GIFTED AND TALENTED: Program Gets Review

STATE EDUCATION MONITOR VISITS SCHOOLS

— The gifted and talented program in the Fayetteville School District likely will be accredited for another three years after a visit from an Arkansas Department of Education monitor Tuesday.

Bob Nichols, program adviser in the division of gifted and talented and Advanced Placement, said he hadn’t spotted any “real weaknesses” in the paperwork submitted by the district before his visit.

“There are always areas that can be shored up,” he said.

The district will receive a report from Nichols visit in a few weeks, he said. He spent Tuesday visiting schools and looking at student files to make sure the district is complying with the state standards that regulate gifted and talented programs.

Superintendent Vicki Thomas said she is considering a massive training effort for teachers on developing strategies used in gifted and talented programs and Advanced Placement courses. Such strategies are applicable to all students, she said.

Thomas joined parents of gifted and talented students, four school board members and other administrators during a luncheon Tuesday with Nichols.

Barbara Prichard, director of Fayetteville’s gifted and talented program, said 942 students are enrolled in gifted and talented programs from kindergarten to 12th grade. The district has a ongoing identification process. Prichard said she expects the number to exceed 1,000 students this year.

The gifted and talented program began in Fayetteville in the early 1980s. There were 1,016 students in the gifted and talented program last year, she said.

Gifted and talented students are defined by the state as those with a high potential or ability whose learning characteristics and educational needs require different educational experiences or services.

Parents praised the program in Fayetteville schools, citing the early and continuous identification process, which begins in first grade. Several noted how their children responded to the rigorous and challenging workload in gifted and talented classes.

Gwendy Lefforge, a parent with three children in the gifted and talented program, said she wants to see more classroom teachers with a better understanding of the needs of students in the program.

Participation comes with some challenges, such as scheduling, according to school board member Jim Halsell. He said his son will miss 20 percent of the year’s math instruction because gifted and talented students are pulled out of regular classes for additional coursework.

Halsell suggested the schedule be more flexible or change at semester so students don’t miss so much class time in a particular subject.

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