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December 7th, 2010 |
guest blogger
Limited Options for Bright Students in Portland: A Parent’s Perspective
Let’s say you have a very smart child, and you live in Portland, Oregon. You want your child to be challenged and encouraged, and given every opportunity to reach his highest potential. What are your options?
First of all, let me say that I realize I’m hardly the one who should be writing this post. I am just a parent, and in many ways I feel like I’m just peering in through the windows of a house, wondering how many bedrooms there really are. But here is what I see, and if there is more out there I hope that someone from PPS will let us all know.
First of all, there is the ACCESS program:
If your child tests in the 99th percentile in verbal or math skills, you can enroll him in the ACCESS program that is housed at Sabin school in Northeast Portland. (If you have an older sibling in the program already, then only the 90th percentile is required for entry.) The program used to run grades 1-8, but this year seems to have been cut back to grades 2-8. And once your child reaches high school, it’s back to business as usual, which means that PPS can’t even guarantee access to AP classes for academically qualified students.
As far as I know, there are no other TAG programs anywhere in Portland Public Schools. Is that not unbelievable?
So, what if your bright little guy (or gal) is a first child, and is only 95th percentile?
The options, as far as I was able to discover for myself, are roughly as follows:
1) Local Public
You can send your child to the local public school and hope that the teacher, already overwhelmed by a crowded classroom of kids, will be able to provide some extra challenges to keep your kid busy & engaged. Good luck.
2) Lottery Public
Try to lottery in to the schools that are regarded as “better.” This type of activity becomes a positive feedback loop, as engaged parents cluster towards certain schools. Winterhaven is one such school here in Portland – I often think about the fact that although I live nowhere near the school, I know three families who send their children there.
3) Lottery Charter
As has been noted ad nauseum in blogs around the country, Charters are not a panacea for what ails public schools. But. They do tend to attract families who are engaged & committed to education, and teachers who are enthusiastic. And they may have a learning environment, or specific curriculum, that really suits your child. I know two families that have really loved the Opal school (at the Children’s Museum) and another parent who loves The Ivy School. I’m sure there are other really great charters around town.
4) Private
You can dig deep and find an extra $1000-2000/month per child in your household budget. The cost is overwhelming and painful, and obviously out of the reach of many families – but if you can manage it, you get a lot more control over what your child learns, in a supportive, small-class setting.
5) Homeschool
Homeschooling is increasingly popular in Portland, which is understandable given the combination of counter-culture and libertarian threads that run through the fabric of this city. The ultimate in flexibility, customized education, and a loving & supportive environment for your child. Obviously, not an option for many working families.
There are so many federal mandates to provide extra services for students below the academic median. But very little to address the needs of students above norm. States are really on their own with this one. This chart from the Davidson Institute says that in Oregon, “Gifted programming is mandated: no gifted funding is available.”
*from the Davidson Institute for Talent Development*
I have frequently heard the phrase “unfunded mandate,” but what does that really mean? I don’t know. But what I guess this means is that there is lip service paid to the idea that academically gifted students need unique services, but no one is going to pony up for any actual money to support it. Is it possible to force the issue from a legal perspective? I would be curious to know. And how would you define how much in the way of services is actually necessary? For example, one class per week may fulfill the legal requirement but not actually provide meaningful benefit.
I would be interested in hearing from other parents or PPS school representatives what they recommend for families with very bright students. Most importantly: is this something that Portland is willing to support? Are we willing to put our resources behind our brightest students? To me, this is a much more critical issue than the current bond measure for physical facilities.
The answer is simple.
You asked, “You want your child to be challenged and encouraged, and given every opportunity to reach his highest potential. What are your options?”.
The parent(s) of this “bright” student need to take the initiative to parent these students “to be challenged and encouraged”. There have been very bright students and parents who have achieved “highest potential” (whatever that is) with the curriculum that has been presented in PPS and across Oregon. It is the parents who make this “extra” potential being reached, not a lacking K-12 school system. The universities are available for reaching this “potential” and are often used.
Thanks very much for your post, Heather. I have two high schoolers who are TAG-identified. My experience in Oregon public schools is that parents must plan to make getting adequate instruction (at their rate and level of learning, as the TAG statute mandates) a part-time job from K through graduation. Given the lack of dedicated funding, most schools have arrived at in-class “differentiation” of curriculum as the only viable solution for advanced students. This can be successful, when the teacher is top-flight. But it gets very difficult when class sizes are up in the 30s or a teacher is inexperienced or unwilling. Now, with budgets being cut, we can expect honors classes to be eyed for the chopping block and class sizes to rise. And we can expect further declines in adequate instruction for the brightest students. UNLESS parents, education advocates, teachers and students protest and fight to get the instruction TAG students are legally entitled to. Four “what you can do’s:”
1. Join OATAG, an advocacy group which organizes parents and lobbies the state on behalf of TAG students;
2. Watch your school district’s budgeting process carefully and protest when cuts to honors classes are proposed;
3. Set aside time each week for politely but firmly insisting on delivery of instruction at your kids’ rate and level of learning with teachers, principals, superintendents and school boards.
4. Supplement with summer programs, do-it-yourself after- school projects you find on the web, private camps such as Great Books, etc.
One way to challenge a gifted child is to have them skip a grade. If that’s not enough, then skip two grades.
If you have a genius who is tracking to get a PhD by their early 20′s, then empower them and get out of their way. I wouldn’t want to be the teacher/administrator to be known in history as the one who held back a Mozart.
TAG students throughout Oregon are entitled by the Oregon TAG mandate to curriculum and instruction at their assessed rate and level of learning. However, the Oregon cut-off for TAG is the 97th. percent not the 95th. (in math, reading OR aptitude). A student in the 95th. percent may qualify as “potentially” in the 97th. depending on how a district interprets the rules and the evidence about a given student.
In theory, an identified Oregon TAG student in a regular public school anywhere in the state in grades K-12 should be receiving appropriate instruction (charter schools and private schools are exempt). In practice, this law is only meaningful if parents are aware of it and take advantage of the opportunity to advocate for their children.
More information can be found on my website for Portland TAG parents, http://www.tagpdx.org and on the OATAG website for the statewide gifted organization http://www.oatag.org/ . There are also listservs for Portland and for Oregon families. Both can be found on the tagpdx website, together with a round-up of the most important state laws and rules regarding TAG (under “federal and state”.
OATAG advocates for improved TAG funding and services every session. Again, it will only happen if people are willing to join this effort. TAG services can be provided very cost-effectively if schools are willing to be flexible about class placement and grade placement.
Concerned parents are welcome to contact me–Margaret Delacy. My e-mail is margaretdelacy@comcast.net and I am the OATAG Vice President for Home and Community.
Margaret
We left the PPS district because at one of the best-ranked schools, TAG services were implemented by pulling a child out of class to do worksheets in the hall, on the floor, when parent volunteers were available. Conferences with the principal and the district TAG services coordinator proved fruitless. My child was bored to tears with math and reading that catered to the median.
We are now in the Lake Oswego district, where the curriculum is structured so that core subjects are offered at the same time throughout the district. This allows for ability-based placement, and has made all the difference in the world, even as our TAG program sustains cuts. Making ability-based education a reality across the state is key to doing more with less, and ensuring that our most intellectually gifted students remain in school.
Andrea
Andrea
Don’t forget that Portland Public Schools is not the only district in the city of Portland. You can live in Portland and attend David Douglas, Parkrose, Reynolds, or Centennial schools, for instance.
David Douglas has had perhaps one of the best TAG programs in the city, with students attending a pull-out TAG class once a week in elementary school. But that’s falling to the budget axe next year.
Our kids are in Parkrose, and each kid has a TAG plan which the teacher is supposed to follow with them. How it all works out is kind of dependent on the teacher. We do some after-schooling and holiday break activities to go along with it.
Saturday Academy is a really good option for enrichment, and scholarships are available and easy to get.