The key thing to working with a system is to understand how it works, and what one's needs are, and what options exist.

Try to define what you mean by 'underserved' as specifically as possible when communicating within the system. Explain what needs are not being met, as specifically as you can as well. Try to find out what sorts of options are in place and do exist, and what options might be available even if not formally in place.

That information will help you to be clear and consistent. Clarity and consistency are essential when working through a bureaucracy. They may or may not be able to meet those needs your son has within a middle school environment or context. That depends on what his needs are.

This page address has what seems to be a personal story of one mother who got the opportunity to advocate for her son.
http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/asimovs_law.htm

That site has an extensive table of contents links at this address
http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/table_of_contents.htm

This is a site address which has parent info. It's from an association for gifted children.
http://www.nagc.org/ParentInfo/index.html

This site has online brochures about gifted learner concerns.
http://www.bctf.bc.ca/psas/aegtccbc/index2.html

And, this site address has lots of links to sites related to giftedness and issues in education and identification.
http://www.newhall.k12.ca.us/newhall/search/gifted.htm

Good luck, and be prepared to simplify and clarify what your son needs. That first link about what worked for one mother was apparently a 2 sentence statement. Aside from that, bureaucratic systems are conservative and will act to resist change and risk. Make clear what risks you will assume, if that gets to a problem for the bureaucracy. Be clear about your son's needs. (You might have to be stubborn, a bit forceful and so on but you can do that without being problematic about it. If there is a point where you need an advocate to help you help your son, contact the school district and see if they have an ombudsman.)

The key to understanding bureaucratic systems is to understand that they are set up to be organized structures which resist disturbance. Remain calm, clear, and state your needs. Even if one person can't help you (and that is often the case within such structures) ask them who does have the authority to make the changes you require. You might have to go stepwise through a few, or more people in order to find someone who can make those changes. It's an exercise in human endurance and patience but it can be done.

educate yourself about your area's educational services, and what rights children served by the school district have to get an idea of baseline requirements the bureaucracy is geared toward

Please keep in mind too that space is usually limited in classes for the gifted child. If there is only space for 20 in the program and your child is # 21 in the standings on tests, or whatever system they use for selection, he will not get in.

There will be 20 other parents that feel that their child needs enrichement too. A room built for 20 desks, will not stretch to contain 21. We went through the same thing when there was a change in school districts. The following year, a space opened up and he was admitted.

A great deal of enrichment for the gifted child can be done by the parent. You can suggest extra study, projects and reading goals. While I am not advocation Home Schooling, it is a good example of how the course of study can be enriched at home. It need not depend on the school time.

It is the parent's responsibility to see that the gifted child has his needs met. If the school is not set up to do it, do it yourself.

All children benefit from enrichment and parents should provide enrichment for their children regardless of whether the child is gifted or not. There was recently a thread where one of the posters made the point very eloquently about the difference between kids at the mean, and kids 2 standard deviations from the mean. I have included it below. I think you will all find it interesting.

It is the resposibility of the school district to ensure that special needs children receive an appropriate education, not the parents. If the OP lives in a state where an IEP is required for all special needs children then she will need to point out which parts of her child's IEP are not being met. The district is required to provide whatever is in an IEP, but not all states mandate IEP's for gifted children.

Good luck.

Mommabear

Here is a link that might be useful: Gifted child thread

Amygdala - I could kiss you! Thanks a million for the links, I have already started reading them, and they are great. Wish I'd had read them 3 or 4 years ago. The other advice is great, too. As Gomer Pyle would say, "Thank ye, thank ye, thank ye!"

Aileen - Thanks for your input. Fortunately, space is not the issue for our district. Your suggestion about enriching children at home is a great one - we have been enriching our children at home for several years and continue to do so.

I think the idea that it is completely the parent's responsibility to make sure the gifted child's needs are met is debatable. I would prefer not to get into that issue on this thread, as I feel it would distract from my primary concern. Please feel free to e-mail me privately if you'd like to discuss that, or maybe we could start another thread.

If anyone else has advocated for their child within the system or any educators have suggestions, chime in, please. I'd love to benefit from your words of wisdom!

Mommabear, my school district doesn't require an IEP for gifted children, so I can't use that to point out the flaws that way. I wish our school did require an IEP for gifted kids, I think it would help.

I have been reading that gifted child thread as posts were being added. It's one of the things that prompted me to post this thread here. I'm hoping there are some other parents who can give input, or educators like sheilajoyce who might share their insight.

I'm wondering if I should have added more details to my original post - just didn't want to bog everyone down in a long description.

Good. If space is not the problem, then you have the right, and the duty to see that your child is included or have the reason why explained.

We have the magnet school programs and SEARCH programs in place in this area of Georgia. They have turned out students doing remarkable work. But I have found that the final results in any grade depend on the skills of the teachers. Some "regular" class room teachers are far better in getting the child interested in special work and doing their best than some that have the training but lack the talent of getting the best out of the child. In some schools the gifted child program is laughable.

I hope that some day there will be enriched and individual programs for ALL the children. I really believe that the "average" child would profit more from it than the child who has had the good fortune to have interested parents. Too many are neglected by being overlooked in the herd. We can't afford to lose them.

Maybe our present governor will be able to force better performance from the schools that lack the foresight to use innovated methods for getting all of the kids to learn.

I'll get down from my soap box now.

Good luck with your problem. It may be too late for a change this year, but certainly, you should be able to get something done by next September.

What does your **child** want?? There is a lot of pressure to succeed/competition in these programs amongst each other! For a bored, gifted child, finally being able to work as hard as you are able to in a gifted program can be great, but....
I was in gifted programs in elementary & middle school, and felt very alienated from the other kids in my school...got sick of being in The Nerd clique.
I dropped the programs junior year of high school. They were very stimulating, but got I sick of the "teacher's pet" cr@p and 15 year olds planning what Ivy League school they were going to attend...

d5