Gifted And Talented

When African-American teens from nine of the county's 11 high schools systematically stood up at a recent forum and outlined a disparity of minority representation in gifted-and-talented programs, their words - though impassioned - weren't shocking to school officials. "We have been around and around with the data for many years in terms of participation," said C. Thomas Payne, the school system's gifted-and-talented program coordinator. "For some reason, African-American students aren't performing at the high levels, and therefore they are not participating."

Jared Spencer, a fifth-grader at Dasher Green Elementary, is giving up an entire week of his summer vacation to go back to school - and it only took a little prodding from his parents. "At first I thought I didn't want to do it," he said. "But after I saw the classes, I thought it was pretty cool." Jared is one of about 65 kids participating in Howard County's first Gifted and Talented Summer Institute, a program designed to offer children of varied academic backgrounds a way to exercise their minds while school's out - and have fun. "We'd heard of some other offerings that were similar - residential programs on the other side of the state - but they were too far away and way too expensive," said Kim Eubanks, the program's coordinator and lead teacher.

Jared Spencer, a fifth-grader at Dasher Green Elementary, is giving up an entire week of his summer vacation to go back to school -- and it took only a little prodding from his parents. "At first, I thought I didn't want to do it," he said. "But after I saw the classes, I thought it was pretty cool." Jared is one of about 65 children participating in Howard County's first Gifted and Talented Summer Institute, a program designed to offer children of varied academic backgrounds a way to exercise their minds while school is out and still have fun. "We'd heard of some other offerings that were similar -- residential programs on the other side of the state -- but they were too far away and way too expensive," said Kim Eubanks, the program's coordinator and lead teacher.

Maybe Elijah McCain would have realized one day that success in school is more important than his classmates' acceptance, or maybe the 9-year-old would have kept sloughing off schoolwork to please his friends, never reaching his potential. Then the boy from Essex would have been another sad story of academic underachievement, another sorry example of an African-American child who fell through the cracks and wasn't given the prodding he needed to excel. That's not Elijah's tale, though.

Anne Arundel County schools officials called a consultant's $175,000 study of the gifted and talented program inconclusive but said it provided leads on revamping a program many parents say is inadequate. The 30-page report - which consultant KPMG spent more than a year preparing - offers few specific suggestions for improving the county's programs for gifted students. Officials said they would need more expert guidance before determining how to proceed. "It does give us areas to improve, but they're not the specifics you would have hoped for and I would have hoped for," said Assistant Superintendent Nancy Mann.

Anne Arundel County schools officials called a consultant's $175,000 study of the gifted and talented program inconclusive but said it provided leads on revamping a program many parents say is inadequate. The 30-page report -- which consultant KPMG spent more than a year preparing -- offers few specific suggestions for improving the county's programs for gifted students. Officials said they would need more expert guidance before determining how to proceed. "It does give us areas to improve, but they're not the specifics you would have hoped for and I would have hoped for," said Assistant Superintendent Nancy Mann.

Dressed in their hospital scrubs, students on an academic panel talked about viewing their first cadavers. They described how their fascination with seeing human organs helped them overcome "the gross-out factor." It was an unusual term to hear at an academic conference, but this panel was composed of high school students who were participants in Howard County's Intern Mentor program. They shadowed doctors at area hospitals throughout the school year. Other students in the gifted-and-talented (GT)

THE LESSONS and rehearsals have paid off for elementary and middle school children in the All-County Gifted and Talented and Enrichment orchestras. The youngsters presented a short and beautiful Winter Concert on Friday at River Hill High School in Clarksville. Children in both orchestras hail from across Howard County, representing most of our elementary and middle schools. They were chosen this year by audition and have been meeting weekly since September to practice. "It's quite an accelerated group," said Rosemary Lather, a teacher at River Hill High School and director of the middle school Gifted and Talented Orchestra.

Leslie Chapman, a Howard County teacher of gifted and talented pupils, died Wednesday of melanoma at her Ellicott City home. She was 43. A teacher at Worthington Elementary School in Ellicott City, she had earlier taught at Clarksville and Swansfield elementary schools in Columbia. She worked with pupils in kindergarten through fifth grade. "She was the true meaning of a teacher - her kids and their learning experience came first," said Andrea "Andy" Gershman, a friend and teacher at the Worthington school.

Schools Superintendent Carol S. Parham has ordered an independent performance audit of the gifted and talented programs available in county schools. Her action comes at the conclusion of a school year in which an advocacy group - formed by parents of academically advanced pupils - repeatedly raised concerns about perceived weaknesses in the school system's approach to educating gifted students. Parham said her decision was not based solely on the concerns of the Gifted and Talented Association of Arundel County.