Letter to the Editor: Have your academically strong children tested for hi-cap

To the Editor:

Children in the Shoreline school system are offered hi-cap testing in first grade as a matter of course. All parents are asked to opt in or opt out for their children. Many children who are quite bright may not “test in” at this point, but may develop to the point of “testing in” over the next few years.

I have spoken with many parents who do not consider re-testing since they have no intention of moving their child to another school (specifically, to a school where a self-contained Highly Capable program resides). They feel their child is getting a good education where they are, and feel this is quite likely the case. However, with these parents, I would like to share the following information:

Children who “test in” to the highly capable program are not required to transfer schools. They have the option to stay at their local school, but their teachers receive additional training and their schools receive additional funding as a result of the HiCap status of the child. These two factors (training and funding) follow the child for the rest of their years in the Shoreline Public Schools system.

Please see the information below from the district website, and seriously consider re-testing your 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th (etc.) grade student if you feel they are academically strong. Our schools can use all the funding they can get, and every child deserves an appropriate education. (Deadline for registration is December 3 at 4:30pm.)

“Parents of students who qualified for the program have two options: 1) placing their child in the self-contained program, or 2) keeping their child with their age-alike class in their home school. Students who stay in their home school do not receive an individualized program, however, general education classroom teachers are made aware of the student's qualification and are provided training on appropriate learning opportunities for gifted students.


Once a student is eligible for the program (tested in), they are considered to be "highly capable" until they graduate. Shoreline receives highly capable funding from the state on a per-student basis. These funds are dispersed to the schools that house the students who have been determined to be "highly capable" (self-contained as well as students who stay in the general education program). As students move to the secondary level, the funding is allocated to their respective middle school or high school and used to support honors-level materials and activities.”

(quoted from http://learn.shorelineschools.org/spec/hprogram/index.php)

Johanna Polit

Shoreline