Gifted and talented program threatened in the state of Ohio

[Betsy Voinovich]

Hi all---

One of the greatest things about Lakewood public schools is that they provide gifted and talented classes, starting at the elementary level, continuing throughout high school, making our District very desirable to families. Asst. Superintendent Patterson assured me recently that the District is very committed to its special education programs, the complete spectrum, from special needs to gifted-- but this information bears paying attention to.

If you are a parent whose kids have benefited from these programs, help protect them in the state of Ohio and in Lakewood by speaking up now. These emails have been flying around, I meant to post this sooner. Please read and help. Phone calls matter.

Betsy Voinovich

This message was sent from:
the Ohio Association for Gifted Children | 501 Morrison Rd., Ste. 202
Gahanna, OH 43230

Advocacy Alert – Action needed now!!!! The House Finance committee released the substitute budget bill HB153. I am stunned to share with you there were no positive changes for gifted. No increase in funding, no maintenance of effort provision, no softening of the budget blow from Governor Kasich’s executive budget. The only change made was to allow principals to serve as gifted coordinators if they are qualified under the operating standards. Of course this change only makes it less likely that gifted children will be appropriately served in districts. We need phone calls and testimony for April 29, April 30, and May 1.

How You Can Help

1. Everyone, and I mean everyone, needs to call the following selected members of the House Finance Committee and House Leadership every day until Tuesday. Tell everyone you know to call them. When you call, you will either get an aide who will take your message or voice mail. Please be polite but passionate about your request that gifted funding be fixed. The message is simple:
> a. Gifted education is taking a disproportionately large cut relative to the education budget (89%).
> b. District services will be drastically cut if there is no additional funding or at least a district maintenance of effort requirement for gifted. A survey of districts indicates that gifted services could decrease by 50 – 70% next year with no changes to in the budget.
> c. Allowing principals to now serve as gifted coordinators will mean an even further deterioration of support for gifted students.
> d. Why are gifted students being singled out as not deserving of adequate education and funding?

2. Here are the people for you to call:

> Speaker William Batchelder 614-466-8140
> Rep. Ron Amstutz (Chairman) 614-466-1474
> Rep. John Carey (Vice Chair) 614-466-1366
> Assistant Majority Floor Leader Barbara Sears 614-466-1731
> Assistant Majority Whip Cheryl Grossman 614-466-9690
> Majority Floor Leader Matt Huffman 614-466-9624
> Speaker Pro Tempore Lou Blessing 614-466-9091
> Majority Whip John Adams 614-466-1507
> Rep. R.Adams 614-466-8114
> Rep. Marlene Anielski 614-644-6041
> Rep. Troy Balderson 614-644-6014
> Rep. Peter A. Beck 614-644-6027
> Rep. Dave Burke 614-466-8147
> Rep. Mike Duffy 614-644-6030
> Rep. Randy Gardner 614-466-8104
> Rep. Dave Hall 614-466-2994
> Rep. Richard Hollington 614-644-5088
> Rep. Jeffrey McClain 614-644-6265
> Rep. Ross McGregor 614-466-2038
> Rep. Mecklenborg 614-466-8258
> Rep. Bob Peterson 614-644-7928
> Rep. Lynn Slaby 614-644-5085

3. In addition to making phone calls, please come to the Statehouse to testify Friday, April 29 beginning at 9:00 AM; Saturday, April 30 at beginning at 10:00 AM, or Monday, May 2 at 10:00 AM. The hearing is in Room 313, which is on the West side of the Statehouse on the 3rd floor. The easiest way to get to the committee meeting room is to park under the Statehouse and make your way to the green and glass elevator as you enter the Statehouse through the garage. You will need to climb a flight of stairs and veer to the left as you get up the stairs to get to the elevator. Take the elevator and go to Room 313. There are only two hearing rooms on the 3rd floor, so you will find it. If you have to park somewhere else, just ask folks how to get to the House Finance hearing room, and you will eventually get the right directions. If you get lost, ask someone. Also, if you cannot make it by starting time, don’t worry. It would be good if you could email me to let me know if you plan to come so that I can give your name to the House Finance staff. Each person who wants to testify or submit written testimony will be asked to fill out a witness slip.

A scan of the slip can be downloaded at http://www.oagc.com/?q=statebudget . Fill out your name and contact information. Under the section marked “Please give a brief statement of the grounds on which favor or oppose such enactment” write that you are opposed to the elimination of gifted funding as a separate and accountable line item in the budget. The chair of the committee would like everyone to bring 50 copies of testimony. But if you can’t bring that many or any, come anyway.

> Technical aspects to testifying:
> Here is the standard way to address the committee:
> “Chairman Amstutz, Ranking Minority Member Sykes, members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify on HB153. I am _______......”
>
> Questions? Please email me at anngift@aol.com.
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[Grace O'Malley]

Of course public school gifted will take a hit - the wealthy who can afford deluxe private education (and I'm not including parochial schools in this) don't want your kids competing with theirs. And frankly, they don't care that your kids might be shortchanged in life without the extra education. YOU should have made better choices in your life and been in a position to privately educate your own children.

[Danielle Masters]

I think this is due in part to the misconception that people have that gifted children are smart and therefore will do well in any classroom setting but as many of us know that is not the case. Gifted children often times (but not always) need an education specifically tailored for their educational needs. Many gifted children that do not live in school districts with specialized programs suffer from boredom and often times act out. A gifted child who does not receive proper education has the risk of being an academic failure.

It really saddens me that their is this belief that all children are the same and therefore all of them can learn with the same types of programs. Children are unique and we need our educational system to reflect that. These proposed cuts terrify me, not only personally but because I know that many children benefit from gifted education. I hope this is reconsidered.

[Mike Deneen]

"The world needs ditch diggers, too"
--Elihu Smails

[Thealexa Becker]

I think this is due in part to the misconception that people have that gifted children are smart and therefore will do well in any classroom setting but as many of us know that is not the case. Gifted children often times (but not always) need an education specifically tailored for their educational needs. Many gifted children that do not live in school districts with specialized programs suffer from boredom and often times act out. A gifted child who does not receive proper education has the risk of being an academic failure.

It really saddens me that their is this belief that all children are the same and therefore all of them can learn with the same types of programs. Children are unique and we need our educational system to reflect that. These proposed cuts terrify me, not only personally but because I know that many children benefit from gifted education. I hope this is reconsidered.

I was in the gifted program and I always thought it was just for the students who needed more advanced academic material, not for students with special educational needs.

With that being said, there are TONS of issues with "gifted" education, some of which are probably exacerbated by threats to cut funding. I always thought that more could have been done in the program. I was perpetually bored in the gifted classes they put me in to keep from being bored, so clearly there is something wrong.

They probably should give it more funding rather than cut it, but its not like many rational decisions are ever made regarding education.

[Vince Frantz]

It really saddens me that their is this belief that all children are the same and therefore all of them can learn with the same types of programs. Children are unique and we need our educational system to reflect that.

Danielle - I think that this is exactly what the system we have dictates. There is really no support for individual learning styles and having 2-3 different programs hardly passes as supporting anything "unique". I am not for education cuts but the choice of labels like "gifted" and "talented" has always been a huge distraction and utterly counterproductive. The notion that children can fit in a few tiny boxes goes against exactly what you are advocating for. Why do we stand for it? Because it means money? Thats probably why they called it "gifted" as it would have instant support from masses of people.

And as far as parents go, who doesn't want their kid to be "gifted"? This was always a loaded term and despite the benefits to all those kids who got some special or different experience, what does that say to the kids or parents who aren't in it? I just don't see the need to create such simplified literal strata within the childhood development spectrum. I'll never forget the looks on my friends' faces the day they pulled me from one class and put me in the other. I hope that my kids never let some faceless committee decide if they are gifted or not.

Betsy -

Not for cuts - just wish we could drop the political/marketing terms like "gifted" and "talented" and doing my part Lakewood style on the Deck. You understand.

[Danielle Masters]

Vince, I agree that labels do not tell the whole story. Even within these subclasses children learn differently and have different talents. I know that it has been discussed here on the deck before but it would be wonderful if the way we teach children could be scrapped but of course such extreme change would be difficult for many parents, teachers and administrators to take in. I am cynical about any wide spread changes being made anytime soon and as a parent all I can do is advocate so that more cuts aren't made as that is not the type of change that needs to be done.

I don't know what the solutions are. I wish I did. I do know that right now there is a lot of finger pointing and blaming, which doesn't do the children any good.

[Thealexa Becker]

Danielle - I think that this is exactly what the system we have dictates. There is really no support for individual learning styles and having 2-3 different programs hardly passes as supporting anything "unique". I am not for education cuts but the choice of labels like "gifted" and "talented" has always been a huge distraction and utterly counterproductive. The notion that children can fit in a few tiny boxes goes against exactly what you are advocating for. Why do we stand for it? Because it means money? Thats probably why they called it "gifted" as it would have instant support from masses of people.

And as far as parents go, who doesn't want their kid to be "gifted"? This was always a loaded term and despite the benefits to all those kids who got some special or different experience, what does that say to the kids or parents who aren't in it? I just don't see the need to create such simplified literal strata within the childhood development spectrum. I'll never forget the looks on my friends' faces the day they pulled me from one class and put me in the other. I hope that my kids never let some faceless committee decide if they are gifted or not.

Mr. Frantz,

It is interesting that you mention that lots of parents want their children to be identified as gifted. There were theories and rumors floating around pretty much constantly that there were students in the program because their parents got them in there.

Regardless of the truth value of the statement, which is something I cannot verify personally, I can, however, comment on being chosen as gifted.

Yes, child development is complicated, but as a child who was just plain bored out of her mind until she got to college, I can tell you with assuredness that if there had not been a gifted program, my parents likely would have sent me to Hathaway Brown or Hawken or moved to Shaker. I am not joking, they offered this solution to me once, when I was still complaining about being bored EVEN WHEN IN THE GIFTED PROGRAM.

The problem with gifted education is that it has ceased, in my opinion, to be about accelerated academic tracks, which is what it is really supposed to be, and has become some unflattering amalgam of a bunch of fancy terms for group work and creative ways to waste our time with busy work. I was in the program since 2nd grade and I have many many problems with it, some are related to teachers, others to the hoops they make teachers jump through. But overall, my biggest problem is that I was still bored.

I used to laugh when they told us that we should expect an hour of homework a night in high school. Whenever they said that, I always cut the number in half at least. So I think that we DO need a program that is accelerated for students who are academically advanced, but I don't think that the current system is doing that.

It has nothing to do with fitting students into boxes. That is all part of the jargon getting thrown around to distract from the real discussions that need to take place, which is really to increase the level of difficulty.

[Bill Call]

The problem with gifted education is that it has ceased, in my opinion, to be about accelerated academic tracks, which is what it is really supposed to be, and has become some unflattering amalgam of a bunch of fancy terms for group work and creative ways to waste our time with busy work. I was in the program since 2nd grade and I have many many problems with it, some are related to teachers, others to the hoops they make teachers jump through. But overall, my biggest problem is that I was still bored.

That is a good summary of what is wrong with "gifted" programs and the education system in general.

In the olden days they had teachers who taught "advanced" classes. The students might take advanced algebra or a more complicated and demanding history class or an English class that concentrated on more difficult reading and analysis. It wasn't called a gifted program and it didn't take extra funding and it didn't take a brand new bureaucracy.

Testing was initiated to provide some measure of performance for a district in response to concerns that too many students were graduating from high school with a sixth grade education. Unfortunately, testing has also led schools to concentrate on the lowest common denominator and to actually lower standards.

The real tragedy in education is that the really great students who want to learn and excel are forced to sit in a class and listen to things they knew two years ago.

Here are some questions for school board candidates:

How do we educate kids who are bored out of the minds because the classes are undemanding?

How do we use existing resources to provide a quality education for students who want to be pushed to the limit?

How hard is it to offer an advanced class? What are the obstacles? Is it really the money or is it union rules or bureaucratic inertia?

[Bryan Schwegler]

The GOP, especially in Ohio, doesn't like smart people, they ask too many questions.

Sometimes I wonder where our legislators' priorities are, oh yeah, it's passing laws allowing guns into liquor serving establishments and some people queuing up the Creationism bill again. Go Ohio!

[Danielle Masters]

Bill, the problem especially in younger children (elementary and middle school) is that just moving them to more advanced material doesn't really help if they are with older children. I know my 14 year old is pretty socially inept (sorry kiddo) and when he was young he was able to do the work of much older children but there is no way he could have been in a class with older kids. Lakewood does an excellent job with their gifted program because they keep kids together within similar age groups and similar abilities. I will admit even with the gifted program I have heard the "I'm bored" comment often but I imagine it would have been constant if he was in a typical classroom.

My worry is that kids in elementary school have to have certain test scores to get into the self-contained program but there are a lot of kids that excel in specific subjects and they are not able to have access to accelerated programs due to not meeting all the requirements. We need to focus on making sure all children are able to receive the challenging material they need. But we also need to keep in mind that challenging work does not simple mean more work. It means more than that. It means that kids are able to cover the basics quickly and then delve into the information more in depth, we need more flexibility.

[Colleen Wing]

I find it gross that the kids that are "gifted" are skimmed out. Go into a middle school classroom and see what is left. That is what my child has to deal with on a daily basis. I don't understand the system and my child is suffering for it. I have no complaints about curriculum or teachers at the schools, they have been great. It is interactions with other students that have caused school to be a negative place for mine.

Every child gets the same amount of money, how is it distributed. This isn't a Republican issue, its math...Where is the money coming from, where is it going? how much does it cost to educate a child in Lakewood? $7,000 $11,000? $14,000? 60% of property tax in Lakewood goes to the schools, only 18% of residents have kids in the schools.

It's not all about levels, we should be giving all the kids a fighting chance and not trying to skim the top to save our numbers. My test scores were always terrible (so I guess Republicans do like "dumb" and "stupid" people). My brother tests in the 98% percentile on every test he has ever taken...but and he still lives in his old room 20 yrs later. I guess it depends on how we measure value.

[Thealexa Becker]

I find it gross that the kids that are "gifted" are skimmed out. Go into a middle school classroom and see what is left. That is what my child has to deal with on a daily basis. I don't understand the system and my child is suffering for it. I have no complaints about curriculum or teachers at the schools, they have been great. It is interactions with other students that have caused school to be a negative place for mine.

That is an issue that everyone, including students in the gifted program, face. It's just more catty and backstabbing in the gifted program.

Every child gets the same amount of money, how is it distributed. This isn't a Republican issue, its math...Where is the money coming from, where is it going? how much does it cost to educate a child in Lakewood? $7,000 $11,000? $14,000? 60% of property tax in Lakewood goes to the schools, only 18% of residents have kids in the schools.

This is a statistic, but doesn't have anything to do with gifted education.

It's not all about levels, we should be giving all the kids a fighting chance and not trying to skim the top to save our numbers. My test scores were always terrible (so I guess Republicans do like "dumb" and "stupid" people). My brother tests in the 98% percentile on every test he has ever taken...but and he still lives in his old room 20 yrs later. I guess it depends on how we measure value.

The gifted program has NOTHING to do with skimming off the top as much as it does with trying to give more advanced students the attention and education they deserve. And having high or low test scores mean nothing. You need a career or a vocation or a college career more than high OGTs.

[Colleen Wing]

Theaxlea-I agree with your comments on this thread.

Through the bitterness of the morning, my point about the numbers is that there were a lot of inappropriate comments about how Republicans don't care about education and like stupid people. I am a Republican and I care about it very much. I am concerned that all of the programs are going to get cut, while the "government fat" will remain. We spend a lot of money to educate our kids, the burden on our tax payers is high, and the cost to educate is more then the tuition and these private schools that we are constantly compared to.

It is not that I don't think the program is valuable. I am worried about the gap...we are increasing it in our economy, now in our school education. I have never attended public school and having kids in LPS I am amazed that children in different schools are perceived to get a better educations. If you are in * program at *school then you are set...and it is all about test scores, ask anyone in the education system from school board on down.

[Bill Call]

We spend a lot of money to educate our kids, the burden on our tax payers is high, and the cost to educate is more then the tuition and these private schools that we are constantly compared to.

I am amazed that children in different schools are perceived to get a better educations. If you are in * program at *school then you are set...and it is all about test scores, ask anyone in the education system from school board on down.

This disussion illustrates why changing the way we educate children and operate schools is so difficult. People care about their kids and want them to be happy and successful. They want their school years to be fun and productive. It doesn't always work out that way and that reality can be heartbreaking.

I think it is important to offer advanced classes for students who are willing and able to handle those classes. We can't allow our schools to warehouse the motivated students.

It is also important to offer an excellent education to everyone else. I used the word offer because the Lakewood Public Schools can offer that education but we can't make children or their parents accept it.

The Lakewood schools spend about $12,700 per student; more than enough money to get the job done. How? Well... when I first read the LPS contract I was amazed at the number of sections that limited the time teachers spend with students. It is time to end those limitations. The goal should be: Students first, everything else is secondary. A start might be: An eight hour day, properly supervised and properly supported.

Can we make every child's school experience happy and successful? I'd like to say yes but I suspect the answer is no. It is important to realize that there are a lot of people with unhappy school experiences who end up having a happy adult life. Of course the reverse is also true. We can only do our best and hope for the best.