Focus on Schools

Gifted? Talented? Neither? MCPS has a Program for You

ROCKVILLE, MD—The Montgomery County School Board held a special meeting to discuss this year’s new additions to the school system’s extensive roster of specialized educational programs. The new programs have received high marks for their rigorous and targeted curricula.

The Gifted But Not Talented Program is designed to meet the needs of students in grades 1 through 12 who exhibit above average intelligence while showing no signs of any useful skills.

The Talented But Not Gifted Program provides an enriching environment for children who lack creativity but exhibit technical proficiency in joke telling, tap dancing, and baton twirling.

The Regifted Program is for children who have been passed from one classroom to another because no one wants them, until they either age out of the system or are sold at a yard sale.

Despite the widespread popularity of these new programs, some parents are criticizing the school system for targeting resources to benefit only small populations. “We have a whole forgotten group of kids languishing in our school system,” Montgomery County parent Sheila Renfrew said at the School Board hearing. “What about the John Doe who might not have any talent but is too disengaged in the classroom for the teacher to notice? Doesn’t he deserve enrichment, too? These are programs that all students should benefit from, not just the ones who can play Vivaldi’s Four Seasons with their armpits.”

Kerrie Least, Chief of the Office of Curriculum and Instructional Programs, told the Board that MCPS enlists ongoing identification of students who might, with some encouragement and/or discouragement, become eligible for one of these programs. “Our teachers are trained to be on the lookout for students who may be borderline in one of these areas,” Least said. “If a student is gifted but shows a fair amount of talent, too, we will do whatever we can to reduce his level of creative thinking.” Least credited the No Child Left Behind Act with providing school systems with the tools to selectively lower giftedness or talent in a broad spectrum of children.