SEE - Support for Excellence in Education

News from Trenton, an influential educator, and Quest

2010-03-04T07:11:00.004-05:00

There have been some significant developments in recent weeks, both in Trenton and nationally, that have interesting implications for us in the Morris School District. Budget issues and education policy by definition impact on gifted and high-ability education, so we wanted to mention those issues here.

Let's start in Trenton, where Governor Chris Christie has announced deep budget cuts in education:

"Christie, who last week said school districts should prepare for up to 15 percent cuts, did not say today how much less aid municipalities should expect when he delivers the budget address March 16."
(From Gov. Chris Christie tells N.J. mayors to expect state aid cuts in upcoming budget, Star-Ledger)

Budget cuts are a concern to all parents of public school kids - especially when those kids are benefiting from a gifted education program, because those programs tend to be very vulnerable to the budget axe. But the good news: MSD Superintendent Thomas Ficarra told parents at an HSA meeting at Frelinghuysen Middle School on March 3 that there are no plans to cut Quest or other academic programs unless the municipal budget doesn't pass. In the past, we've done pretty well passing budgets, so that sounds positive.

On the policy front, Diane Ravitch, an influential educator who was a great supporter of standardized testing, charter schools, and the No Child Left Behind policy of the previous administration, has done a total about-face. She has resigned from the boards of two conservative research groups and now says she has come to realize that "faddish trends were undermining public education." She says that "requirements for testing in math and reading have squeezed vital subjects like history and art out of classrooms."

Ravitch's observation that "accountability, as written into federal law, was not raising standards but dumbing down the schools" resonates with parents of high-ability children who have been frustrated for some time with the emphasis on test prep in the classroom. In a climate where parents and educators have frequently complained that schools are far more motivated to get everyone to test at a minimally acceptable level rather than to allow every student to reach his or her full potential, Ravitch's public repudiation of No Child Left Behind is a welcome development. The question becomes whether her advice will be heeded, and if so, what will replace the hollow accountability standards of the past.

Ravitch explains her thinking in her book, The Death and Life of the Great American School System. (If anyone is reading the book, we'd love to read some discussion of it in our Facebook group!)

(For more information on Ravitch's change of heart on education policy, check out the NY Times article, Scholar’s School Reform U-Turn Shakes Up Debate, and this piece from NPR, Former No Child Left Behind Advocate Turns Critic.)

In our own backyard, Quest students from Sussex Avenue and Alexander Hamilton schools had an opportunity to learn about the hospitality industry firsthand by shadowing the professionals at the Hyatt Hotel. You can see them in action on the Sussex website here.

Quest information and some interesting articles

2010-02-17T10:35:00.006-05:00

One thing we commonly hear from parents of younger children in the Morris School District is that they didn't even know the district has a gifted and talented program called Quest, or if they did know, they hadn't heard any details. But now that the district has added a Quest area to its website, you have access to information about the program, including a brochure that provides an overview of the program and the evaluation process, as well as a detailed rundown of the curriculum for grades 3-5. You can find that information here.

And speaking of valuable information available on the Internet, the New Jersey Department of Education has a FAQ on gifted education that's just chock full of interesting tidbits about what is required under state law, like:

-- District boards of education must make provisions for an ongoing K-12 identification process for gifted and talented students that includes multiple measures...

-- All public school districts must have a board-approved gifted and talented identification process and provide services for identified students enrolled in the grades of that school district. The regulations require that identification and services be made available to students in grades K-12.

-- ...There is a misconception that schools are not required to identify students prior to grade three or that students who are new to a district must complete a state-mandated waiting period before they can be evaluated. That information is inaccurate.

The FAQ is well worth reading!

And here are some articles that are also well worth reading:

UI nets $1 million Templeton grant, expands acceleration policy initiatives

A $1 million grant from the John Templeton Foundation will allow gifted education researchers at the University of Iowa help students nationwide advance in school at a rate that matches their potential.

Obama to smart kids: No you can't

Last week, the Obama administration released their proposed budget. The education piece includes some interesting consolidations (a.k.a. cuts). While it was not unexpected that once again Obama eliminated the one source of gifted funding in the federal budget, the $7.5 million Javits Gifted and Talented Education Program, there were other cuts as well that negatively affect high ability kids...

In Maryland, gifted children are left behind

Unfortunately, Maryland does not fare well in its investment in gifted learners. For school year 2008-09, Maryland's investment in gifted and talented learners was zero. Additionally, there is no state law guiding the identification process, and data on the number of identified students and students receiving services is not collected.

President Obama proposes eliminating the only federal program for gifted education

President Obama's 2011 budget will increase educational spending overall by 6% but will remove the 22-year-old program for gifted education research and development. The Jacob Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Program will be consolidated with other programs which do not address gifted education.

Guest speaker Loretta Kumpf speaks about identifying giftedness and taking the next steps

2010-02-07T23:19:00.003-05:00

The subject was, “So You Think Your Child Is Gifted: Now What?” on February 2 when Loretta Kumpf, educator and vice president of publications for the New Jersey Association for Gifted Children, spoke at a SEE event. Judging from the audience response, the topic hit close to home for just about everyone present. It seems that so many parents, especially of children in the early elementary grades, are trying to figure out how to make public school education work for their high-ability kids.

Did you know that, under New Jersey state law, local school districts are required to identify gifted and talented students and provide them with appropriate instruction, beginning in kindergarten? If not, you’re not alone. Loretta emphasized that gifted education is mandated, and therefore parents should not feel reluctant to inquire about it.

Loretta reviewed some of the characteristics that commonly differentiate gifted learners from bright students. Some of these include the ability to draw inferences, to master material after only one or two repetitions, to manipulate information, and to hold strong opinions. Not all gifted characteristics are always positive, she explained. For example, the articulate gifted child may have a tendency to dominate conversations, and the perfectionist may avoid tasks for fear of not doing them perfectly.

Parents and guardians went home from Loretta’s talk with some valuable ideas about communicating with teachers and school administrators about their children's needs. She offered guidelines for approaching the parent-teacher conference (Plan ahead; Listen carefully; Clarify expectations), and questions to ask (What are the academic goals? How would you evaluate my child’s learning style? How can I help?). It's crucial to create a non-adversarial sense of teamwork between parents and teachers. It's extremely helpful to bring into the meeting specific ideas about how to address your child’s needs, but it’s important to be open-minded and to listen, too.

Many audience members seemed surprised at the idea of communicating with school administrators in writing to request a meeting about their child’s program and then to restate decisions taken at the meeting. The value of putting it in writing, Loretta explained, is to minimize misunderstandings and lack of follow-through.

During the question-and-answer session, some parents wanted more information about the Morris School District’s Quest program (which is for students identified as gifted, and which some parents of younger students had never heard of); SEE board members who were present did their best to explain the identification process, with its mix of testing and evaluations.

The SEE board is grateful to Loretta Kumpf for sharing with us the benefit of her experience and knowledge. In addition to her 35 years of teaching experience, 26 in gifted programs, as well as her current position as vice president for publications at the NJAGC, Loretta has given presentations at state and national conferences, and she has been named Educator of the Year by the NJAGC.

Some of the resources mentioned included:

Hoagies Gifted Education Page

Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted

New Jersey Association for Gifted Children

Great resource, great activity

2010-02-02T16:14:00.003-05:00

Now that more people know about our blog, I wanted to let our new visitors know about an excellent Web resource: Hoagies' Gifted Education Page. If you haven't checked it out yet, you really should. It's an amazing collection of information and links covering a wide range of subjects of interest to parents and educators alike. You'll find everything from the introductory "Gifted 101" page to conference listings to information on testing, home schooling, differentiation, and much more.

Also, here's a tip from SEE board member Teresa Mitchell on an activity your kids will love:

Someone at the office took their 12 year old to the Titanic Exhibition at the Discovery Times Square Exposition and just raved about it. As visitors to the exhibit, they got to assume the identity of one of the passengers on the ship and learn more about the ship itself, the voyage, etc. This particular exhibit closes on February 28th.

Through March 14th, guests can also visit Da Vinci's workshop -- this also looks really neat. Perhaps if any SEE members have taken in either of these, they might want to post a comment. For more info see
http://www.discoverytsx.com/nyc/ .

And a couple more links of interest. In my last post, I mentioned changes in federal education policy that are coming down the pike. I thought I'd provide some links to New York Times articles for those who would like to learn more:

Obama to Seek Sweeping Change in ‘No Child’ Law

After Criticism, the Administration Is Praised for Final Rules on Education Grants

One last link, this one from The Journal: Transforming Education Through Technology:

Is American Education Neglecting Gifted Children?

That last article is about a recent report that "found that gifted students are being neglected at all levels in the United States, from weak or non-existent policies at the state level to uneven funding at the district level to a lack of teacher preparation at the classroom level."

SEE to welcome guest speaker; MSD changes afoot

2010-02-01T07:46:00.007-05:00

A few things in this update:

1. We're very excited to be welcoming Loretta Kumpf tomorrow in a SEE-sponsored event open to all parents and guardians in the Morris School District. She will be speaking at Alexander Hamilton School at 7:30 PM on the topic, "So You Think Your Child is Gifted...Now What?" A gifted-education teacher for 28 years, parent and grandparent of gifted children, Loretta will discuss the steps parents can take to identify giftedness and to ensure their children get the educational opportunities and challenges that benefit them. Loretta spoke to our group several years ago, and her talk was so well received that we were extremely pleased when she agreed to come back this year. It's not too late to RSVP for the event - see your school e-mail for RSVP info, or RSVP from the event announcement on our Facebook group! (More info about our Facebook group in number 4 below.)

2. Dr. Thomas Ficarra, superintendent of the Morris School District, is scheduled to attend the Frelinghuysen HSA meeting on February 23 at 6:30 PM. One of the topics he's planning to discuss is the reorganization of the curriculum department and its effect on math, science, technology, Quest, etc. This is an excellent opportunity to find out what's going on in district administration and to get answers to your questions.

3. As you may have heard, Dr. Patricia Camp, curriculum director in charge of math, science, and Quest, among other things, is departing. The SEE board has appreciated the opportunity to work with Dr. Camp on a variety of issues, and we wish her well in her future endeavors.

4. We've been wondering, and you may have, too, how changes in education policy at the federal level are going to affect gifted and high-ability education, school policies, and our own district in general. You'll find a couple of posts on the subject on the SEE Facebook group - feel free to comment! (If you haven't joined our Facebook group yet, it is a closed group and new members must be approved by the moderator - which is me! Just request to join and I'll add you.)

Not a pretty picture

2009-11-20T12:59:00.005-05:00

With the millions of gifted and talented students in classrooms today, this 2008‐2009 State of the States report reveals the lack of a coherent national strategy to educate and inspire the next generation of scientists, mathematicians, peacemakers, artists, and engineers. Some states provide little or no state funding. Others have few policies that support high‐ability learners. Still others leave critical decisions to individual districts. The result of the disparity between and within states is, at best a patchwork quilt of services, at worst a nation of promising learners left bored and unchallenged.

That's a quote from the 2008-2009 State of the States report, a biannual report produced by the National Association for Gifted Children and the Council of State Directors of Programs for the Gifted. This is the only report that tries to take a comprehensive look at gifted education nationwide -- no mean feat given the fact that no one really collects comprehensive data on gifted education. This survey "is a compilation and summary of information submitted via an online survey completed by state education agency personnel for gifted education programing in each of the states." (As all New Jersey entries are blank in the state-by-state tables, I assume that our state did not complete the survey, but I could be wrong.)

If downloading massive PDFs and slogging through pages of data isn't your thing, here's a concise article about the report that hits most of the highlights.

SEE participates in districtwide meeting

2009-11-19T13:57:00.000-05:00

I was really excited to have the opportunity to speak to the dozens of elementary school parents who turned out for the district's informational meeting about Quest and gifted enrichment on November 18th. Here's an excerpt from my remarks:

SEE was formed more than a decade ago by a group of parents who wanted to inform themselves about educational opportunities for their high-ability children, and in doing so, to become better advocates for their children within the Morris School District. We are independent of the Morris School District, but we see our role a a partnership with the teacher and administrators here.

Over the past years, we have accomplished quite a bit:

-- We've brought guest speakers to the district who have spoken to parents and teachers about the special social and emotional needs of gifted children; educational advocacy; identifying giftedness; classroom strategies for teaching high-ability learners; etc. And we plan to bring in yet another speaker in the coming months.

-- We've hosted kids' events open to our members ranging from an evening of magic to model hovercraft building to a drumming circle with a Broadway percussionist.

-- Our board members meet with district administrators to learn about the programs in our schools and to share with them the interests and concerns of parents of high-ability kids.

SEE is open to all members of the community who are interested in educational opportunities for high-ability students. Children do not have to be in a gifted education program like Quest for a family to join. One of the most important things we do is support each other. Every child is unique, but many high-ability kids share similar experiences, achievements, challenges and rewards.

I also have to tell you how lucky we are to have a great deal of support in the Morris School District administration and the school board. Many districts in New Jersey and throughout the country, faced with shrinking budgets and ballooning mandates, are losing programming for high-ability and gifted students, or never had it in the first place. Not so here in the Morris School District. We're grateful to have robust programming that serves high-ability kids and to have teachers and administrators who recognize that a one-size-fits-all approach doesn't work for all students at all ability levels. We see our group as a way of offering feedback and letting the district know that interest in and support for these programs remains strong.

I'd like to welcome the new members who signed up at that meeting. Some even expressed interest in joining the SEE board, which was especially exciting news.

Parents who attended the meeting heard two Quest teachers, Ellen Brown of Sussex Avenue School and Mary Trezza of Alexander Hamilton, speak about the curriculum, while Dr. Patricia Camp answered questions about the Quest admission process. The meeting was extremely valuable, especially to parents of younger children for whom all this information was new.

Keep watching this blog for more news and information in the weeks to come!