Carly the Smarty

Yesterday our baby (not so much of a baby anymore) was tested for the gifted program at her school. I should soon have her test results, and from there we can make the next decision. :) We are also speaking with a "Gifted and Talented" coordinator from another district here in Ohio, and she believes, based off her assessment, that Carly should skip the 7th grade next year. Breeze right on by to 8th. If we do go that route, this spring we will be investing into education material at the 7th grade level...just to be sure we are making the right choice.

The process to get tested was a bit of a challenge for us, but we MUST be her advocate...her voice. Niki was on and off the phone all day on 2/18/09 with a woman from Carly's school telling her that Carly NEEDS to be tested for the gifted program. Carly is an extremely talented, bright young girl. If you know our baby personally, you understand where we are coming from. On the flip side, the woman from Carly's school was very hesitant because she was looking at state test scores from Arizona (which we admit are very questionable). Keep in mind that when Carly was in the 3rd grade (scores they are basing her 'giftedness' from), she was in a combined 3rd/4th/5th grade class at a charter school. Integrity Learning Center is a poor example of what schooling should be, IMO. Overall, we were upset by the quality (or lack there of) of education that was given to the students. The students more or less ran the class, and watched movies all day. Don't get me wrong, we met some very nice lifelong friends there, but the education was not so good.

We have explained everything in great detail to Carly--but for pete's sakes, she know what's going on anyways--and she has voiced her thoughts on the idea of being challenged further and/or skipping grades. Both of which she says that she is OK with...she is actually displaying excitement. Both verbal and physical cues indicate that she is ready (and needs) this transition.

Hopefully the news comes in soon. Niki can hardly sit still! Anxiousness has always been a flaw!