School Year Status Checklist for the Parent of Gifted Child

Local schools have been in session for over a month now and most kids have gotten into the flow of their new routines. For the gifted or 2e child, it’s important to take a quick status check at this point to make sure everything has been or will be done to assure their smooth transition into the land of academia during this time.

Checklist

• Have you talked to your child about his/her new friends and pinpointed some potential friends in class if they have a hard time making new pals?
• Have you discussed positive versus negative behavioral traits so that your child understands what are the kinds of things to avoid doing that might get a rise out of teachers and/or other students?
• Have you discussed your child’s unique set of learning abilities, in both strengths and weaknesses, with all relevant teachers?
• Have you discussed creative ways to keep your child engaged with all relevant teachers?
• Have you discussed the previous school year’s successes and failures with your child’s teacher(s) so that there is a clear blueprint of what has worked and what hasn’t?
• Have you provided your child’s individual teachers, and anyone else involved on a daily basis with their learning, a list of contact options for you and an invitation to get a hold of you at anytime.

Although you don’t want to monopolize your teacher’s time too aggressively or tell a teacher how to run his/her curriculum, knowing that you are engaged and involved and there to collaborate is an important step in a teacher’s ability to be able to understand and engage your child and ultimately better their learning experience.

Dr. Dan Peters, Ph.D., is co-founder of the Summit Center (http://summitcenter.us/), which provides psychological and educational assessments and counseling for children and adolescents, specializing in the gifted, creative, and twice-exceptional.