1、A Parents Guide to Gifted IEPs and GIEP Meetings,Information sources: Todd McIntyre, Wayne Mery, Jayne Rauenzahn and PAGE website,A parents right,If you think your gifted childs experience in public school could be better matched to their needs, then you need to know how to make it better and act up
2、on that information. Through the GIEP (Gifted Individualized Educational Plan), you are part of the team that will help facilitate the needed changes your child requires in his education.,What is a Gifted IEP?,A properly individualized Gifted IEP offers a clear drawn roadmap to both gifted education
3、 and regular education teachers on how to help the gifted child benefit meaningfully throughout their week in class.,Gifted IEP Team,Parent Teacher: classroom and/or gifted teacher District Administrator: someone who has the power to make decisions.Parents are equals with education professionals as
4、members of your childs gifted education team. You are the ONLY member of the team asked and REQUIRED to approve your childs proposed plan. Knowledge about your role and responsibilities makes you a better partner with your district, not an adversary.,Public Information,There is considerable amount o
5、f public information available to the parent of a gifted child in PA. This includes Chapter 16: Special Education for Gifted Students and a variety of websites such as www.penngifted.org, www.hoagiesgifted.org, www.pagiftededucation.info, www.nagc.org and www.pde.state.pa.us/gifted just to name a fe
6、w.,Concepts to Consider,For the purposes of education law in Pennsylvania the term “gifted” applies to a child who learns differently from most other children to require measures and methods beyond those used in the normal grade-level taken in the classroom.Kids who are different or learn differentl
7、y need something DIFFERENT, that is all.but not necessarily all the time.,A gifted childs educational strengths and needs must be determined by the GIEP team and specifically outlined in the GIEP.“Gifted” is not a program that the child attends, it is a plan to meet the specific needs of a gifted ch
8、ild.The GIEP “covers” the entire day, not just the portion during the pull-out program.,Gifted students have needs that cannot be met meaningfully using only the regular, unaltered education curriculum. The result is that GIEPs are, by definition, education plans individualized according to each gif
9、ted students needs.The “requirement to individualize” remains even when the student is among a grouped population of gifted students (clustered) or if the student participates in a gifted pull-out program.,Pull out programs are popular and common. But, by themselves, pull-out programs are not enough
10、 A child spends upwards of 95% of their time in a regular education classroom. Pullout programs must be used in conjunction with modifications to the gifted students regular education programming.,Common Mistake,Many parents enter the Gifted IEP meeting without a good understanding of their role in
11、the meeting. They believe they are there simply to approve a plan that has already been created, the contents of which cannot be modified. THEY ARE MISTAKEN! To be effective, it is important to understand why you are at the Gifted IEP meeting.,Knowing your role as a parent,At the end of the Gifted I
12、EP meeting, you, as the parent, will be asked to approve your childs GIEP. You are the one who says “yes” or “no” to the proposed GIEP. Therefore, you will need to help the GIEP TEAM create a plan that addresses your gifted childs needs. The GIEP meeting is a working session centered on your child,
13、not the pull-out curriculum. It is more than a presentation by the school district of “their gifted plan” to you.,If language (educational jargon) is used that you dont understand, ask for an explanation. You, most likely, are not a professional educator. In fact, it is a requirement within Chapter
14、16 and it is Pennsylvania Department of Education policy that the GIEP be free of jargon and easily understood. Ask questions until you understand what the proposed plan means to your child. It is in the educational professionals interest to make sure you understand the proposed plan.,Your preparati
15、on as a parent for the Gifted IEP Meeting,You must knowYour role in the process The parts of the GIEP itself How those parts relate to each other within the plan. Be familiar with the results of the tests given to your child to identify them as gifted,As a parent and member of the team, you need to.
16、,Bring your own ideas: what do you think your childs strengths, weaknesses, needs and interests are. This is the time to identify issues and offer suggestions for discussion Point out an educational need that is not being addressed. Address the issue that your child is not being challenged in a part
17、icular subject/course or pull-out program. If you are concerned about your child improving his/her study habits, say so. Work with the team to develop a plan that seeks to improve a skill (organization, class participation, perfection issues, etc) Lastly, dont forget to ask your child for good ideas
18、. They might surprise you,At the end of the meeting you will be asked to sign a Notice of Recommendation Assignment (NORA). The NORA allows the District to implement the proposed Gifted IEP. In effect, you are giving the permission to the District to begin providing the educational services. It is o
19、ften considered to be good practice NOT to sign the NORA at the meeting. Take some time and think about whether the plan being proposed fits your child. Ask for a copy of the proposed plan with all comments added to it during the meeting to take home with you. According to Chapter 16 you get five (5
20、) days to decide if a proposed GIEP is appropriate for your child if it is presented to you at the end of the meeting. You have ten (10) days to decide if your District mails a copy of the proposed GIEP.,Parts of a Gifted IEP,Present Levels of Educational Performance Goals Short Term Learning Outcom
21、es Specially Designed InstructionsThe sections ask: Where is the student now? Where does the student need to go? When do they get there? How are they going to get there? What do they need to do to get there?,Section 1: Present Levels,Chapter 16 calls for Present Level of Educational Performance (PLE
22、P) to be established across all academic areas for the gifted student. The students present level needs to be established on an as needed, or, at a minimum, on a yearly basis.,Sections 2-3: Goals & Short Term Outcomes,Goals must be meaningful and “make sense” with regard to the overall plan for your
23、 gifted childs education. Goals need to be specific to your child, not given to your child because the child is part of a group. Goals themselves do not need to be specific and measurable. The Gifted IEP must allow time and provide resources for the student to have the opportunity to reach the plans
24、 goals.,Section 4: Specially Designed Instruction (SDI),This section provides a general “catch-all” way to match the classroom experience to your childs particular needs. The SDI Parents section is where specific issues or challenges your gifted child faces with their schooling are addressed. This i
25、s the area used to address opportunities such as: Leadership Literature circles Access to high level reference books Independent study Working with a partner Learning contracts Logging of a childs workThis section of the GIEP gives a teacher room to use these requests where and in a manner that real
26、ly makes sense,Regular Education,The regular educational classroom is a critical environment where meaningful instruction can make all the difference in a gifted childs educational experience. Areas to Modify/Differentiate Content (related topics to add depth) Resource Product/Response/Outcome Skill
27、 (thinking)/Level of question Pace,Teachers cannot deny the Gifted IEPThe most effective way to have an appropriate plan developed and implemented is to involve regular education teachers in the GIEP process. If a teacher refuses to implement the plan, (for example the GIEP calls for differentiated
28、homework, pre-testing, or alternate class work and it is not done) then you must immediately reconvene the Gifted IEP team to address the issue or go to Due Process to have the plan implemented. If a teacher objects to the GIEP, they can add their written objections to the record.But the GIEP as pro
29、posed by the GIEP team and approved by you MUST be implemented.,Regular Eduation teachers can read all sections of the GIEP.Teachers need to understand what is in the GIEP of a student in their class. There is no FERPA or any privacy restriction preventing any regular or gifted education teacher fro
30、m looking at all sections of a childs GIEP.If you think your childs teacher is not aware of your childs GIEP, ask the teacher.,The Gifted IEP in Action,As the school year progresses, it is your job to make sure that the plans incorporated into the GIEP are being implemented into your childs educatio
31、nal experience. The plan developed may fail the child, but the child does not fail the plan. If that happens, reconvene the Gifted IEP team, discuss the problem, assess the situation, consider alternatives, and work out a solution that is appropriate for the child. In effect, you modify the plan. Parents can request a GIEP meeting at anytime. It doesnt have to be solely an annual event.Questions?,
