The Harford County Citizen Advisory Council for Gifted Education meets once a month and serves to advise the Board of Education in matters concerning gifted education.

These matters include:

• supporting the operating budget of the gifted education program.
• alerting the Board of Education to specific needs and/or changes for gifted and talented education programs.
• providing leadership support of gifted programs.
• making community resources accessible for gifted education programs.

Current Members:

Current Charge

Citizen Advisory Committee on Gifted Education Develop a research based model for meeting the needs of Gifted and Talented students in grades six through eight in alignment with the Level of Service Framework.

Report to the Board of Education

BOARD OF EDUCATION OF HARFORD COUNTY

INFORMATIONAL REPORT

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE

CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR GIFTED EDUCATION

OCTOBER 15, 2007

Background Information:

The Citizens Advisory Committee for Gifted Education (CAC/GT) was chartered by the Board in 1990 to advise in the development and implementation of gifted education in Harford County Public Schools.  Composed of parents, teachers, students, business and community members, the CAC has performed many functions over the years, including advising the Board and the school system on gifted and talented education, participating in the development of the Gifted Education Guidelines, counseling and educating parents, collecting data to evaluate the program through parent surveys, and advocating for all educational programs before county government.

Discussion:

The committee’s charge for the 2006-2007 school year was to develop a research-based model for grades 6-8 in alignment with the Levels of Service model.  The CAC/GT first step was to develop a plan to address the charge.  This plan included consideration of cost, implementation, and maintenance.  It also took into consideration the factors influencing the need for these changes.  These factors included the base realignment (a.k.a. BRAC) and the national science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) initiative.  With these concepts in mind, the group began its research on existing gifted and talented programs at middle school.  This research included state, national, and international models.   CAC/GT members also read portions of The Handbook of Secondary Gifted Education. Mr. Cromwell was also charged to collect data on the current middle school offerings and resources. 

Middle schools already have many offerings in alignment with the Harford County Levels of Service model. For example, Level One and Level Two opportunities are a staple of all schools.  Level One opportunities such as speakers and school-wide assemblies are frequent.  Differentiated instruction, an expectation of all teachers, is an example of Level Two service.   However, more staff development on differentiated strategies is needed.  Students who have exceptional math abilities have the opportunity to take high school level math courses.  Students with an advanced aptitude for language can also take their first year of a world language.  These are Level Three opportunities.  Our largest gap continues to be a systemic plan to work with students that are years ahead of their peers.  No Level Four plan is currently in place to meet their unique needs.    

Resources allocated to middle schools for gifted students appear to be unbalanced when compared to elementary and high schools.  Each school in the county receives enrichment funds.  These funds are distributed based on the total number of students and are allocated to support enrichment activities. In addition to the enrichment funds, there are two middle schools that have enrichment teachers.  Added to their enrichment funds, this is a total of $204,001 for an average of  $22,666 per school.    In comparison elementary schools also have staff which equals 19.9 Full Time Equivalents (FTE) which added to their materials equals $1,539,012.  This is an average of $48,094 per school.  At high schools, the ten Science and Math Academy teachers added to enrichment funds equals $770,939.   This is an average $85,659 per school.  It is important to note that the high school total does not include teachers of honors or AP classes.  The purpose of this analysis is to point out middle schools have been doing without comparable funding to meet the needs of their gifted students.  It is our hope that once a model is determined it will be funded appropriately.

Based on the research we have collected, some statements that will guide our program development:

·       The staffing model used at elementary schools is not applicable at middle school. 

·       A deliberate staff development model is needed to assist teachers in meeting the needs of gifted and talented students.  

·       Using a body of evidence to support the placement, students should be grouped based on need.

·        Curriculum that focuses on creative problem solving should be integrated.

·       A track should be developed that would expose students to the high school magnet programs so they can make a more informed decision.  In order to expose and inform students of the high school magnet programs, a series of rigorous courses should be developed.

Lastly, we request a continuance of our current charge so we may align our work with the Middle School Ad Hoc Committee.  Finally, we request that the committee affirm the use of the Level of Service Model at middle school so we can continue our efforts.