I'm curious about how testing and appeals went this year, and specifically if procedural modifications mean we will see an increased diversity in next year's cohort. I've been wondering if there is some way to get a good data set about who is testing in and how they fair in the program.
I have two kids in this program. It has its limits, especially socially. All is not lost if your child doesn’t get it. She may be better off in the early years being exposed to more kids with varying personalities. In high school, anyone can take AP classes. This is where it all matters for college anyway. I remember what a big deal this was to me when my kids got in, but now that we’ve been through it, it’s not that big of a deal, and I wish they could have just walked to the local elementary school and played more in the afternoon instead of being on buses a lot of the time. Just my two cents.
That is definitely a valid line of thinking, but I wonder if the success from the social-emotional benefits of the cohort might not be going unrecognized in your assessment. One of the key things that sets gifted children apart is the different developmental timeline they follow. Gifted children hit key social development milestones at different times in life, sometimes different by years, and when these children are in environments without other gifted peers, those milestones are missed.
These milestones include relationship- and friendship-building skills that, if missed during critical developmental windows, can become permanent social deficits leading a whole range of social and mental-health challenges well into adulthood. Gifted children often do share interests with age peers, everything from sports and Pokémon to My Little Pony and Captain Underpants, but differences in analytical depth, perspective, or ancillary interests also cause alienation and isolation from age peers that in turn limit social interactions and developmental milestones. When a developmental peer group is available to a gifted child, then there is room for social-emotional development to happen fully but on the gifted children's own, different timelines. When only an age peer group is available, that social-emotional development may be stunted or absent, causing long-term problems. So I would caution that the benefits of having a developmental peer group may thus be invisible if social-emotional development ends up appearing "normal," which is the goal after all. Still, many gifted children can hit developmental milestones without developmental peers: every child is different, so what works for a few may not work for most.
Remember also that the social-emotional development of gifted girls can be quite distinct. Gifted girls are often better at making social adaptations to fit in, in ways gifted boys cannot and do not, but this comes at the expense of gifted girls' needs as gifted individuals. All girls but gifted girls in particular are at acute risk of a sudden and dramatic decline in self-confidence by middle school age, and social problems and isolation are commonplace. This field of research has become much more fleshed out in recent years. I recommend this Davidson Institute survey as a good starting point: http://www.davidsongifted.org/Search-Database/entry/A10256
The good news is that the different social-emotional development timeline typically catches up and evens out with age peers by high school age, so if milestones are hit in elementary and middle school, high school can be much easier socially.
However, you are right that "all is not lost if your child doesn't get i[n]." So long as parents have alternative ways of encouraging social-emotional development with access to developmental peers while key developmental milestones are being hit, all is certainly not lost. I worry mainly about lower-SES and lower middle class and minority students who go unidentified as gifted, however, because no one will be looking out for these issues for them. Lack of access to gifted programs harms those children most since their families are least able to provide alternatives.
I agree with Simone "That is definitely a valid line of thinking, but I wonder if the success from the social-emotional benefits of the cohort might not be going unrecognized in your assessment."
My kid walked to elementary school etc. It had its benefits but socially it was extremely difficult. We realized when the kid entered HC in middle school what a difference it made. There were lots of friendships and other HC kids in middle school HC pathway school who were far less judgemental of my kid.
So interesting as so far in high school those same elementary school kids ignore my kid and don't say hello, like they did not even go to elementary school together. Middle school HC friends were split everywhere for high school, so needed to start new. In neighborhood (non HC pathway) high school the new friends also happen to be HC qualified kids who went to a different HC middle school. Somehow they found each other even with all the other kids in the mix. However, if some of those kids would have been at the neighborhood elementary school maybe it would have been a different experience.
DECLARATION OF NO CONFIDENCE IN EMILY BUTLER GINOLFI OF WASHINGTON MIDDLE SCHOOL Dear Superintendent Juneau, We, the undersigned parents and caregivers representing a cross section of the community at Washington Middle School, present this declaration of no confidence in the leadership of Emily Butler Ginolfi, the Principal of WMS. WMS parents began the school year excited to work with the new Principal on her stated goals. We share her sense of urgency that each and every student at WMS receive a great education. However, over the course of this school year, we have lost confidence in Principal Butler Ginolfi’s ability to effectively lead the school and its community in pursuit of those goals. The events of the school year have created a deficit of trust that we don’t believe can be overcome. We are concerned that we are headed toward significant departures of both teachers and families, which will make progress even harder to achieve. But there is still time to retain teachers and families if you act immediately. We ask for a change in leadership and that you begin to search for a new principal for the 2019-20 school year. WMS requires a leader who is an experienced community builder and problem solver with demonstrated success in bridging diverse needs within a community. WMS has an amazingly strong staff, student body and community of families, and our school has the potential to become a model for how to raise the achievement of all students. We would like to collaborate with you to move forward and engage in the important work of building an inclusive school that meets the needs of all its students. We are saddened that we have lost confidence in Ms. Butler Ginolfi, but we cannot envision becoming the school we want to be under the current WMS leadership.
13 comments:
Bad news or good news?
I'm curious about how testing and appeals went this year, and specifically if procedural modifications mean we will see an increased diversity in next year's cohort. I've been wondering if there is some way to get a good data set about who is testing in and how they fair in the program.
I have two kids in this program. It has its limits, especially socially. All is not lost if your child doesn’t get it. She may be better off in the early years being exposed to more kids with varying personalities. In high school, anyone can take AP classes. This is where it all matters for college anyway. I remember what a big deal this was to me when my kids got in, but now that we’ve been through it, it’s not that big of a deal, and I wish they could have just walked to the local elementary school and played more in the afternoon instead of being on buses a lot of the time. Just my two cents.
@Anonymous
That is definitely a valid line of thinking, but I wonder if the success from the social-emotional benefits of the cohort might not be going unrecognized in your assessment. One of the key things that sets gifted children apart is the different developmental timeline they follow. Gifted children hit key social development milestones at different times in life, sometimes different by years, and when these children are in environments without other gifted peers, those milestones are missed.
These milestones include relationship- and friendship-building skills that, if missed during critical developmental windows, can become permanent social deficits leading a whole range of social and mental-health challenges well into adulthood. Gifted children often do share interests with age peers, everything from sports and Pokémon to My Little Pony and Captain Underpants, but differences in analytical depth, perspective, or ancillary interests also cause alienation and isolation from age peers that in turn limit social interactions and developmental milestones. When a developmental peer group is available to a gifted child, then there is room for social-emotional development to happen fully but on the gifted children's own, different timelines. When only an age peer group is available, that social-emotional development may be stunted or absent, causing long-term problems. So I would caution that the benefits of having a developmental peer group may thus be invisible if social-emotional development ends up appearing "normal," which is the goal after all. Still, many gifted children can hit developmental milestones without developmental peers: every child is different, so what works for a few may not work for most.
Remember also that the social-emotional development of gifted girls can be quite distinct. Gifted girls are often better at making social adaptations to fit in, in ways gifted boys cannot and do not, but this comes at the expense of gifted girls' needs as gifted individuals. All girls but gifted girls in particular are at acute risk of a sudden and dramatic decline in self-confidence by middle school age, and social problems and isolation are commonplace. This field of research has become much more fleshed out in recent years. I recommend this Davidson Institute survey as a good starting point: http://www.davidsongifted.org/Search-Database/entry/A10256
The good news is that the different social-emotional development timeline typically catches up and evens out with age peers by high school age, so if milestones are hit in elementary and middle school, high school can be much easier socially.
However, you are right that "all is not lost if your child doesn't get i[n]." So long as parents have alternative ways of encouraging social-emotional development with access to developmental peers while key developmental milestones are being hit, all is certainly not lost. I worry mainly about lower-SES and lower middle class and minority students who go unidentified as gifted, however, because no one will be looking out for these issues for them. Lack of access to gifted programs harms those children most since their families are least able to provide alternatives.
-Simone
I agree with Simone "That is definitely a valid line of thinking, but I wonder if the success from the social-emotional benefits of the cohort might not be going unrecognized in your assessment."
My kid walked to elementary school etc. It had its benefits but socially it was extremely difficult. We realized when the kid entered HC in middle school what a difference it made. There were lots of friendships and other HC kids in middle school HC pathway school who were far less judgemental of my kid.
So interesting as so far in high school those same elementary school kids ignore my kid and don't say hello, like they did not even go to elementary school together. Middle school HC friends were split everywhere for high school, so needed to start new. In neighborhood (non HC pathway) high school the new friends also happen to be HC qualified kids who went to a different HC middle school. Somehow they found each other even with all the other kids in the mix. However, if some of those kids would have been at the neighborhood elementary school maybe it would have been a different experience.
HS mom
Okay Benjamin it's been over 3 weeks what's the news?
Speaking as a moderator accused of Delphic inscrutability you'll have to wait a little longer. :)
DECLARATION OF NO CONFIDENCE
IN EMILY BUTLER GINOLFI OF WASHINGTON MIDDLE SCHOOL
Dear Superintendent Juneau,
We, the undersigned parents and caregivers representing a cross section of the community at
Washington Middle School, present this declaration of no confidence in the leadership of Emily
Butler Ginolfi, the Principal of WMS.
WMS parents began the school year excited to work with the new Principal on her stated goals.
We share her sense of urgency that each and every student at WMS receive a great education.
However, over the course of this school year, we have lost confidence in Principal Butler
Ginolfi’s ability to effectively lead the school and its community in pursuit of those goals. The
events of the school year have created a deficit of trust that we don’t believe can be overcome.
We are concerned that we are headed toward significant departures of both teachers and families,
which will make progress even harder to achieve. But there is still time to retain teachers and
families if you act immediately. We ask for a change in leadership and that you begin to search
for a new principal for the 2019-20 school year.
WMS requires a leader who is an experienced community builder and problem solver with
demonstrated success in bridging diverse needs within a community. WMS has an amazingly
strong staff, student body and community of families, and our school has the potential to become
a model for how to raise the achievement of all students. We would like to collaborate with you
to move forward and engage in the important work of building an inclusive school that meets the
needs of all its students. We are saddened that we have lost confidence in Ms. Butler Ginolfi, but
we cannot envision becoming the school we want to be under the current WMS leadership.
Happened upon a clue and think I figured out the news. If I'm right, yes, yes, yes!
Okay now just spill it. I really need some good HCC news.
Okay!?! I too need some good news.
Please do tell. I need some good HCC news.
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