2018-2019 Information:
Parent Education Opportunities for families with students that have been identified Gifted:
Parent Engagement Meetings: Roper is looking for a Parent Representative for these Meetings. If you are interested in Representing Roper at these meetings, please let me know. You will receive Emails indicating topics, times, and locations from the Gifted office at LPS. I will need your email and phone number when you respond. You may respond to Rich Aust and raust@lps.org.
Parent Forums: These meetings are held several times a year and are topic based. Parents of Gifted students are invited to speak on the selected topic and there is opportunity for discussion with families that may be having similar experiences. Parents receive Flyers with information about these meetings via email.
Parent Night at Roper: This year we will be working with other nearby schools to provide parents of identified students information about students with visual spatial strengths. This same information will also be presented at the parent forum on January 17 at Pound Middle School so that if you have a conflict, you will still have access to the information.
Our local meeting will be held at Elliot Elementary at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, October 9, 2018.
Supporting the Student with Visual Spatial Strengths
If your child loves Legos, thrives on taking apart the vacuum cleaner, and struggles with math facts, you may have a student whose strengths lie in the visual spatial realm. These students are often confusing to teachers and parents, because the constellation of their strengths and weaknesses may seem inconsistent. These are big picture thinkers who frequently do not relate to the sequencing that many other populations habitually require.
Presenters will discuss how this population navigates the world and how to draw upon their strengths and support their weaknesses.
Challenging students to reach their fullest potential is what we strive for here at Roper. For some students this requires a more challenging, higher level of curriculum. Students who exceed district expectations in the areas of reading and math may be considered for the gifted program.
Often times students that demonstrate High Academic Abilities can “Try On” the gifted curriculum for a period of time to see if regular placement is appropriate. This time can vary from student to student. This “Try-On” period allows students to experience the curriculum and the teacher to evaluate their success. When parents and teachers agree that a more challenging curriculum is appropriate for students, there are 4 different ways a student can be identified as gifted and receive the Gifted Curriculum. These options are explained in detail below.
-Option 1- Data Gathering; This process involves collecting a great deal of information related to the student. We collect progress reports(regular and gifted), work samples, notes from small group discussions, parent feedback, and assessment scores. All of this information is compiled and reviewed by our Data Gathering Committee, including parents. The Data Gathering Committee, which has representatives from each grade level, ELL and Specialists, determines if placement in the program is appropriate.
-Option 2- Individualized IQ Testing; This process includes receiving parent permission to have a school psychologist administer an IQ test to determine placement in the gifted program. Students taking an IQ test can qualify for the program in a number of ways. Having a General Ability Index or GAI of 130 or above, Verbal Comprehension score of 130 or above in conjunction with a GAI of at least 120, Fluid Reasoning of 130 or above in conjunction with a GAI of at least 120 or higher, Visual-Spatial score of 130 or above in conjunction with a GAI of at least 120 or higher. This process can also be used to qualify students as Highly Gifted. A student qualifies as Highly Gifted if they receive a GAI of 145 or higher, Verbal of 145 or higher with a GAI of 130, Fluid Reasoning of 145 or above with a GAI of 130, Visual-Spatial of 145 or above with a GAI of 130.
-Option 3- Steering Request; The district steering committee hears requests concerning students who are already identified as gifted and whose scores are close to the requisite scores of 145. The facilitator will bring additional evidence of highly gifted status.
-Option 4- Transfer Students; When students arrive from another district in which they were already identified as gifted, we first determine the extent to which the program and the identification measures were similar to those used at LPS. Documentation of that status should be sent to the Supervisor of Gifted Education.