This blog is for parents in Winchester, MA and surrounding areas, who are interested in finding and sharing information and resources to help our children reach their full potential
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Gifted and Talented in the News
This thread is to help compile the latest news in the area of Gifted and Talented, as a whole and within Winchester itself
An update as to where the district stands with G & T is as follows:
. In the fall, we tried to fill a part-time G & T position. On both occasions, we were unable to identify a suitable candidate. Due to budgetary constraints in the FY12 budget, we are not able to support a G & T position (and other positions including an elementary librarian position and additional art/music/physical education positions needed to support increased enrollment at the middle school) for next year. All involved are concerned about the FY12 budgetary constraints which includes a projected $2-3M deficit in the town budget.
Please be assured the district will continue to its efforts to offer a K-12 educational program that addresses the needs of all learners with special attention being placed on helping teachers to differentiate the curriculum and meet the needs of gifted and high achieving students. Thank you for your continued commitment to educational excellence.
All involved wish there was better news to report on the budgetary constraints.
From: "Council for Exceptional Children" Date: March 7, 2011 7:57:25 PM EST Subject: The Education Secretary wants to hear from you!
What’s the one question you’d ask U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan?
As Congress prepares to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (recently known as No Child Left Behind), U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan wants to answer your questions!
CEC will collect your questions between March 7 and March 14, then present a representative sample to Secretary Duncan, who will respond via e-mail to all CEC members.
Don’t miss this opportunity to become part of the national conversation around education reform! Send your questions to AskA...@cec.sped.org by March 14.
Council for Exceptional Children | 2900 Crystal Drive, Suite 1000, Arlington, VA 22202 | 888-232-7733
Over in Batavia, Illinois, the school board is considering a curious gifted education proposal. The idea, according to this article, is to get rid of the pull-out program (basically, 50 minutes of advanced math per day) and instead, have one gifted class per grade level.
So far, so good -- here at Gifted Exchange, we definitely prefer homogeneous grouping to enrichment pull-outs, and expanding the gifted concept to mean more than just math.
But then things get interesting. Because these gifted classes aren't actually going to be homogeneous. According to the article, "Each 'gifted' classroom would include all the gifted children in that school at that grade level, plus a mixture of high-achieving and average students. Low-achieving students would not be assigned to those classrooms." The purpose of this, according to Associate Superintendent Jan Wright is to "narrow the range of abilities in those classrooms." But, I guess, not be too narrow.
My first thought is that this was odd, but the more I think about it, the more it seems like a relatively reasonable compromise. In this era of fiscal tightening, no gifted education proposal will be accepted if it costs more money. All must be budget neutral. If there aren't enough gifted kids in any grade to fill a full class, in order to be budget neutral, other kids would have to be assigned in. But by aiming the median slightly higher, you'd avoid some of the challenges of meeting a more diverse range of abilities. A full-time gifted class, even if the median isn't in the gifted range, is still better than pull-out.
That said, there are other options for a school district that could be budget neutral too. If there are only enough gifted kids for half a class, you can combine grade levels (so a 3-4th grade gifted class -- and maybe a 3-4th "regular" class too if that makes the numbers come out right... ) Or you could combine 3-4-5th grades, even if it meant a slightly bigger class size.
From: Rhonda Cohen [mailto:rcohen@winchester.k12.ma.us]
ReplyDeleteSent: Friday, January 14, 2011 5:40 PM
Subject: Re: G&T update
Dear Catherine,
I hope this correspondence finds you well.
An update as to where the district stands with G & T is as follows:
. In the fall, we tried to fill a part-time G & T position. On both
occasions, we were unable to identify a suitable candidate.
Due to budgetary constraints in the FY12 budget, we are not able to
support a G & T position (and other positions including an elementary
librarian position and additional art/music/physical education
positions needed to support increased enrollment at the middle school)
for next year.
All involved are concerned about the FY12 budgetary constraints which
includes a projected $2-3M deficit in the town budget.
Please be assured the district will continue to its efforts to offer a
K-12 educational program that addresses the needs of all learners with
special attention being placed on helping teachers to differentiate the
curriculum and meet the needs of gifted and high achieving students.
Thank you for your continued commitment to educational excellence.
All involved wish there was better news to report on the budgetary
constraints.
Let me know if I can be of further assistance.
Rhonda
Rhonda Cohen, PhD
Assistant Superintendent
Winchester Public Schools
154 Horn Pond Brook Road
Winchester, MA 01890
Office:: (781) 721-7006
Fax: (781) 721-0016
From: "Council for Exceptional Children"
ReplyDeleteDate: March 7, 2011 7:57:25 PM EST
Subject: The Education Secretary wants to hear from you!
What’s the one question you’d ask U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan?
As Congress prepares to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (recently known as No Child Left Behind), U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan wants to answer your questions!
CEC will collect your questions between March 7 and March 14, then present a representative sample to Secretary Duncan, who will respond via e-mail to all CEC members.
Don’t miss this opportunity to become part of the national conversation around education reform! Send your questions to AskA...@cec.sped.org by March 14.
Council for Exceptional Children | 2900 Crystal Drive, Suite 1000, Arlington, VA 22202 | 888-232-7733
From the Gifted Exchange:
ReplyDeleteNarrowing the Range
Over in Batavia, Illinois, the school board is considering a curious gifted education proposal. The idea, according to this article, is to get rid of the pull-out program (basically, 50 minutes of advanced math per day) and instead, have one gifted class per grade level.
So far, so good -- here at Gifted Exchange, we definitely prefer homogeneous grouping to enrichment pull-outs, and expanding the gifted concept to mean more than just math.
But then things get interesting. Because these gifted classes aren't actually going to be homogeneous. According to the article, "Each 'gifted' classroom would include all the gifted children in that school at that grade level, plus a mixture of high-achieving and average students. Low-achieving students would not be assigned to those classrooms." The purpose of this, according to Associate Superintendent Jan Wright is to "narrow the range of abilities in those classrooms." But, I guess, not be too narrow.
My first thought is that this was odd, but the more I think about it, the more it seems like a relatively reasonable compromise. In this era of fiscal tightening, no gifted education proposal will be accepted if it costs more money. All must be budget neutral. If there aren't enough gifted kids in any grade to fill a full class, in order to be budget neutral, other kids would have to be assigned in. But by aiming the median slightly higher, you'd avoid some of the challenges of meeting a more diverse range of abilities. A full-time gifted class, even if the median isn't in the gifted range, is still better than pull-out.
That said, there are other options for a school district that could be budget neutral too. If there are only enough gifted kids for half a class, you can combine grade levels (so a 3-4th grade gifted class -- and maybe a 3-4th "regular" class too if that makes the numbers come out right... ) Or you could combine 3-4-5th grades, even if it meant a slightly bigger class size.