The lack of a defined, robust program for gifted children has been raised as a concern among parents in Del Mar Union School District (DMUSD) for several years. The district has a new superintendent (as of last spring) and a new board majority (voted in last Nov), and they seem committed to addressing it. The topic is actually on tonight’s monthly DMUSD Board meeting agenda (agenda and backup info found here: http://www.dmusd.org/district/files/openFile.aspx?fileID=10598). Based on the line item detail from the agenda, it looks like significant improvements to the gifted program are slated for approval at tonight’s meeting.
Since you’re looking at a couple different locations/districts, you’ll probably want to visit both district offices and chat with the staff. Ask them each to discuss how they meet the particular needs of gifted students, especially if you feel your child qualifies for such a program. At DMUSD, they’ll probably insist that not only do they have a new and improved gifted program but they’ll emphasize that, most importantly, they’ve always met the needs of all students on an individual basis, and they’ll point to the district’s leading API scores as proof…blah, blah, blah. So, you’ll probably need to press for specifics.
If possible, and if you have the time, at DMUSD, you should ask to meet with Holly McClurg, Ass’t Superintendent of Curriculum and Instructional Services to discuss the curriculum, policies and/or guidelines of the gifted program so you can get real specifics. She’s a bright, dynamic person who’s also relatively new to the district and seems to keep up w/the latest in the world of education, and cares a lot about what she does.
In reading briefly through the description of the proposed changes to the gifted program on tonight’s board meeting agenda, I noticed that it states that no more than 1% of the school population is expected to qualify for the program so they must have measurement tools planned or in place already. You’ll probably want to inquire about this to get a sense for whether or not your child will qualify. Might also be a good idea to ask Poway district for the same details from their curriculum documents so you know how each school identifies those who participate in their gifted programs.
FWIW, we’ve had a good experience with our kids at DMUSD, but it’s far from perfect, and several times I’ve felt we were being stonewalled while trying to get answers from the district (not on gifted programs but other issues). I imagine this is an issue with most districts, but it does end up feeling like a push-pull between district families and administration. Of course, budget cuts make tensions rise, but it would be nice to see a more positive climate of collaboration with district families, and hopefully, that’s changing with our new superintendent, who seems like a good guy.
Each individual DMUSD school varies slightly in approach, environment and personality so you’ll want to also visit the school you think your kids will be attending. Beware that the intradistrict transfer policy is currently up for discussion (also on the agenda at tonight’s board meeting) and district boundary issues go along with that…there are very few, if any, “guarantees” at this point about which school within DMUSD your child will attend if you buy a house almost anywhere within the district right now. Not that it much matters since they’re all good, but distance could be an issue, or you may feel more aligned with one principal or school community over another.
