Not unlike the average family, each of my kids has their own special talent. My oldest, Rachel, proved to be an accomplished artist and has turned out to be an amazing photographer. My youngest, Justin, is an engineer at heart. The boy can take apart and put back together things well beyond what he should be able to do. And my middle one, Courtney, is a little braniac; particularly when it comes to verbal and reading skills. She started talking at one and hasn’t shut up since, in fact.

We knew very early on that this was her gift. Well before her second birthday the stack of flashcards she could read had grown to several inches and by her third birthday she was reading entire books. And I don’t mean the ones with 3 words per page. Of course, she was also the most “attitudinal” of our three kids. I often joke with my wife that Courtney got my brains and her attitude. Then I duck to avoid whatever she throws in my direction. It only makes her mad because she know its true. <ducks>

Because of that attitude, we were a little concerned when we got called in for a conference near the beginning of her kindergarten year. Expecting the worst, we met with her teacher who, as it turns out, wanted to talk to us to get permission to have Courtney tested and evaluated specifically in reading. Of course we said yes. Now, as a frame of reference, the school’s target is to have kids reading ‘level four’ books by the time they reach the end of kindergarten. Courtney’s tests revealed that she was reading somewhere between level seventeen and twenty-one at the beginning of kindergarten. We knew we’d have our hands full trying to keep her engaged when we saw the results but her kindergarten teacher was exceptional and managed to keep her involved by doing things like having her help other students or sending her to read with students from higher grades. Thanks to her, Courtney remained engaged and excited about school.

Which brings us to this year; first grade. Against all odds, Courtney landed in a class with not one, not two, but five other gifted readers, all reading somewhere above level twenty. Her teacher was shocked because some years she doesn’t even have the one like that; but it worked out well because the kids in that little group could work together without having to make special arrangements and all of them felt less singled out. Courtney was at or around the top of the group still, reading at something nearing level thirty, but not anything like the experience in kindergarten.

Each year when they do the standardized tests some of the students are accepted into the gifted program here called FOCUS. With that comes advanced curriculum with classes including “chemistry, zoology, Shakespearean studies, algebra, and persuasive writing” among other things. Keep in mind this is only the elementary school stuff. The program here is exceptional I’m told and it is far from easy to get into. In fact, very few kids make it in while in first grade. Most of those who ultimately get in the program do so as a result of testing in third or later grades.

Now, like I said, Courtney is a smart kid, but we knew several very, very smart kids who were a year older than her who didn’t make it in last year. If the criteria for entry were just reading she would be a ringer, but it is much broader than that. You have to rank in the top few percentile in mental ability, achievement, creativity and motivation, so it isn’t all just test scores. With that in mind, and the fact that I never thought her to be particularly ahead of her peers in other areas of study we weren’t holding our breath on her getting in. I mean, sure she talks like a high school kid and it has been several years since we’ve been able to s-p-e-l-l stuff around her, but I didn’t think she wasn’t more proficient than her peers at, say, math.

Well, it doesn’t take a psychic to see where this is going, I suppose. We went to a conference with her teacher last week and learned that she had, in fact, been accepted into the FOCUS program. In fact, she was the only one of those six bright kids in her class and one of the few from her entire grade to make it. We are super proud of her, of course. It is killing her that she isn’t allowed to talk about it at school, but she will get over that.

I don’t believe in driving kids hard through school, but I do believe in bringing the work up to their level. She is still one of the most sociable kids I know. She has a large group of friends and gets along with them as well as any first graders do. I think she is, if anything, too well adjusted.

I am excited she got in because she needs a challenge and I’m not sure the standard curriculum would give her that, although I now find myself wondering how long I will be able to help her with her homework. I also find myself wondering what the future holds for her. She isn’t used to being challenged in school. The work has always come too easy for her.

Oh, well. Only time will tell, I suppose. All I can say is that I am excited for whatever the future holds for her. The same applies for all my kids of course. All of them are in such different places in life. I’m getting to know my little buddy better as he becomes the person he is going to be and I’m getting to know my oldest as she becomes an adult and I like what I see in both cases. But for today, just for today, I am especially proud of my six year old teenager. Good job, baby.

/g