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Post by puzzled on Oct 4, 2007 19:42:55 GMT -5
Lillian have you ever heard of something called a "WEP" (Written Education Plan) for gifted and talented students?
I went to the high school today to do a classroom observation in a computer lab for my computer class. My friend is the teacher, we used to carpool our girls to dance classes more than 20 years ago. Anyhow, I was telling her that Chase had been skipped to 7th grade pre Algebra this year, and she told me that this year, she was hired in as the new gifted and talented coordinator and that she was unaware that any students were bumped like that....she was planning on getting in touch with the middle school principal to see if there are any others that did similar things in any other subjects.
But, to get to my point, she said that maybe Chase should have a "WEP" which is a written education plan....I am assuming it is written down what the plan for his future is...? She says that she has found that the school is out of compliance with several things and that this is one of them. She was going to check further and get back to me. I told her that I was up for whatever she said I should do...and to call me if we need to have a meeting or whatever...
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Post by lillian on Oct 4, 2007 22:55:19 GMT -5
Hmm. I haven't heard of this, but I bet it's the "IEP" for gifted students that some states have. I suggest googling this with your state's name and seeing what you come up with. We don't have "IEP's" for gifted students in my state. If I remember correctly from research I did a few years ago, something like 1/3 of states do.
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Post by puzzled on Oct 5, 2007 5:55:23 GMT -5
She acted like that was what it was, and even said something about having one of these instead of the 504? I was listing the things that I have on Chase's 504. Then I brought up the fact that he skipped the year in math, and she knows he is in the E.D.G.E. Program, which is our gifted and talented program, so she told me about the WEP. I will google and see what I come up with, and if nothing, I will call that advocate that was so helpful to me on the phone before and see what she says about it.
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Post by puzzled on Oct 5, 2007 6:01:24 GMT -5
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Post by puzzled on Oct 5, 2007 6:08:40 GMT -5
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Post by puzzled on Oct 5, 2007 9:35:35 GMT -5
Called the advocate that was so helpful to me last year, and she had never heard of the WEP either! I explained what I presume it to be, and she and I are both concerned with making sure that the 504 accomms are included in it in the same way that they are in an IEP. She is going to put her librarian/researcher on the task and have her send me any info that she digs up, so I can be prepared...
This advocate is soooo helpful! I have called her twice now, and she patiently explains everything to me, sends me tons of info...all for free! LOVE HER!
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Post by lillian on Oct 6, 2007 0:35:20 GMT -5
That's a long PDF, so it's going to take me a while to read it  , but, so far, this caught my eye: "Areas to be included and addressed in the new WEP should include: present levels of achievement (including perhaps state academic benchmarks), areas of gifted identification, goals, individual student needs (particularly in areas of study skills and organization, behavior, and/or social/emotional development) and services. Profoundly gifted students, those who were grade-accelerated, and pre-school/kindergarten gifted students may need particular individualized attention in WEP creation and monitoring as well as planning appropriate services. The WEP process should be streamlined to maximize efficient use of teachers’ time by including as much computer-generated information as possible and using the district data base for annual updating. For most gifted students, no WEP parent conference is necessary and WEPS can be shared with classroom teachers by groups of students in their class rather than by individual. For occasional individual students, these conferences may be necessary and when they occur, the participants (which should include classroom and gifted teachers, counselor, parent, and gifted coordinator) and outcomes should be documented in the WEP. For twice-exceptional students, well-written IEPs can include gifted services but clarification is necessary that these are not legally binding or mandated as are the other special education services in the plan. The building level gifted intervention specialist should attend the IEP meeting." So, WEPS can be classroom plans and not individualized, and the WEP is not legally binding? I don't like the sound of either of those, but I'll continue reading. |
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Post by lillian on Oct 6, 2007 10:37:36 GMT -5
"A very clear theme that emerged from the survey along with the case studies is
the lack of communication with parents as well as overall involvement in the WEP
process. While the importance of parental involvement is often stressed at both district
and state levels, there is little evidence that districts encourage the input or even the
review of gifted student WEPs. This lack of involvement can, in part, be explained by a
reluctance to turn the WEP into a process approaching that of a special education
Individual Education Plan (IEP). But it is clear that parents can and should play a role in
the WEP process. The grant team has provided recommended levels of parental
involvement within the Draft District WEP Toolkit. State policy makers should review
whether it is appropriate to include within the Rule increased the role of parents in the
WEP process as other states have done. Level of Policy Change: STATE and LOCAL"
Don't like that, either.
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Post by lillian on Oct 6, 2007 10:45:07 GMT -5
O.K. I didn't read all of it, but I think I've read enough to advise NOT giving up a 504 Plan for a WEP. Since you can have an IEP and a WEP, why can't you have a 504 and a WEP? I would want to know this. There's nothing wrong with adding a WEP, though. If your friend is the GT Coordinator, and she's going to insist that WEPS are written and followed in the district, then that's a good thing because the PDF seems to indicate that the the problem is that WEPS are not being implemented and followed, but, if they were, they would be an effective tool for GT students. O.K. Just don't give up the 504!
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Post by puzzled on Oct 6, 2007 12:21:36 GMT -5
That is what the advocate said too. That unless the 504 could be kept with the WEP then don't agree to it. Since Deb is my friend, I know she will be straight with me on that point.
Thanks for reading up a bit, it is all greek to me....LOL
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