The Po Show

Enriched

Tessa has started what they call "small group enrichment" at school. They don't want to call it gifted ed., which seems to have become a loaded term over the years around here (NY is one of the few states in the country that does not mandate dedicated gifted education). So all kids receive "whole class enrichment" starting in kindergarten, and then starting in third grade there is some type of pull-out for "small group enrichment" for kids who qualify based on various criteria that I am still not clear about. Different school districts handle this differently, and some offer a lot more than others. They don't even let the word gifted enter the discussion (though "gifted" is a recognized educational term!) and phrases like "for children needing more of a challenge" are substituted. Whatever.

So this is the first year that third graders in our district have been introduced to the new program that was brought into fourth and fifth grade last year. The previous program was, well, not very much. This new program is much more comprehensive, and there are three strands (humanities, math, and visual reasoning) and kids have to qualify for each strand individually. Pull-out is four days a cycle (cycles are six days) for about an hour and a half. They do projects and make presentations. We were sent home a rubric that outlines the progress kids are expected to make in order to stay in the program, which was also discussed with the kids on the first day (Tessa's friend got kind of freaked out about that, I guess. She told her mom, "I can't get any checks on the right side of the page!" and it took the whole evening and morning to calm her down about it :(. ) For the first strand, they are doing humanities, and they are studying Shakespeare (!!). They are doing an adaptation of Midsummer's Night Dream and discussing how Shakespeare's plays reflected his times and how these contrast to our current times.

Tessa is very excited, and relieved, because she was afraid she wasn't going to get to be in the program. The notification letters were mailed out from school around Sept. 25, and we had not received one last week. A couple other kids in her class had, and her friend's mom called me to talk about the letter, but I had to say that we were still waiting. I just couldn't imagine a world in which Tessa didn't meet the criteria (she reads at young adult level and is above grade level in math, social studies, and science). I knew not many kids made it in (about 10 from the whole grade, which is about 85 kids), but I couldn't believe she wasn't one of them. I commented to her teacher after school on Tues. that we hadn't gotten a letter, and she assured me that it was probably coming, though she hadn't seen a list yet. Then on Thurs. as I picked her up, Tessa excitedly told me, "I started WINGS today!" so it was all fine. Of course on Fri. the letter arrived, which was odd, that it took a week to get to us, considering the school is half a mile away.

So it's all fine, but I'm left thinking about why I was so freaked out by the prospect that she wasn't going to be included in the program. I guess it's just because, since she was 18 months old, I've considered her very gifted. I've felt badly that we live in a place that doesn't have dedicated gifted education, because I think it would have been so good for her. I've been waiting for her to be in third grade, so that she could start small group enrichment, and I was so glad to see last year that the program was going to be amped up considerably. So there was a distinct mental grinding at the thought that she might not get into the program.

Also, and I'm willing to admit this, I love having a child who does so well in school. It's like having a mini-me, this bright girl who performs so well, and having all her teachers rave about her. Plus she has the added component of being socially adept as well, and it's a joy to see her blossom. I can't wait to see the things she gets to do in the small group, enriching for us both.