Gifted and talented program at Maplewood Middle
None. Accelerated math track is available, but otherwise we rely on differentiation in a heterogeneous classroom. We do have the ability to write GAP (gifted action plan) documents to define strategies to use with kids who need special approaches. That paperwork seems to be enough to keep the district out of court, but there is no more formal program, so nothing to apply to.
I don’t expect to see more, as it took multiple years to even create a paperwork solution, and the creators have left the district.
Susan 1014, do you know the process to have a GAP written up? I guess there must be some kind of assessment process to see if this is deemed necessary. I have been receiving no response. If we want equity and excellence, it must be for both sides of the spectrum, otherwise this is complete bull ----.
What do equity and excellence have to do with giftedness as it is now being addressed by the district?
school district is focused
On dumbing down. You can forget about a gifted program
How does the concept of equity and excellence imply dumbing down? I don’t get it.
equity. What is equity? Is equity the ability for any student to choose any class he or she wishes to attend? And if that student can’t keep up with the majority of the class what happens then? The teacher either teaches down to those that can’t keep up or should never have been admitted to the class in the first place OR the teacher perseveres and those students end up failing. Come in folks. We all know whatnisnhappeningnin our school district. Remember my tale of the ninth grader who could not divide 50 by 2 and yet wasnin some ninth grade math? I am so sorry but I am sick and tired
Of the bull. There is no equity because people start off at a disadvantage at home. Racism. Poverty. Parents that are no educated or working 3 jobs to pay the bills. Really this is not rocket science. And if we don’t own up to this then it is once again racism because you are not seriously diacussing the subject you just want to make everyone feel better. I have so much more to say so keep it going
I certainly have. But guess what? I expect this town’s school district to get its act together and to be honest about the way things are done. Their policies are stupid. And will serve NO ONE. Wake up. And the teaching in the MMS is so sub par it isn’t funny. Worksheets worksheets worksheets. Let’s skip chapters in the Odyssey as they are not important. Let’s not have to kids learn how to write and critique. Let allow just everyone coast on along and have fun and not speak up and not hold people accountable. Yup. All happy. See by you telling me to move to a More white and affluent area this makes you racist. You don’t really give a damn about minority’s kids you just want a sound bite we and want to feel good about ourselves. meAnwhile kids getmpassed thru don’t know wwmuch about anything. I AM SO MAD
I’m so mad too. Mad at adults who create scenarios based on BS premises.
I’m very sorry that you’re going through this. I was also very frustrated with issues in Maplewood schools and in the general community discussion about it, and so I moved to find a better situation for my son.
I’m not sure if you’re serious about that racism comment, but my experience is that people here are very open minded and I personally work with people from many backgrounds, many ethnicities. I don’t see race as the overriding issue in education that most people in Maplewood do (see even comments by people on the SOMA BOE over the years).
It may be more expensive, but our kids are only young once and their education will last their whole lifetime. Whatever sacrifice is necessary is worth it, to me, and unfortunately I don’t think that this attitude prevails in Maplewood schools.
Apropos of nothing, Orange school district in which I reside, and plan to move from in the next year as my child enters kindergarten, has a gifted and talented program (from 1st grade) and from what I understand a newly funded Stem School at the old Catholic school in South Orange. I wonder if these programs help Orange students compete with the more affluent school districts. How is Orange able to provide these for its students? Just musing.
A child in any district who has mastered above grade level work in one or more subject areas is considered gifted by most definitions in NJ and nationally. The problem is that the identification and service models vary from town to town, state to state, because there are no specific guidelines. There is also a wide variety of opinion on what constitutes true giftedness and, unfortunately, there’s usually not enough truly gifted students to populate the kinds of programs many people imagine. That being said, the lack of a prescribed kind of gifted and talented program does not imply that a district is in any way being deceptive if they provide the services within other formats. It is also important to note that there are gifted children who may in fact be among those described in this thread as “victims” of poverty and busy parenting (that’s a good one, but I’d digress).
I never used the term victim. So what exactly did you mean by your last sentence “thatnis a good one?” Please explain. And racism takes on a lot of forms, doesn’t it. I believe that not truly looking the problem square on is one form. Just how open minded are we. Just how integrated truly integrated are we. I would love to hear from others
I’m not sure what is meant by looking at the problem square on? What does that even mean? And please don’t repeat the story about the ninth grader who can’t divide 50 by 2. Every scenario you have presented is tainted by an unfair characterization of our school system and of students who struggle within it. Uneducated parents who work three jobs? If that’s the deciding factor, no one would have made it out of little Italy, Harlem, or the lower east side.
I will repeat that account as
Often as I like as it was shocking and deserves retelling. Good luck with your school system. I guarantee you will see no improvement in the years to come.
that was harsh of me. I hope that there will be improvement I really do. I would
Love to hear what educators in the system think.
Union has a gifted and talented program, and so does West Orange, Montclair, Springfield, Orange, and Irvington. I am sure that these towns don't have some kind of magic where so many children qualify. Here is the recommendations from one of these towns -
- 90th percentile scores, or 8th and/or 9th stanine, and/or meeting or exceeding grade-level expectation status on any current district and State assessments.
- Outstanding grades in academic subjects and/or comments on report cards regarding outstanding contributions.
- Recommendations of teachers who are currently teaching a student and/or teachers who have previously taught a student.
We don't have one because the politics of this town, not because none of our kids are scoring in the 90th percentile scores. The New Jersey Department of Education requires that each school district provide services. We are not, we are in violation.
Services are provided in the form the district chooses. Differentiation is an acceptable service. I don’t know how people envision gifted education services and I’d be curious to know. Are there whole classes of children deemed gifted? If so, what are they gifted in? High test scores are not a sole criteria for giftedness and state tests basically identify those who excel in either math or language arts only. How are the”politics of this town” impacting services? I don’t think you know what you are talking about.
annielou said:
Differentiation is an acceptable service.
Honest question, do you mean this in a legal sense? Just to keep the discussion factual, do you have a reference to give @h4daniel to show that M/SO is actually in compliance with the law on this point?
annielou said:
How are the”politics of this town” impacting services? I don’t think you know what you are talking about.
With respect, if you would dismiss on its face the idea that politics affect services within schools, I don't think that you know what you are talking about.
I'm not saying that this state of affairs is necessarily bad, but this is why there are many school districts in the country doing and trying different things, under the management selected by local boards of education.
First, there is no “legal” way to do gifted services. In fact the state provides no prescriptions at all. There are traditional pull-out programs, which are not really impactful and are the ones actually created for “political purposes” ( ie. just to say there is a “gifted program”. ) In terms of whole classes or whole schools that are gifted, I don’t see that happening because there are so many interpretations of what constitutes giftedness in its truest sense.
If there is no ‘legal’ way to provide gifted services, yet the state law mandates that there be such programs, you would agree that the MAPSO middle school is not on compliance, yes? I mean they either are or they aren’t.
And if they are in compliance, it should be in such a manner that it’s clear to parents such as H4Daniel, so if he/she so wished to enroll his/her children, he/she would have a clear path to do so.
“Services are provided in the form the district chooses”. Shouldn’t this be clear in the policy and writing as well? I don’t believe it should be implied.
FWIW: This is what is on the SOMSD website:
As you can see in this document, the state mandates “appropriate” services for children deemed gifted and talented from K-12. I don’t see any mandate on how that should be done. In terms of identification, the mandate requires research based methodology, and does not specify any specific identification instrument.
I guess I’m still curious about what everyone thinks this should look like, with all due respect to the district document.
In SOMSD my kids have received some individualized programming targeted to their talents. This is within the differentiated instruction framework. They were given advanced materials to work on with a few other students. My son did a 'passion project' that allowed him to explore topics that interested him. Their Math coursework also included 'extra credit' problems that were truly challenging and they were proud to show these problems off to us and tell us how they solved them. This was without any IEP/GAP or other directive given to the teachers.
On the flip side, my niece is in the Westfield district which has a very competitive G&T program, which requires an 'interview' component to get in. The way my SIL tells it, my niece fulfilled the academic requirements and went to the interview, then she was rejected by the G&T program. So, they all wonder what went wrong with the interview.
In a perfect world of well-funded schools, I think we would have smaller class sizes, teachers would recognize each student's individual talents, and provide each student with some individualized content to grow their talents.
kmt said:
So basically, take it or leave it @h4daniel.
And while the critics make their cases, there are also takers who are satisfied. Even without special G&T programs, the district has much to offer those students.
(Cross-posted with sprout.)
Good points [ETA @sprout], most important is that your kid is engaged and fulfilled. Having a G&T program doesn’t necessarily guarantee that. It could even work against kids to set themselves apart in that way.
I think that sprout is right about small class sizes being ideal. Also I think that the behavior of other kids in the class matters a lot — behavior problems can consume classes and waste everyone’s time. Sometimes G&T classes are a workaround for these size and behavior problems.
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I know it is New Jersey law that our district is suppose to have a gifted and talented program, so does anyone know of one at the Middle School? And if there is one, what is the process for being admitted into the program?