The new plan would disperse the duties of Missoula County Public Schools' solitary gifted education coordinator. Instead, a group of principals, teachers, librarians and counselors would all dedicate part of their days to helping nearly 300 elementary students whose intelligence outstrips their age. Assuming the MCPS trustees approve it this spring, the plan would be in place next fall.
The proposal has not gone down easy for Catherine Schuck, who has run the school district's gifted education program by herself for two of the past three years. At Tuesday's trustees meeting, she said she felt left out of a planning process that appears to be moving faster than expected.
Assistant Superintendent Cheryl Wilson drafted the changes. In a meeting with the gifted-ed advisory board Monday, she described it as an attempt to fix some long-standing problems with MCPS' gifted-ed offerings.
“In the last three years, gifted ed has attracted a pretty fair amount of attention and not a lot of consensus,” Wilson told the group of parents and educators in Schuck's Jefferson School office. “We could spend years waiting for consensus. I want to know what the model is this spring. I have been watching its frustrations and successes. It is more than one person can be expected to do, although Catherine has done pieces of it beautifully. But no other district program is run by a non-administrator.”
On a bell curve of ability, gifted students fall in the narrow upper edge just as those with disabilities fall on the narrow lower edge. However, state and federal laws require school districts to make special allowances for those with disabilities. MCPS spends more than $2 million on its special education programs a year.
In contrast, it receives just $2,390 in state funds for gifted and talented education. Although a child that is far ahead of the class in math can be just as disruptive as one who can't count, school districts have historically spent few resources on adapting to them.
In Wilson's plan, principals Cindy Christensen and Nick Carter would each dedicate one-tenth of their days to supervising the program. Next year will be the first time all 12 elementary schools have full-time counselors, and each of those people will be expected to identify and work with gifted students.
Two part-time positions would work directly with students. One would be with K-5 kids, while the other would concentrate on middle school students. A single person might handle both duties, or it could be shared by two people. Parent volunteers would be trained and organized through the school district's resource office.
Wilson also proposed putting the gifted-ed library in the control of the school district's librarians, rather than Schuck. Several parents found that disturbing, because it coincided with the removal of much of the gifted-ed library materials from Jefferson last week.
Schuck complained to Wilson about the move at Monday's meeting. In reply, Wilson said the library needed professional culling, and that was typically done at the school district's central library.
“Her fear is I'm trying to shrink the library and there will no longer be a gifted-ed library,” Wilson said after the meeting. “I still intend to have a separate gifted-ed library.”
But she added that the current collection includes some biology books that are 50 years old. Story books may not go out of date, but science does. In addition, Wilson said the district is currently re-cataloging all of its books in a central database so it's easier for teachers and students to find materials that might be in another building.
The suggestions got a mixed response at the advisory council.
“This is simply an impossible job for one person to do,” member Tom Huff said of the current situation. “But I'm struck by how fragmented this proposal seems. I'm disturbed by how many different pieces it has, where kids could fall through the cracks. We've been battling for our kids for a long time. We get help in certain places and brick walls in other places. We need somebody with the power to advocate for these kids.
Wilson acknowledged that gifted-ed programs varied greatly from building to building. In some cases, parent or college-student volunteers were expected to provide any extra offerings. Those people were typically trained and equipped by Schuck.
Under the new plan, the roving teachers would spend half a day in each school every two weeks. In that time, they might lead special classes or help teachers set up activities for particular students. Wilson said especially at middle school, gifted students often hate getting pulled out of class because it cuts them out of their social network. Those kids are better served by less obtrusive help in the classroom, she said.
After the meeting, Wilson said she modified her plan to include more parent advocacy and watchdog efforts. She also strengthened the call for keeping the library in an accessible place where parents and teachers could browse through it.
New drafts of the plan should be going to all parents of gifted students this spring, Wilson said. It will also be coming before the full Board of Trustees for final decision in either spring or early summer.
Reporter Rob Chaney can be reached at 523-5382 or at rchaney@missoulian.com
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