Being thankful

I attended a workshop this weekend (13 Feb 2010) which was focused on the parents and teachers of advanced students. There were interesting discussions, and it was impressive to see the groups of parents organized to provide or procure academic services for their children.

Most of all, I came away pretty grateful for the infrastructure Houston ISD has put in place to serve gifted and talented children. It's not perfect, and I've written before about at least one way they can improve. In general, HISD can now get better by implementing routine assessments of gifted students and supporting their curricular needs on an individual basis, especially in the middle schools. They should also consider soliciting more feedback from parents, and implementing an assessment/feedback loop to improve their programs.

That said, we as parents in HISD are starting well ahead of the pack compared to some of the other nearby school districts. We have large clusters of gifted students and at least moderately accelerated curricula. Parents from smaller districts have a harder time; their children learn with fewer peers in their group, and their districts may not have the resources or desire to provide services adequate for their advanced children. From some of the comments I heard, I feel I've had an easier time keeping my kids academically challenged because of the support I've had from our school district.