I have an 11 year old child who attends a public school in Georga and
is extremely gifted in math. What do you do when an advanced math
class is not enough and bumping up a grade level is not enough because
he learns at  an accelerated rate?  What options are out there for
my child?

Hi,

Both of my daughters were "gifted" and I know what you are going
through. Sometimes you wonder if it really is a "gift." There are a
lot of resources for your family out there. Georgia has many excellent
programs.

Your first line of action should be to speak to the teachers,
counselor and principal of your child's school. They may have access
to local information or be willing to set up a special program within
the school setting.

In my daughters case they set up an after school program for several
of the brightest students to offer both accelerated and enriched
materials. The kids loved it - even though it meant staying after
school and the teachers enjoyed working with the group. It's fun to
teach kids who are eager to learn.

Not all schools have the resources to set up this kind of program. You
may have to go out of the school to get the educational resoures that
your child needs. The schools are mandated to provide an educational
setting that provides for the needs of special children. Whether the
"specialness" is being at the high or low end of the IQ curve, the
needs of the child must be addressed. The problem that parents of
gifted children run into is similar to any other parent of a special
needs child. You want to have your child's educational needs met while
not causing any social stigma to be attached to him or her. Social
acceptance is so important to a preteen, and very few want to be seen
as a "nerd." That's another reason to have the counselor at the school
involved in the discussions.

http://www.gagc.org
The Georgia Association of Gifted Children is an advocacy group in
your state. They have regional representatives
(http://www.gagc.org/map.html) who are active in your area. COntact
them to find out what other parents in your area are doing. Networking
is still the best way to get both information and action on taking
care of your child's special needs. There are always some programs
that are better than others and these are the people who can tell you
which ones worked for their kids.

Take a look at the resources page while you are on the site. There are
plenty of links to other programs.

http://www.tip.duke.edu/tipweb/programs/map/index.html
The MAP program is offered by Duke and Georgia is one of the states
participating. The enrollment for this year is closed, but they also
offer a 7th grade talent search which you should look into if your
child is now in 6th grade. You may want to contact the program
directly. They offer many " Learn-On-Your-Own" programs that you may
be able to access. Their Educational Opportunity Guide lists resources
for gifted education in the states that are covered by the program.
You can order one at:
http://www.tip.duke.edu/tipweb/resource/EOG-Order-Form.pdf
Duke University TIP 
Box 90747 
Durham, NC 27708 
Phone: (919) 684-3847 

http://www.doe.k12.ga.us/sla/gifted/faq.html#what
The Georgia Department of Education has information on programs
offered by the State. There is a Gifted Education Specialist, Dr.
Sally C. Krisel, who can be contacted if you need additional
information.

The Governor's Honors Program
(http://www.doe.k12.ga.us/sla/ghp/ghp.asp) is a special summer program
that is offered by the State of Georgia.

www.jhu.edu/~gifted/
The Center for Talented Youth at the Johns Hopkins University is
another resource that provides some great opportunities for gifted
kids. One of the fun things my daughters did was take the SATs in 7th
grade. Yes, I said fun. They actually enjoyed it. The scores on the
test may qualify your child for special programs through the
University. The least it will do is provide an opportunity to get
familiar with what the SAT is like - it can't help but improve the
scores in high school when it counts for college admission.

If you are in the Richmond area:

http://www.richmond.k12.ga.us/gifted/testing.htm
There is a pull out program that provides enrichment for gifted
students in the area. The link brings you to the page for nominations
for the program.



The bottom line is that having a special needs child is exciting and
frustrating. Getting in touch with the people in your area who are
working for the best programs for talented children will give you
peers - other parents who are having many of the same experiences and
who can offer both information and support.

I have to tell you that the best part of having gifted children is
that you more than likely will have gifted grandchildren - being the
grandparent of a gifted child is a whole lot easier... all the pride
and enjoyment without the responsibility :-)

Make sure you keep the supply of hugs stocked. It's not easy being
different when you are a preteen and a teen. A hug from mom or dad can
go a long way to keeping your child on track through this bumpy time.

Search terms: "gifted programs" math Georgia

Good luck!

bcguide-ga

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Request for Answer Clarification by needinfo40-ga on 04 Sep 2002 22:33 PDT

Thanks so much for replying to my question.  You gave so much helpful
information.  I would also like to know if there is a math software
program that allows students to learn at their own pace.  If this
exists, do any Georgia schools use this for advanced students in place
of the regular classroom?  Or are there any suggestions for math
software programs to be used in the home?  Also, would it be helpful
to have an IQ test to be able to participate in some of the programs
that you mentioned?

---

Clarification of Answer by bcguide-ga on 05 Sep 2002 12:04 PDT

There are hundreds of math software programs that allow self paced
learning. The problem would be to determine how good they are and how
they match up with your child's attention span and interests. Remember
that school is the same as work to a child. How would you feel if you
were good at your job and in return you were given extra work to do?
Any additional enrichment activities need to be fun or you'll be
providing a negative reenforcer for your child.

Luckily, most gifted kids really enjoy learning new things, so as long
as the presentation is kept interesting, the expanded knowledge base
is it's own reward.

http://www.cty.jhu.edu/cde/
The Gifted and Talented Program at Johns Hopkins has a Center for
Distance Education that provides self paced math courses:
http://www.cty.jhu.edu/cde/
They are tuition based and are not inexpensive, but they provide
software and tutors for topics that may need more support than the
computer provides.

Again, contacting your local rep from the gifted association will be
the best way to find out what schools in your area are doing and what
tools they use.

As far as IQ testing goes, your school should provide that at no cost
to you if you feel that your child has special needs that are not
being met. Most of the programs for gifted kids don't look at IQ. They
focus on scores on standard tests. Some will accept the top 5% others
will only take the top 1% or 2%. Many need teachers or principals
recommendations.

I found that, as a parent, I spent a lot of my time being an advocate
for gifted education. Issues like allocating school bus transportation
to local gifted programs and funds for enrichment activities are often
not included in district budgets. Parent groups do get listened to -
but only if they have enough of a base to warrant attention. Become
familiar with the teachers and the school's resources. Ask other
parents of gifted kids what their schools are doing and lobby for
quality enrichmnet and gifted programs through your PTA.

You may run into other parent's resentment. It seems that you already
have a gifted child and you are asking for special treatment. For
parents who are struggling with their child getting basic mastery of
the work, you may seem to be a greedy person. The best quote I've
heard was in response to a school administrator's comment that there
really was no need for all the fuss because "cream always rises." The
answer was - "Yes, but it also gets sour if you just leave it alone."

The brightest and most gifted kids may shine in the classroom, but if
they are bored and not stimulated, they will lose interest in school
and that is a loss to all of us. Just as the kids on the low end of
the IQ curve have special needs - the kid's on the very top find the
work in the "average" classroom not suited to their abilities. In both
cases if there is not attention to the "specialness" of the child it
results in frustration and eventually, poor performance. Many of the
dropouts come from the ranks of the most gifted.

So get involved in your community's gifted groups and help raise
awareness and get those school dollars pointed at the needs of the
group your child is in.

If you want to look at some of the other software programs, try a
search with:
georgia gifted math computer self learn paced.

Good luck and keep the comment below in mind. Enjoy - they do grow up
soooo fast!

bcguide-ga

I was very pleased with the answer to my question. Any other
suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Hello, needinfo-ga

  When I read your question, I immediately thought of a group in my
town, called the Math Institute. It was inititated in response to the
same concerns you have expressed…..an extreme talent in Math with
“nowhere to go.”

 The Math Institute evolved out of the Institute for Advanced Study in
Princeton, NJ. If there is nothing offered like this in your area,
perhaps you will be willing to take the initiative and start a group.
First off, take a look at the home page for the Math Institute at
http://mathforum.org/pcmi/ and see if it looks interesting. Notice
that they do mention middle schools students in their target group. .
Secondly, go to http://www.math.purdue.edu/generalInfo/newsletter/summer98/article04_ias.html
for some more inspiration. A toll-free call to the Institute
headquarters in New Jersey, found at
http://www.admin.ias.edu/ma/default.htm,  might be a first step in
finding out how you can inititate some programs in your area. Since
your son is only eleven, it might be worth your time to get a small
group started, as he has another six years to go before graduation!

 The “Math Gifted” Resource page at
http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/math_gifted.htm might also give you some
starting points. You might want to find a copy of “Jane and Johnny
Love Math”, described as a “Guidebook for Educators and Parents of
young math “whizzes.”

 Enjoy your gifted child. They grow up too soon!

I don't know if this was mentioned, but some universities allow very
young students to attend their classes.  My boyfriend was extremely
advanced in mathematics and physics and attended a university
throughout his junior and high school years.

Claudietta