Last Chance School Board Meeting & New Gifted Plan
dpip...@cox.net
I have spent the last six years actively involved with the gifted
advisory committee and felt that the program had been steadily
improving since 2008. I am shocked and extremely disappointed in the
lack of accountability and commitment in the new 5 year plan. Despite
considerable effort over the past two months, administration refuses
to provide any reliable information to review the current status of
the program, to take any suggestions, or make any changes. If this
plan is approved, CPS will be reneging on their promises made in the
2008 initiative to strengthen gifted services in CPS. I strongly
believe that gifted services will deteriorate over the coming years!!
The recent gifted advisory committee meeting last week was more of the
same frustrating dynamics of denial and false reassurances in my
opinion with very few parents in attendance.
CPS will no longer have a requirement for the teachers to be endorsed
and no written grouping policy that ensures gifted students are
clustered with other high ability learners or homogeneous grouping in
the middle schools, both of which were promised in the 2008 initiative
and approved by the school board. In 2008, CPS was able to gain
support to close down the lab school with these assurances and now
they are no longer part of the gifted plan. In 2008, CPS thought these
policies were important in strengthening and assuring a quality gifted
education program. It appears that their philosophy and level of
commitment has changed and a mediocre gifted program that meets the
basic state requirements is satisfactory to them. Even if the plan
reinstated the 2008 objectives, Newport News, Norfolk, Virginia Beach,
Henrico, Chesterfield among others, will have better gifted education
services than CPS. I believe that CPS will fall even further behind
these districts if/when the current plan is approved.
Although the new plan states CPS will continue to encourage teachers
to be endorsed and provide opportunities for training this will no
longer be a requirement. This is really unfair to those teachers who
step up to the plate early on and have completed their endorsements!!
Without the endorsement requirement, the lack of class availability in
the summer time, and the amount of effort the classes require, I
believe that fewer and fewer teachers will become endorsed in the
future. Which seems to be a passive way of not having to spend the
money on endorsment classes!! Also, no other classes or specific
training is required in the plan and suggestions to do so have been
denied.
A philosophy incorporating the above mentioned grouping practices was
approved in 2008 in an effort to ensure that gifted teachers would
have the ability to focus more of their time and provide increased
learning opportunities specifically tailored to gifted students in
order to met their educational needs. If compact grouping gifted
students was not an important component of meeting their needs, then
why were these objectives in the 2008 initiative, why did they have
students grouped at the LAB school, why do all the other above
mentioned school divisions have homogeneous grouping options along
with Fairfax and other highly regarding school districts? Because it
is a highly effective strategy in ensuring their needs are met!!!
I have been blindsided this spring by what is happening with the new
plan for gifted education and despite numerous emails, phone calls,
meetings, etc by myself and the chairperson of the advisory committee
we have made little to no progress. We will both be speaking at the
upcoming school board meeting on 4/30 and strongly encourage parents
to come and make a statement as well. The gifted students of CPS need
your help now!! If more parents don't show up physically at the board
meeting and speak about their concerns, then there is little to no
chance of making any changes happen. A large group of parents can have
a impact, especially with school board elections the following day.
Also, I believe there is going to be a forum for school board members
running for re-election, etc at Aldersgate Methodist Church in Western
Branch on Wed from 6:30-8:30 =Thanks Kym Pool for this information:)
Thanks,
Deborah Piper
Gifted Advisory Committee Member
Chesapeke PAGE Sponsor
Helena Haltiwanger
Mrs. Piper, et. al.,
Thank you for keeping us updated. I regret not being able to attend the last meeting though I really wanted to. I will definitely make it to the meeting next Monday.
I must admit after recently reading the "plan" posted on the website last week, I felt both torn and slightly relieved for not making it to that board meeting.
It's obvious the plan is a total piece of garbage that does nothing more than discuss the methods a child can be identified as gifted with no other real details for how the GATE program will actually function, grow, improve, etc. I was thoroughly appalled at the severe lack of information regarding the issues you mentioned. It's clearer now that the feeling I've had that my son and his truly gifted friends/peers will miss out on the education this WB school district has been so overly touting as one of the best within Chesapeake itself.
My son is in 5th grade and his teacher, Mrs. Bristow, is simply the best teacher he has had thus far. I'd say 3rd grade was the worst and that teacher was obviously not truly qualified to teach a gifted group of children. But other than that disheartening year, the other teachers really have made every effort to push the gifted kids and actually have them practice critical thinking skills and use those strategies in class, and seemed very qualified and motivated. But last year, I was dumbfounded to learn that the head of the CPS gifted department had nothing to do with classroom assignments, composition, nor oversight of these so-called "GATE" classes. I learned this after reaching out to her when WBI was planning on adding a known "problem" student to my son's 4th grade class. Several parents were upset and confused but none more than I was. And boy did I get a wake-up call from the school principal who made it clear that she was in charge of assigning students and that GATE classes were not strictly for gifted children and that it was her judgement call. Needless to say, she did not end up placing that child in the class and I was glad that my voice was actually heard....But ever since then I have been more confused than ever about the whole structure and purpose of the CPS gifted education department/program.
Reading the plan has only confounded the confusion and all I can say is that I took great comfort in comiserating with the other parents in the previous email string as they too expressed their disappointment in the GATE program and all these "GATE" info nights at Greenbrier Middle where they do anything but explain the real details behind the gifted education platform and how teachers are given resources and are monitored to ensure program guidelines are met. I am tired of the lame excuses for not being truly informed as a parent as to what me and my child each get out of participating in this program other than allowing the school to falsely advertise that they have a real GATE program. Reading the plan has worsened my fears along with the insights other parents expressed regarding what is to come when my son goes to WBM next year. My husband and I are waiting to see whether we pull our son out of GATE so that he may get more of what we expect out of honors classes without all this heavy burden of ensuring teachers will do their job and actually challenge our son.
I've always known that it's my responsibility to ensure my son gets the best education possible but it is becoming just that--my responsibility alone--as he continues on without being given the opportunity to excel within a public school system that is obviously egotistical and condescending in thinking that parents like us can't see exactly what we are being handed in return for our taxpaying dollars.
I will attend Monday's with foolish optimism that our voices will bring change. Other than hearing that they would throw out that plan and start over, I'm not sure what consolation they can possibly offer but I will be very interested to hear it from the gift-horse's mouth.
Thank you again for sharing all you have with us.
Helena
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Deborah
Thank you so much in taking the time to share your thoughts and for planning to come to the board meeting on Monday.
Deborah Piper