[Gary, 16 february 1994 on CompuServe] Thanks for all the responses to my original posting. To recap, our son has been identified as gifted since the first grade. Each year has been a continuing struggle to get the school system to do anything other than identify. Several teachers, in fact, were very harsh with him because his creativity and intelligence lead him to complete work differently than was typical for his peers. There were several pull-out programs which he did participate in during elementary school. Some were very good, many suffered due to lack of funding. This year he has started at the Middle School, and has been having significant problems fitting in. Our town is very athletically oriented, while our son is not. When young he had a vision problem which left him with no depth perception, a definite drawback in almost any team sport. After much effort and discussion with the school administration, we had him tested by the school psychologist. He scored in very superior range -- 99.7%tile. The psychologist was very helpful, and seemed to genuinely want to help. She said we should consider private school, that we should look for things offered in the community for him, and that he is capable of college level course material. She also agreed that if his scores were the mirror opposite of what they are, he would qualify for and be given any needed services including assistants etc. When asked if she would provide a list of other identified gifted students to facilitate networking, she could not due to confidentiality laws. When asked if she would contact identified gifted students and let them know such a group was forming, she said the administration would have to approve it first. Needles to say no one ever got back to us with an answer. We then had a PPT (Program and Placement Team) Meeting. The objectives were to review testing and status and develop action plan (the last objective added by us). The first 3/4 of meeting was spent reviewing his current grades. Each teacher took pains to point out that our son has been acting inappropriately, although none of the behaviors was really a problem. They said that he would stop when spoken to, and that he is very pleasant and cooperative, and that it just appears as if he is trying to get attention. When asked if this were a change, they said no, even though at the last PPT they said he was not disruptive at all, just prone to staring out the window in his own world. All indications were that his grades were at the highest levels when measuring knowledge and/or what he had learned, somewhat lower when measuring homework and administrative tasks. Teachers said he worked very well with adults, but had problems interacting with his peers (which we have known since kindergarten when he had the vocabulary of a fourth grader). The final phase of the meeting started with the Director of Special Ed (DSE) saying "The school is obviously not obligated to do anything for him . . ." We then spent about 15 minutes brainstorming various variations on the theme of how can we give him more/different homework. We discussed the scheduling options. We raised the possibility of him taking some computer classes at the high school. The DSE said that was out of the question. When asked why, she said that they were not about to hire a bus to take him back and forth. When we said that we would deal with the transportation issue, she agreed to see if there were any opportunities in that regard. We asked for someone to act as a mentor for him, they offered 5 minutes in the morning for him to check in with one of the teachers. We asked if there was anyone in the school who was skilled in computers and could help him (he has expressed an interest in computer programming). We were told that no one has time. We asked who would be responsible for finalizing and implementing the plan and got no definitive response. We tried to expand the discussion of alternatives, but the DSE cut the meeting off saying we were out of time, and if we wanted to talk any more we would need to schedule another PPT. We began this process (this year) in September. It is now mid February and he is still in the same classes, still being picked on by athletic students at the other end of the intelligence spectrum, and the process is becoming a full time job for us! We are obviously very frustrated. Private school is not really an option, the economic recovery has not arrived yet here in CT! What really gets me is the unfairness of the situation. As several of you have confirmed, were he DIS-abled the system would be falling all over itself to provide him with services. Since he is EN-abled, they are obviously not obligated to do anything for him. The future of this countrys ability to compete in a world economy is predicated on the maximization of our most precious resource, the brains of our children, yet we are unable to even get him a bus ride across town to take a computer course! We, at this point, see two viable options. The first is to develop a grass roots program funded/staffed by parent volunteers; the second is to form a political lobby strong enough to obtain attention to the special needs of the gifted child equal to that spent on the challenged ones. Suggestions and/or comments, either via the forum of private E-Mail would be welcome and appreciated. --- Gary, I've followed your message thread, and I sympathize with you on dealing with the school system. Our son, who is now 8, was also tested in the first grade and identified as gifted. We were naive enough in the months following the revelation and review of the test results to wait for the district to do something, anything to help our son. Only through frequent meetings, direct involvement in the classroom, phone calls, pressure. etc. were we finally able to move things along. I agree with you completely on the two options you outlined. Both my wife and myself are now currently involved with the formation of a parents advocacy group for the local district, and we have proposed linking with other local G/T groups to share resources and to form a political alliance. I believe the Cserve medium is an excellent way of forging a national clearinghouse of G/T activities/ legal updates/ etc. Count us in! We'll let you know how we are progressing with our local implementation. BTW, we are in a suburb of Columbus, Ohio. Lee and Kim Edwards --- Gary: Your situation sounds like chapter and verse of what we have just gone through with our 13 yr old son (albeit we are evidently in a much smaller school district), right down to the transportation to high school classes debacle. Our ultimate response was to pull him out of school, with the district's cooperation (and, I suspect, profound relief) and home school. We have just begun this and are floundering through the initial period, but we can already see a happier, calmer, much-less-stressed kid emerging - and wonder of wonders, he's enjoying the learning process again. This, of course, may not be an option for you, but I just wanted you to know that this same failure-to-serve-the-needs-of-the-gifted stretches clear across the country (we're in Oregon). Good luck. Marsha ---