gifted By A different Mary

Research actually does say that the gifted should be grouped together, rather than heterogenously. They should be grouped in clusters of all gifted kids, with 16-18 being the optimal number of students. While research supports mixed-ability grouping in most situations, the gifted actually do better and achieve more if they work with other gifted kids. The tendency in the regular classroom is to use gifted kids as tutors (I'm sure you don't do that, and I'm not suggesting you do) or to simply assume that since they're smart, they'll be fine (often not true). We have gifted sections in each grade in my school (middle school) and these kids move as a group through their whole day. I realize that sounds a little exclusive, but please remember that the gifted are as special as an LD kid--just in a different way. And we are getting amazing results with our GT program.

That said, I am still sorry that the parents at your school are being so hard to deal with. Just because they have gifted kids doesn't mean they can act any way they want to. What a pain.