2023 Back to School Newsletter

August is here, and everyone is headed back to school! We are so excited to see your students again. I am pleased to be back for my second year and look forward to continuing to grow our supports for gifted learners. This issue of our newsletter will hopefully provide some basic information to help get you started in the year and point you toward resources to help answer any future questions. As always, please do not hesitate to reach out if we can be of assistance.

We are also happy to welcome two new faces to the gifted team this year. Shanna Mann will be the new GATE teacher at Goshen Lane and Royal Manor Elementaries. Ms. Mann has been a teacher in GJPS for several years and is making the switch to her new role as a gifted intervention specialist. I am confident her love of problem-based learning and overall enthusiasm will engage our students in fantastic ways. We also are happy to have Michelle Bennett join us as the new GATE teacher for Lincoln and Jefferson Elementaries. Ms. Bennett is an experienced gifted educator and comes to us from Reynoldsburg. She has taught multiple grades and subjects, nearly all of which while working with gifted learners. Her range of experiences will bring a fresh perspective and be a great match for our gifted learners.

Fall is a great opportunity for a refresher on the basics of gifted identification and service in Ohio and GJPS.

Key points to remember about gifted identification:

• Identification is governed by Ohio law and rule. GJPS is obligated to follow those laws exactly.

• Students can be identified as gifted in superior cognitive ability, reading/writing, math, science, social studies, creative thinking ability, and/or visual/performing arts. You can read more about each area on the Ohio Department of Education website.

• Once a student is identified as gifted in Ohio, they remain identified as gifted regardless of future test scores.

• GJPS screens all students in grades 2-11 for gifted identification at least twice a year in reading and math. GJPS screens all students in grades 2 and 5 for gifted identification in superior cognitive ability and creative thinking ability.

Key points to remember about gifted services:

• Although gifted services are not required by Ohio law, GJPS offers formal gifted services to students in some areas in grades 3 through 12 who meet pre-determined criteria.

• GJPS is obligated to follow our published criteria exactly.

• High school gifted students may participate in services as they choose to enroll in Advanced Placement or College Credit Plus courses aligned to their area(s) of gifted identification.

• A Written Education Plan (WEP) is provided each year for students who are participating in a formal service. These usually are ent to family emails in late September or early October. Students who do not receive formal services will not have a WEP. However, our teachers differentiate classroom instruction based on learner needs, even when students are not served in gifted programs.

Back to school season can sometimes bring out two reactions from students: declarations of boredom or anxiety related to new challenges. Both reactions are very common as gifted learners get back into the routine of school and adjust to new classrooms and, in some cases, new gifted services.

The first few weeks of school are a period when teachers are getting to know their students and vice versa. There is time spent creating a classroom community, creating routines, and assessing students’ prior knowledge. As a result, there may not be immediate learning opportunities that align to the learning level of gifted students. The difficulty level of work usually increases after a couple of weeks.

If, after a few weeks, your student continues to report they are “bored” in school, it is time to do a little more digging. The first step is to ask your learner to explain their feelings using a word other than bored. Students use the word bored to mean many things, so it can be difficult to get to the heart of the issue. Bored might mean the work is too easy, or the work isn’t interesting. Or, the word “bored” could be a cover for a child who feels disconnected from classmates or friends or who feels overly challenged but doesn’t want to admit it. Asking your learner to use a word other than “bored” to explain what is happening will help you know better how to support your child moving forward.

The other feeling your student might have is stress from being overly challenged. This is not uncommon among learners who are in a new Gifted Service or Honors or Advanced Placement class for the first time. If learning has not required a lot of work or if the student is used to understanding new content right away, they might feel stressed when they are in a class that requires more effort or practice to understand what is being taught. Your student may tell you they are stressed from the challenge, or they may claim they are bored. They may spend hours trying to keep up with work or may avoid submitting work altogether so as not to be wrong.

The initial temptation for many caregivers is to remove their learner from the stressful situation. But, we encourage families to wait it out. Things usually settle down within 4 to 6 weeks. And, if the stress from the challenge remains beyond that, the next steps would be to work with the teacher to provide some supports to help the child learn the study skills and perseverance needed to be successful in the class. If, after 9 weeks or so, those supports are not helping, then removing the student from service may be an option to consider. But, it is rare that time and supports are not able to help a student manage the feelings of challenge.

Whether your student is claiming to be bored or overly challenged, it is important to take the time through questioning and conversion to dig deeper and better understand exactly what the learner is experiencing and why. Then, reach out to their teacher(s) to discuss how everyone can work together as a team to best support the learner. Teachers want your student to succeed and will be your first helper in making school a meaningful experience for your learner.