Schools
District 181 to Seek Consultant for Gifted Program
The program has been a source of "on and off" concern among parent groups since it was started in the 1980s, according to Superintendent Dr. Renee Schuster.
The District 181 Board of Education wants in on the selection process of a consultant to evaluate the district's gifted program.
At Monday night's Committee of the Whole meeting, board members agreed to submit by Friday their suggestions for a targeted request-for-proposal (RFP) that would seek a consultant to evaluate how the district's advanced students are selected and instructed.
The gifted program, which includes the Affective and Cognitive Enrichment (ACE) program, has evolved much since it was started in the 1980s and has been a source of concern for parent groups “on and off” throughout its existence, according to Superintendent Dr. Renee Schuster.
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Issues some parents have with the gifted program include its selection process and whether advancing students beyond their grade level in certain subjects is beneficial, Schuster said. The superintendent said some even question whether a gifted program should exist at all.
“So by having an outside person come in and look at everything we do … they could give us an objective perspective upon which to make the decisions,” Schuster said.
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According to the District 181 website, students are first assessed for the gifted program during the spring of second grade. Evaluations are based on several standardized tests as well as teacher observation.
The ACE program is a self-contained program where selected students from all the district’s elementary schools meet one day a week at a school with a gifted specialist. There are also advanced math and language arts programs in each building for students who excel in those subjects.
Schuster said she believes the district must focus on individual student learning and gifted programs are an important part of that.
"It's critical that kids do not have to wait to learn," she said.
Board members agreed at Monday night’s meeting that the district administration should compile a set of questions in an RFP, with board input, that the consultant would seek to answer during the evaluation of the gifted program. The RFP would then be sent out to several consultants who already have expressed interest in the assessment, as well as any other candidates that might surface in the future.
Board member Glenn Yaeger, who chaired Monday’s meeting in the absence of Board President Michael Nelson, said it’s important the board have an opportunity to provide direction to the administration in the drafting process so there won’t be conflict down the road.
“I just want everybody to buy in on the front end,” Yaeger said.
The board chose the targeted RFP approach over the standard RFP process that must be used for issues such as capital improvement projects. The latter is not targeted to any specific candidates, and according to Assistant Superintendent for Business Troy Whalen, takes approximately two months from RFP to board approval.
Schuster asked Monday at that board members submit suggested modifications to the RFP by Friday afternoon. The administration will bring a revised draft to the board’s Aug. 22 business meeting, where it will be reviewed and finalized. The RFP will then be sent out to those consultants the district is interested in, and feedback from those candidates will be presented to the board in September. The administration will then make its recommendation to the board on the best candidate to perform the consultant work.
Board member Yvonne Mayer, who suggested the targeted approach Monday night, said the district must honor whatever conclusions a consultant comes to regarding the gifted program.
“We’ve had experts come in since the mid-90s, and we still have issues,” Mayer said of the program. “If we’re going to do it again, let’s do it right.”
Schuster said the district would take the advice of a selected consultant and apply the additions or subtractions suggested as long as it is fiscally possible. Some changes, the superintendent said, may have to be phased in over several years.
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