gifted kids not in Spectrum

[hopey]

I am fairly new to Seattle and this is my first time going through the school registration process. My stepson qualifies as “gifted” and was confirmed eligible for the Spectrum program. What we didn’t know was how hard it would be to get him into a Spectrum school!

For now he will be going to Sanislo, but he is on the waiting list for Lafayette Spectrum. How does Seattle Public Schools deal with these kids who are gifted and need additional challenges, but aren’t in a “gifted program”? How do these kids get the help they need?

Also, any success stories to help us feel more positive about being on the waiting list for Spectrum?

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[WSB]

Hopey, I answered you in the Sanislo thread too, but two quick things here:

-Re: dealing with gifted kids who are not in Spectrum (or APP) – It so completely depends on the school and teacher. There is nothing official outside of the potpourri of “ALO’s.” We spent 2nd grade in a “regular” program and it wasn’t pretty, but it turned out that the teacher was on the brink of retirement and she had just pretty much had it with everything and everyone. She was an interesting lady otherwise and if we had caught her earlier in her career, might have had different results.

-As I wrote in the other thread, we were on the Lafayette Spectrum waitlist until just a couple weeks till school started. It’s been a few years so I can’t remember – did they tell you where you are on the list (how far down)? Things can also change even after school starts. At the school we are now at (Spectrum middle-school program), three wait-listed kids turned up about a week into the school year.

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[GenHillOne]

I second the “depends on the school” philosophy. Sometimes, as LB points out, it can even depend on the individual teacher. You can soon check your place on the waitlist via the phoneline listed at seattleschools dot org enrollment page. At one point, I had them on speed dial. Things will change as others move, including those that may have applied to private schools. The choice set-up is far from perfect and I’m sorry you’re having to deal with its short-comings. Lots of the process doesn’t even make sense. My student was assigned to a school whose bus stop was a farther walk than the neighborhood school just four blocks away. In the end, it turned out to be a good experience with a little extra parental involvement and passage of time. I don’t know about grade school, but at the middle school level, non-spectrum kids can often still pick up an honors class if they are strong in that subject. That worked for us and perhaps it’s a little light at the end of the tunnel for the future.

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[karen]

Just because your child is eligible for Spectrum doesn’t mean that they will do best there. We were in Spectrum last year at Laffayette and it was a bad situation. Our child is in Gatewood and we are very happy with the challenges he is being given. I agree that it depends on the teacher and the school.

Spectrum is a very fast and challenging program but we found very little room for different learning styles in the program. Since our child is both “gifted” and “special” we did not find it to be a good fit.

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[Jerald]

It also can depend on the mix of kids in your child’s grade. Our older son stayed in a regular program for elementary because the kids as a group were “all above average” (like in Lake Wobegon). For our next child we could see the pace would be slower so we moved on to a Spectrum program the following year.

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[suzanne]

I have 2 children, one who tested into Spectrum and one who tested into APP. We were very happy with our neighborhood school (Arbor Heights) and did not want our kids to change schools, so we kept them at Arbor Heights the entire time. I wish there were more opportunities for gifted children at EVERY school since I am a strong believer in neighborhood schools. We decided to move both kids into Denny Spectrum in middle school and we’ve been happy with that decision. Our kids have still been challenged, but are close to home and are having a great time.

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[tippy]

My two children are currently at Lowell. It was a difficult decision to move them from Lafayette and the agonizing decision took two years. It was the right decision for my children however. The idea of community which has been discussed in this thread is the heart of the matter. The definition of community is the point of difference. Lowell is a very tight community. When we first arrived the term “cohort” was bantered around but I just didn’t get it until after the first year. “Cohort” being community. The bond that the kids have there is different than the bond I saw at Lafayette. However, it could be the age and peculiarities with my children. Whatever the reason, I am glad we went.

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