Education

For past 3+ years I have served on my kids school decision making council. I have loved the opportunity to learn more about the policies, procedures, budgeting, and over all school achievement, with the focus on improving student learning. I have often grown frustrated by the amount of time and energy we spend focusing on the "intenseive" children, while completely ignoring the high functioning minds in the school. From 05/06 to 07/08 I had a child at that school who was bored, complaining of stomach aches, and suffered from emotional and behavior problems, ...all because she is gifted and no one sits on a committee or council talking about how to engage the high performing gifted children. I have been blessed though with wonderful teachers who loved my daughter and with my support and encouragement they were able to find ways to challenge her and help her learn at a higher level. With my involvement in the school I have developed a close relationship with the principal and have had the opportunity to share my feelings and concerns with her. From this the principal allowed my daughter to move up a grade last year to be challenged a bit more. (She was able to move into the next grade in Feb. of last year and did not skip a beat, scoring 100's on spelling and math tests) From this experience my principal designed a way to identify high performing students at the primary level and group them in a classroom where their learning could be taken to a higher level. But not all schools/staff are like mine. Many parents and students are "left behind" because there isn't much, if any focus on high performing students.
Having said all this, I again feel blessed to live in a school district that recognizes the need for special programs and takes advantage for federal funding to put unique programs into our public schools. We have a Spanish immersion program that starts at Kindergarten, it's a lottery to get into that program. We have a gifted/talented or Quest program for students who tests nationally above 96% enter in the 3rd or 4th grades. We have an Arts school that students can audition to enter in the 4th grade in 1 of 7 different Arts areas. All these programs are designed to carry the student all the way through graduation. Once in high school there are many more programs offered to students with unique talents. This is a true blessing for the people of FCPS district area. My high performing child tested 98/99% in 2nd grade and entered the "all-day Quest" program. She is still performing at the top of her class and we no longer have boredom, behavior, emotional, or sick problems. It's been a wonderful opportunity for her to be able to participate in this publicly funded program. The kids that scored just under the requirement are not left totally behind. Each school has a Quest program in house. Where children who are performing one grade level ahead are pulled for 2-3 hours a week for higher learning. This is great, but is it enough?
What prompted this blog? The following article, Click here http://www.newsweek.com/id/186960 to open the article. For those of you who have children who are high performing, print this article and take it to your child's teacher. Talk to the teachers and principals and work with them on finding a way to stimulate these high functioning minds, ...not just for your own child but for the other students at the school.
Whats wrong with our schools, .....parent involvement! I believe when a parent takes the time or makes the time (no excuses) to get involved in the school by making it a better learning environment for ALL the children at the school they ultimately help their own child achieve! Focus on the classroom as a whole (not just your child), then the grade as a whole, and move up to thinking about the school as a whole! And I guess now, I'm beginnng to focus on the district as whole! It is a wonderful feeling to know you are contributing to the learning and success of so many young minds.
Here is a "copy" of the article for those of you who do not want to take the time to click and follow the link to read the article.

Autism And Education
Who should we focus on—my disabled son or my gifted girl?
By Stephanie Lindsley NEWSWEEK
Published Feb 28, 2009
From the magazine issue dated Mar 9, 2009

My son and my daughter are happy, active, healthy children who enjoy school and are lucky to have a solid family life. But they are very different. My autistic son tests in the "severe" range in many subjects. At 8, he reads well but cannot answer basic questions about what he has read. He speaks at a 3-year-old level, adores "Blue's Clues" and is almost potty-trained.
My daughter, meanwhile, tests in the 95th percentile nationwide on standardized tests. At 12, she shows an amazing ability to process information, taking complex ideas apart and putting them back together to form new thoughts. She reads an entire novel most Sunday afternoons, solves the Sudoku puzzles in the paper and memorizes the entire script—not just her own lines—for the school plays she loves to be in.
At school, my son spends a portion of his day in a regular classroom. But primarily he learns in a group of two to six children led by an intervention specialist, often accompanied by an aide. Even when he's in the regular classroom, he is never without an adult by his side. His intervention specialist records everything he does in daily logs that are required to ensure funding. She often presents me with new strategies to help him learn a difficult concept, which attests to the volumes of time she dedicates to addressing his unique needs.

My son's teachers do their absolute best for him. I know they love him. But beyond that, his government-mandated Individualized Education Plan legally ensures that he gets every opportunity to excel. In addition, his teachers spend countless hours each year filling out detailed quarterly reports and other government-required paperwork. If I decide that the school district should pay for something extra to improve my son's education, I can appeal to an independent board for mediation.
My daughter spends all but three hours of her school week in a regular classroom, where she often hides a book in her desk and reads while the teacher talks. She complains to me when the teacher reteaches things she learned last year, and she resents being drilled over and over on something she learned in 10 minutes. For three hours a week, she is pulled from her classroom for a "gifted" program with 15 other children, where she works either on a group project with other students or independently on her own blog or a computer-based foreign-language program.
I can only imagine how much my daughter would excel if she had a program specifically geared to her strengths, one that challenged her creativity on a daily basis. Or if she received even half the individual attention my son receives every week. What if she had a person sitting next to her to encourage her to think of new ways of doing things? What if her teacher didn't have to manage a large classroom full of kids, who didn't scold her for "making things confusing for everyone else"? What would happen if she spent all day in a room with two to six other gifted children, along with a couple of adults who specialized in pushing them to realize their potential?
There is no government mandate to fund gifted education. In 2008 there was only $7.5 million in federal grants available through the Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Program. All additional funding comes from states and private organizations. Compare that with the $24.5 billion allotted by No Child Left Behind, a federal program whose goal is to help every child, including the mentally disabled, meet minimum standards. But is that a wise investment? Wouldn't some of those billions be more wisely spent on special teachers and mandated programs for gifted children, who have the potential to make advances in science, technology and the arts that would benefit everyone?
It pains me to suggest taking some of the federal money designated for my disabled son and spending it on my overperforming daughter. My son will probably meet minimum standards, but most parents of autistic children describe goals for their kids in much more modest terms: being able to bathe themselves, get a job, or live semi-independently. My daughter has the potential for much more. If she were given even a fraction of the customized education that my son receives, she could learn the skills needed to prevent the next worldwide flu pandemic, or invent a new form of nonpolluting transportation. Perhaps she could even discover a cure for autism.
Lindsley lives in Beavercreek, Ohio.