Blog | School Year Status Checklist for the Parent of a Gifted Child

Our 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.

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.

There is still plenty of time to take the steps to ensure that this school year will be happy and productive for your child.

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.