Dr. Elissa F. Brown Rutgers Gifted Education Conference 11/19/2015 [email protected].

Politics and Realities of Gifted Education Administration:Challenges, Considerations and Solutions

Dr. Elissa F. BrownRutgers Gifted Education Conference11/19/[email protected]

Equity and Excellence

We, as educational leaders,

need to redefineequity.

Competing Demands

4

Think, Pair, Share

Notes on Gifted Education Priorities in your school/district

Notes on other Education Priorities in your school/district

Have you ever heard the following? Don’t worry about the gifted students,

they’ll be fine on their own. They basically teach themselves.

I don’t want the gifted students in my class, because I don’t want to deal with those parents.

My GT students won’t be able to come to you (pull-out resource) today because we are preparing for the state test.

All my teachers know how to differentiate

The Educational Political Landscape

No Child Left Behind refocuses attention on low end learnersStandards movement has become assessment-drivenEquity and Excellence still viewed as dichotomiesTensions between tradition and innovationRacial disparities have not abated (closing the gap)Competing values between standardization and personalization

Data

Poor children arrive at school less prepared.

80,000 students per grade (K-5) qualify for free or reduced lunch and perform in the top quartile academically.

Data reveal a 13 point gap in reading scores between low income-high achieving vs. higher income peers as they progress throughout elementary school

Reality: Educational Disparities among High Achievers

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

The Excellence Gap

E. Brown, Hunter College, 2014

Positive Aspects of Standards Common coherent elements Consensually derived from the

disciplines and education Consonant with many strategies of

differentiation and creativity Teacher latitude in implementation Represent “real world” vision of adult

competencies

Negative Aspects of Standards

Lack of piloting and revision Lack of translation models Lack of consonant assessments Lack of consistent translation from

national projects Politicization and resultant polarities

Leading in the “middle”What ought to be What isResponsible for ensuring quality of gifted identification, program, advocacy

Do not have direct supervision of teachers, respond to multiple principals, & psychologists typically won’t test GT

Assumption around knowing best practices and current research, extending and enriching CC standards

Often not certified or licensed in gifted. Limited PD, hard to know “who to call” ,Which curriculum to be employed, pedagogical strategies

Parents want “the best” Schools comply with appropriateness

Pressure for GT program to be “different”

Define “different”

Need resources; human capital and materials

Limited or no funding

Ensure comprehensive, oversight, & delivery of coherent program (documents, procedures, outcomes)

No mandate/external pressure or priority

Teacher & Coordinator All things to all people

Urban Contexts

Supports Barriers

Rich resources in the form of museums, libraries, universities, and research laboratories abound in urban settings, along with the human capital to make them superb learning laboratories for a city’sbest students at different stages of development.

Resources in the urban community frequently are not easily accessed, many times due to psychologicalrather than physical distance for poorand minority families.

Cities offer a critical mass of students required for program development, which helps to justify need and provides easier implementation.

School environments in urban centers may be bureaucratic and rigid, thwarting attempts to innovate for any population.

Urban Contexts Supports Barriers

Urban settings offer a palette on which comprehensive programs and services can be effected, offering a scope and sequence of alternativepathways for curriculum design and development for the best learners in these contexts

Although choices abound in urbaneducation, choices may not be wellunderstood by families who lack thedata to make the right decisions based on their child’s giftedness.

Multiple ethnicities can create barriers in cities that prohibit the positive mixing of diverse groups and make gifted education a political rather than an educational issue.

What does it mean to be gifted in your school district?

Philosophy--- Inclusive? Exclusive? Continuum of services spanning both?

Definition?– What does it mean to be gifted in your division? Does this allow for equal access for all learners?

Goals for your program?---What are you seeking to accomplish in your program?

Key Linkages of Special Education and

General Education in Program Development for the

GiftedGifted

Education

General Educatio

n

Special Educatio

n

CurriculumEvaluationInstructional ProcessesPhilosophy & GoalsMaterials/Resources

Identification/AssessmentProgram AdministrationGrouping StrategiesTeacher TrainingAdvocacy

Program Components for Gifted Learners: Pieces of the Puzzle

Program Management

Identification

PersonnelPreparation

Program &Service Provisions

Tools: NAGC PreK-12 Program Standards & PD standards

Education should ask more of gifted children than that they be walking memory banks. They must also be problem solvers and creative thinkers; and they will not reach that goal by passively soaking up more information.

-James J. Gallagher

Optimal Match

Student profile and identification linked to relevant services

Levels of giftedness matched to the level of course rigor

Amount of contact time necessary for growth

Social-Emotional Support Mechanisms

Counseling SupportBibliotherapyDeveloping Emotional IntelligenceService Learning

Academic Guidance and Career Counseling

Assessment of strengths, values, and interests

Course-taking in mathematics and science

Opportunities for mentorships/internships Access to AP, IB, and/or dual enrollment

Professional Development

Change inCLASSROOMPRACTICES

Change in STUDENTLEARNING

Change inTEACHERS’ATTITUDES& BELIEFS

A Model of Teacher Change

Guskey, T. R. (2000). Evaluating professional development. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press

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Importance of Alignment

Alignment is an even stronger predicator of student achievement

on standardized tests than are socioeconomic status, gender,

race, and teacher effect.

(Elmore & Rothman, 1999; Mitchell, 1998; Wishnick, 1989)

Action Planning for Gifted Education

Insert District mission statement District Strategic Goal 1: District Strategic Goal 2: District Strategic Goal 3:

Aligned with school district’s strategic mission and goals

“Collateral victims are a society and economy that thereby fail to make

the most of latent human capital. It’s not elitist to pour more resources

into educating our brightest kids. In fact, the future of the country may

depend on it.”

-Chester E. FinnPresident, Thomas B. Fordham Institute

Results