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IT'S TIME TO CHANGE OUR FOCUS (or at least broaden it!!)
On Thursday, March 16, several local leaders in the area of gifted education, along with a
representative from SPACE, met with Senate Majority Leader Bruno's office. The purpose of this
meeting was to discuss the current state of gifted education in New York State, and what is
being done to improve it. A meeting was also held with Assemblyman James Tedisco's office.
Our legislators need to hear from their constituents! We encourage you to draft a letter, copy it
and address it to each of your legislators. In an effort to facilitate the task for you, we've
included some important points for you to use in your letters, along with each legislator's
contact information for addressing your letters.
ISSUES FACING GIFTED EDUCATION
There is no guarantee of education appropriate for high ability students due to the following:
1. Lack of teacher/ administrator knowledge about gifted children - courses are not required
and largely unavailable in teacher training programs on the undergraduate/graduate level,
yet these very people make determinations about education for these very students!!
2. Recent research offers data supporting grade/subject acceleration – it is difficult to get this
information to educators.
3. Lack of funding of programs – almost everything else is mandated except gifted education, -
when money runs out, gifted programs are cut – only the wealthiest districts may provide for
gifted children.
4. State invests money for failing students, not superior students – what incentives exist for
districts that produce students with high SAT scores?
5. State testing is not an effective use of time/money for gifted students:
– 8th graders, currently accelerated in 9th grade math, take an 8th grade math test!!
– Test does not prove that teachers taught or that students learned – merely that students
possess a level of knowledge – they may actually have learned little that year
6. State education department “encourages” gifted education (imagine “encouraging” 55mph on
our highways!). No data regarding gifted education currently available.
7. “National Excellence” (available on the web) is a document produced in 1993 by the U.S.
Dept. of Education, which called for a more rigorous educational program to help make our
students competitive on a global level (increasing minimum competency was not what they had
in mind). As we attempt to draw more highly technological businesses to the state (Tech
Valley!!), our public school system needs to follow more of the suggestions from this document
and employ “best practices” if we wish to produce employable students.
8. In 2000, New Jersey passed an “unfunded” mandate for gifted education. While it is not ideal
to have a mandate with no money behind it, it does send a message that gifted children cannot
be forgotten. In the wake of “No Child Left Behind”, the education of gifted children has been
left out. In 2002, New Jersey passed an act to form a commission to study gifted education.
9. Minimum competency should not be the expectation of every school system - having
children reach their potential should be.
10. Education law must clearly state that varied abilities exist in all children and therefore
curriculum must be flexible in pace and depth to allow ALL (including gifted) children to be
challenged to their highest potential.
11. All districts should be offering early entry to kindergarten for academically advanced
students. Grade and subject acceleration should be encouraged for academically able students
supported by educators who understand the needs of gifted children.
12. Most important!! A task force on gifted education needs to be created to help determine
exactly what we are doing for gifted children across the state, and what still needs to be done.
ADDRESS TO:
Assemblyman James Tedisco
Legislative Office Building 521
Albany, NY 12248
Senator Hugh Farley
Room 412 Legislative Office Building
Albany, NY 12247
Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno
Room 909 Legislative Office Building
Albany, NY 12247
Stephen M. Saland
Chairman of the Senate Education Committee
Room 708, Legislative Office Building
Albany, NY 12247
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