Parents and advocates push state to help high achievers
Parents of gifted children are joining advocates in calling on the state education department to meet the needs of students they claim are invisible in a system that is one of the worst in the country for serving high achievers.
“Our state has washed their hands of the gifted and talented for years,” said Carol Lach, president of the Massachusetts Association for Gifted Education said. “It’s impossible to get services for these children. These children are literally swept under the rug. These kids lose.”
Critics argue that often these talented kids are left to languish in classrooms and succumb to boredom after learning curriculum they have already advanced way beyond.
Parents called on the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education yesterday to create an accountability system that measures student capabilities rather than just grade level expectations.
“Instead of feeling good at school, they feel like outcasts,” said Laura, a mother who declined to share her name out of fear of retribution for her daughter. “AP courses offered in the last few years of school do not cut it or make up for years of neglect ... In this state, it doesn’t feel like a gift. It feels like a curse.”
In Massachusetts, there are only 12 gifted programs offered statewide. Meanwhile, anywhere between 38,000 to 180,000 students could be considered exceptional, said Mary Grace Stewart, parent liaison for MAGE.
With no dedicated funding for these children, no state requirements for teacher training, no state definition or identification system, Massachusetts ranks at the bottom of states in serving gifted children, according to the National Association for Gifted Children.
Advocates argue the state needs to provide more teacher training, grade acceleration for kids and a better testing system to measure where students are.
But state education officials said their new education plan under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act emphasizes teacher training to personalize learning and is considering a public-private partnership to help students move faster through the curriculum based on their competency.
Jacqueline Reis, DESE spokeswoman, said: “We are looking into what other resources we might be able to offer districts in connection with gifted students, and the personalized learning part of our ESSA plan might be of special interest to people looking to support gifted students.”