The Tricky Task of Advocating for 2e Kids in Public Schools

Wyatt has a common story. His parents are divorced and he lives in a West Coast city of the United States with a population of roughly 200,000 (DADS, 2010). Over the past several years, Wyatt has experienced a move from one home — and school district — to another. Now Wyatt is a sixth grader who is in his first year being qualified for services as both highly capable and learning disabled.

Upon entrance into Wyatt’s new district and school (where I act as a state-funded reading interventionist), benchmark assessments were done to establish his level of proficiency for basic skills in both reading and mathematics. These assessments demonstrated that Wyatt was an advanced mathematician but also was among the lowest-scoring students in his grade level for reading performance. This resulted in his placement into a state-funded Title I-type program to support his reading skills.  Wyatt ultimately would receive reading intervention services for his entire fourth-grade and the majority of his fifth-grade life in his new school district.