Iprc

[kathymuggle]

My DD has an IPRC determination meeting scheduled for next Thursday. I did not ask for it - the learning Resource specialist did at the beginning of the year when we shared with them her WISC scores. I am glad it is happening and I would have asked for it anyways (but perhaps not this early).

She has been out of school for years (HSed, and in quite a relaxed fashion). Her grades have not been overly great thus far - she is transitioning into school and does not always give the teachers what they want (examples: she has lost marks for everything from not centering the title, to not showing her work in math). She also has some gaps - although the only area this is relevant is math.

I am worried they are going to try and argue she should not have an IPRC because of her average marks - although they only have 6 weeks of school to go on.

Just needed to vent.

If anyone has any words of wisdom on IPRC, I am all ears.

Kathy

[ollyoxenfree]

You have WISC scores that support a gifted designation? Is there a psychologist's report in addition to the bald scores?

I'd argue that a gifted student who is producing "average" work suggests that there is a disconnect between the student and the work she is asked to do and possibly (probably) the instructional methods being used. So if anything, average marks support a need for an individual education plan or some sort of differentiated curriculum.

If you are concerned that the school will object or throw obstacles in her path, I'd try to marshal some support:
- psychologist's recommendations, if there is a psycho-educational report
- pediatrician's report - if there are emotional or psychological components that might be in issue, or some other factors in play (vision etc.)
- teacher's reports (doesn't have to be her current teacher, if there are courses she's taken elsewhere)

I don't have articles at my fingertips, but I'd imagine you wouldn't have to look too hard on Hoagies to find some stuff about gifted underachievers and gifted students who don't produce top marks, if you think it would help with the IPRC.

As for the process with the school, I'd ask for information in advance about who is involved and what their roles are, so you can prepare yourself. Probably the principal and the teacher, possibly special education resource specialists and school board psychologists will be involved, but it's nice to know who the players are before you walk into a meeting with them.

I'd want to know what options are available, so I have some idea of what is possible and what is probable.

I'd also try to have a clear idea of what I want and what my child wants from the process. I imagine you are thinking about differentiation, but there are a few things that can be tried. You may have some preferences or some ideas that the school hasn't considered.

Good luck.

[kathymuggle]

Testing placed her in the 98% percentile on the WISC V. She also did a WIATT - which placed her about 1-2 grades ahead...but this was a few years ago. I think she would easily place ahead in Language arts, but may place at grade level in math. She has some gaps, although in some areas (mental math and number sense) she is very strong.

She hit the ceiling on some areas - in visual-spatial processing she was over 99%, but scored in the average range on work speed.

There is a typed report and recommendation were made by the psychologist.

I must admit I feel badly about the whole situation. She has HSed since grade 2 (she is now in grade 7) and we, as a family, value creativity and thinking skills. We do not value conformity (at least not for the sake of it) or other things the school want her to have/be. Example - she has lost points on things for colouring improperly in English class, not centering the title, not showing work, not giving the teacher what the teacher wanted even thought the teacher was wrong . Maybe if we were more school at homey (and not so loosey-goosey) she would not be going through this now. OTOH I think loosing points over not centering properly is a load of cr@p. I think it is a load of cr@p for all 7th graders - but particularly for one who are adult levels in some areas (she writes a blog and most people do not realise she is a preteen). Of course, I have undoubtably passed on my issues with schools to her - but it is hard to value centering the title.

FWIW, she chose to school for social reasons. She wants to hang out with more people. She does like art, music and science.

[joensally]

They likely have a deadline by which they need to get their plans into the board office. Having been provided with a WISC showing giftedness, they may be obligated to set up a plan if the parent consents, and they may assume that you want one.

Just guessing though, based on what happens here.

[ollyoxenfree]

Well, 98th percentile meets the gifted criteria of a lot of school systems, so you should be able to find out if that's the case for your school. The psychologist's recommendations will help too, as well as the WIAT results.

You could attend the meeting with an approach of saying since it's well established that she's an exceptional learner, the real question isn't "is she gifted?", it's "what do we do now?" The focus should be on what's the best way to address her educational plan.

You can be ready to point out that she's adjusting to school-ish expectations about how to present her work (titles, showing her math etc.). That should improve fairly quickly (or not, my kid still turns in messy work that doesn't show how he got the answer and he's had years of schooling, lol). Those are work process issues though, not a matter of gifted academic ability.

For the meeting, it may help to prepare a brief, one-page summary that you can use to prompt yourself. Use headings and brief bullets for points you want to emphasize. Likely issues are:

1. Gifted designation - WISC and WIAT scores, psych report, etc. all support identification
2. Academics - strengths and weaknesses. Distinguish between substantive content and actual knowledge and skills vs. 'messy' work issues. Discuss how to identify the gaps (you mentioned math) that may be relevant in the short term.
3. Adjustment to school issues
4. Plans - various differentiation methods - pre-testing, independent learning programs, subject acceleration, grade acceleration, etc., anything you'd like to discuss. The plan should cover both how she will fill in any relevant gaps and how to keep her engaged and challenged with subjects where she is advanced.

If you think the meeting isn't going well or you feel pressured to agree to things, don't be afraid to state that you want a little time to consider before any decisions are made. Ask for copies of any paperwork or documents that they want you to sign, and let them know that you'll get back to them quickly. Don't sign any consent forms if you aren't ready to confirm that you agree with whatever plan is proposed. The only problem with doing this is that it may delay implementing any plans or entrance to any special programs, if that's a possibility.

HTH, good luck again.

[kathymuggle]

Thanks - it does help.

Kathy

[kathymuggle]

Mini-update: The IPRC is done and she has one.

The meeting was painless - I did not have to advocate at all - and we even had 10 minutes at the end of the meeting to discuss any issues we are having (DD is having some math issues).

It went really well and I have to learn not to borrow trouble, lol.

[emmaegbert]

Originally Posted by kathymuggle

It went really well and I have to learn not to borrow trouble, lol.

great!

[joensally]

Excellent.

[ollyoxenfree]

Great to hear, thanks for the update!

BTW, I think there's a difference between borrowing trouble and being prepared. From your posts, you seem to be open-minded and pragmatic about your DD's school experience while wanting to make sure her best interests are served as much as possible. She's lucky to have you in her corner .

[cyncyn]

Glad it went well!