett is a parent, an international educator and social justice advocate. You may contact her at adeyela1@gmail.com.