Press Release

One Site For Middle School H-G Students

The Board of Education agreed on a 4-3 vote this week to consolidate three existing sites for serving Highly Gifted middle school students into one.

Currently, those Highly Gifted students receive transportation to one of three sites - Smiley, Place, or Baker middle schools.

Beginning with the 2001-2002 school year, transportation will be available to only one school. The location has not yet been selected.

The Board is scheduled to receive a recommendation in November and approve the location in December.

District staff recommended the consolidation in order to offer a more viable school day and curriculum to better serve Highly Gifted students, whose numbers have been declining at the middle school level.

"The concept is solid and I believe that in the end it will allow us to produce a program that allows us to meet the needs of these special children that we have in our population," said Board member Bennie Milliner.

Milliner, however, also expressed "slight hesitation" over the idea until the program design and location are settled.

Board members Lucia Guzman, Sharon Macdonald, and James Mejia voted against the plan.

Both Guzman and Mejia said the decision to consolidate should have been linked with a site recommendation.

Board member Sue Edwards said the decision lines up with the original intent of the program, which was relatively simple.

The program, she said, "is an opportunity to bring peers together and this program's purpose is to serve their needs," said Edwards.

On a related issue, the Board accepted on first reading a resolution that endorses a new set of guidelines for serving all gifted students.

The guidelines cover both school and district-level needs, many of which follow recommendations from the Gifted and Talented Education Advisory Council report issued earlier this year.

For a complete copy of the guidelines, please contact the Public Information Office 720-423-3414).

In the Denver Public Schools, "gifted and talented children" means those students whose demonstrated abilities, talents and/or potential for accomplishment are so exceptional or developmentally advanced that they require special provisions to meet their educational needs. These students perform, or show the potential of performing, at remarkably high levels in intellectual, specific academic, or creative areas when compared with others of their age and experience. Gifted and talented children are present in all student groups, regardless of gender, disability, English language proficiency, economic status, ethnic or cultural background.