Gifted Atlanta

During the years I’ve been writing this blog, I’ve avoided using it as a soapbox. But today, I feel compelled to take a stand — and I’m asking you to do the same by writing a letter to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

If you saw John Rosemond’s column in this weekend’s Atlanta Journal-Constitution, then you already know why I’m so worked up. If you didn’t, the brief synopsis is, a mother complained that her nine-year-old gifted child dawdles with his homework and has mediocre performance in school. Rosemond’s response said that being identified as gifted and talented has probably ruined the kid.

It turns out, the print version of the AJC omitted the most disparaging of Rosemond’s comments. Here’s a more complete excerpt, as can be read online:

“First, the fact that the school has identified your son as “gifted and talented” may be part of the problem. My finding is that a good number of children who’ve been so identified seem to feel that their mere participation in G&T programs entitles them to good grades no matter how much effort they put into their schoolwork. So they do just enough to get by and no more. The further problem is that schools will not, generally speaking, lower the boom on these kids. Teachers continue giving them decent report card grades even though they don’t complete assignments or turn in work, do poorly on tests, and so on. And once a child’s been promoted to G&T status, demotion is virtually out of the question. These kids are smart all right. They’re smart enough to figure out that the only consequence of their lack of effort is that adults get upset.”

It’s bad enough that Rosemond’s advice — which went on beyond this paragraph — ignored the most likely reason for this child’s struggles: he’s bored because he’s not being challenged. But this blanket accusation that gifted children are arrogant and conniving is reprehensible, and Rosemond’s use of the word “finding” to imply it’s based on actual research makes it worse.

This is the second time this summer that Rosemond has belittled gifted children and/or gifted education. (You can see the prior example at http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/06/10/2952680/john-rosemond-should-child-be.html)

Speaking out against these attacks on the gifted is unlikely to change Rosemond’s mind, but maybe, just maybe, our rebuttals can offer hope and support to parents of gifted children — parents who need to understand the real reasons why gifted children sometimes struggle.

According to a bulletin from the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC), a bill that would call for greater support of education of gifted children will be introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives in the next few weeks.

The bill, known as the TALENT Act (S.512), requires that states release the data they have collected about gifted students’ achievement, allowing the public to better understand how we are serving gifted students from various socio-economic groups. It also would require  professional development for teachers in identifying and serving gifted students; allow the use of Title I funds to be used for training teachers in gifted education; and provide funding for continued research into the most effective methods of teaching gifted students.

How can you help? Contact our U.S. senators, Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss, and ask that they sign on as co-sponsors of this legislation.

National education policy has not made gifted education a priority. Let’s make our voices heard!

Parents of gifted kids spend a lot of time trying to advocate just for our individual children, making sure their needs are met. But from time to time, opportunities arise for us to push for programs that would help the entire gifted population.

This is one of those times.

The U.S. Congress has two pieces of legislation under consideration, and the more constituents they hear from who support that legislation, the better the chances they’ll give it their attention.

First is funding for the Javits Gifted and Talented Education Act. Javits provides funds for research into how to better teach gifted students, especially those who are socio-economically disadvantaged.  The program has been around for years, but in recent years has lost its funding. President Obama’s proposed 2013 budget did not include Javits funding, but members of the appropriations committee can still speak up in support of Javits. The only member of Congress from metro Atlanta who is on this committee is U.S. Rep. Tom Graves. If you live in his district, you have the opportunity to contact him in support of funding this program.

Second is support for the TALENT Act, an amendment to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) that would require states to do more for gifted students. This bill was introduced and referred to committee a year ago. (See related post.) The bill needs cosponsors to help it gain momentum. Any member of the Senate or House can cosponsor the bill, regardless of committee assignments. You can show your support by sending an e-mail to Senator Saxby Chambliss and Senator Johnny Isakson. To contact your representative in the U.S. House, you can use the Write Your Representative tool.

A basic tenet of advocacy for gifted education is that gifted children come from all racial, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds. That’s why advocates are always pushing for equal access to gifted education for all children, regardless of their family’s income.

Unfortunately, in many cases, children in schools that serve wealthier kids still get more opportunities than poorer children. That was the stated conclusion of a new study released by ProPublica, a non-profit, investigative journalism group. ProPublica compared schools, districts and states across the nation, evaluating the percentage of kids who take gifted or advanced classes, and how that percentage differed according to the wealth of the student population (as measured by the number of children receiving free or reduced price lunch).

The good news is that overall, Georgia seems to do better than some states in giving all children access to advanced learning. We have a higher percentage of disadvantaged children than the national average, yet we have a slightly higher rate of enrollment in gifted programs — 11 percent —  than the national average. We also do better than the national average in terms of the percentage of our students who take advanced math, chemistry and Advanced Placement classes.

However, the results for metro Atlanta schools show that school districts with more underprivileged children do have a lower rate of enrollment in gifted programs.

To see the data for yourself, go to the Georgia results page. From there, you can drill down to view results for your school district and, in some cases, your individual school. (Not every school is listed in the data.)

If you’re familiar with how schools are funded in Georgia, you’ve probably heard of QBE funding. (If you didn’t know, the QBE stands for Quality Basic Education.) In short, QBE funding is an allotment of money that every public school in Georgia receives based on the number of students they have enrolled. Some types of students — including gifted students — are funded at a higher rate, giving schools additional dollars to be used to meet their special needs.

[Note: Because of economic hardships and cuts in education funding overall, the state does not exercise any controls over the money it allocates via QBE funding. Schools and school systems have broad authority to redirect funds. So, although schools receive an additional amount for gifted students, that money is not always spent on gifted instruction. But that’s another post for another time.]

The QBE formula was developed in the 1980s and hasn’t been updated much since then. But that could be changing soon, as a newly formed commission has begun working on reviewing and possibly reforming the funding system. (I say “could be changing” because this is the sixth effort to revamp the formula, and the previous five task forces and committees didn’t change much.)

The State Education Finance Study Commission met for the first time at the end of June. I was there, and the question of how much money it takes to educate a gifted child was raised as something to evaluate.

That question, if it’s to be addressed, would fall under the realm of Subcommittee 1. Members of that subcommittee are:

• Georgia Senator Jack Hill (R-Reidsville)
• Scott Austensen, from the Office of Finance and Business Operations of the Georgia Department of Education
• Jadun McCarthy, Georgia Teacher of the Year, an English teacher at Northeast High School in Bibb County
• Dr. L.C. “Buster” Evans, superintendent of Forsyth County Schools
• Georgia Representative Tom Dickson (R-Cohutta)

This subcommittee will hold its first meeting on July 25 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the 20th floor of the Twin Towers East legislative building downtown.

In the first meeting of the Commission, chairmen Sen. Fran Millar (R-Dunwoody) and Rep. Brooks Coleman (R-Duluth) both encouraged people to get involved and share information with the subcommittees. I think the best way to do that is to attend the meetings and — when given the opportunity — share my point of view. That’s what I’ll be doing, and I will keep you posted via this blog.

You could also contact members of the subcommittee with your thoughts about funding for gifted education. I’ve looked up their e-mail addresses for you, so you can write to them simply by clicking on their names above. (Sorry, couldn’t find an address for Jadun McCarthy.)

You can also follow the work of the Commission and subcommittee via its dedicated web page on the Department of Education web site.