[quote=gn][quote=UCGal]The teachers there may do a fine job of differentiation, etc… and not want the hassles.
The budget allotment is NOT a motivating factor for schools to have a GATE program.[/quote]
UCGal, can you elaborate on the 2 points you made above ?[/quote]
The first point. The teachers may already be providing the things that GATE program teachers are supposed to provide – differentiation of teaching based on ability for example. If a child is a whiz at math – have them go deeper into that subject, challenging them. If they’re weak in a subject, work to bring them up. Treat kids as they should be – of varying needs. (IMO this shouldn’t be limited to gifted kids!) The problem is that some teachers assume that because a child is competent at a subject, they don’t need the challenge, and spend their time on the kids who are weaker. What has happened is the bright kids then they get bored and that’s a potential recipe for failure. The GATE program is theoretically supposed to address the academic and social needs of the brighter kids. The GATE program trains teachers to deal with the spectrum – including the high performers, not just the kids with learning disabilities and IEPs.
The second point – funding for the GATE program is crappy in SDUSD. Only $35/student for the entire school year. AND (this is big) because of the budget issues, the school does not have to spend the GATE funds on GATE services/programs. It’s up to the school site councils and budget councils to make sure the money is spent on GATE stuff (if that’s the preferred use determined by the principal and council.) Theoretically, this year, GATE funds could be spent on stuff unrelated to academics – like crepe paper and balloons for parties. (Just tossing that out as a random example – not saying this is actually happening.)
To have a GATE program – the teachers who teach GATE clusters have to have training and certification. That puts a burden on the administrators of the school to get these teachers GATE certified.
So… the three schools that have chosen not to implement GATE programs may have felt that they’d prefer to spend their teacher development money on things other than GATE specific training/certification for their teachers.
As I said – it’s not an issue that I would necessarily use to determine which school boundary to buy into… but it’s worth investigating.
