I am excited to welcome you to the Snoqualmie Valley Hi-Cap Parent group. As parents, we all want the best for our children, and we want to support them in every way possible. A parent group can provide a supportive community for both parents and children. Over the past couple of years, we have accomplished a lot through consistent ground level engagement. We have worked very hard to support our highly capable children and their families. From 1st Friday coffee meets, opinion surveys, newsletters and troubleshooting rideshare issues, to figuring out testing dilemmas for kid’s nominations – we are always there for you!
As you already know, this parent group is independent of any PTSA or School District, so it is focused solely on the needs of gifted families. One of our main goals is to encourage parent involvement because of the known benefits in student behavior, grades and overall success.
We also aim to become a registered non-profit this summer. This will allow us to provide resources and receive appropriate grants and donations towards supporting gifted children in our Snoqualmie Valley.
As parents you may already know that gifted children can face a variety of challenges, including self-esteem issues, perfectionism, and many social challenges. By coming together as a parent group, we can support each other and all our children as we navigate these challenges. The families in our group from the past 3 years will attest to how valuable this community has been for their kids and family as whole.
We also aim to advocate for standardizing the scope and sequencing for the STREAM Program since there isn’t one right now. High teacher turnover creates a lot of instability, and we urge that the district provide guiding documents that can be used by teachers to plan instruction when they are new to it. The district also needs to disclose progression across the grades in STREAM. We would also collaborate with the district on Hi Cap services in middle school.
The National Association for Gifted Children guides us on starting and sustaining a parent group to support gifted children. They suggest that parent groups can provide a platform for advocacy, support, and education for both parents and children. Together as a group, we can share our experiences, learn from one another, and work together to ensure that our children receive the support they need to thrive. This is why we are here. Join us so we can build this together for all our kids.
Thank you for consideration and I hope that we can work together to make this parent group successful year on year. I would like to thank you for your patience as we add more information and updates throughout this month and into summer. All your feedback will be really appreciated.
Farheen Al-Mishari