PROGRAM TEASES BRAINS OF GIFTED STUDENTS

JACKSON -- There's a school within area schools for students who show signs of being gifted learners.

Gifted education programs are on the rise throughout Missouri. The state-funded programs are for an elite group of learners only students who range in the top 5 percent of their class and meet intelligence quotient assessment standards are invited to participate.

Most students identified for gifted programs are referred by classroom teachers, but sometimes a parent will refer their student for participation. Once identified, a counselor checks grades, standardized test scores and other factors to determine if the student qualifies. If so, parents and students are informed and meet with the gifted facilitator, a teacher who is certified to instruct the "gifted" student.

Jackson School District provides gifted education opportunities for students in elementary through junior high school. The ALERT program stimulates critical thinking skills and provides accelerated math and reading programs for students under the supervision of teachers Debbie Lusk and Julie Walker.

"The reason this is different and this program is necessary is because this isn't what they're doing in the classroom and it's not intended to be," said Lusk, who works with some 60 elementary students. "These students have a high potential and are capable of learning skills far beyond their age or grade level."

Lusk puts her students through a schedule of academic rigors four days a week. They begin with verbal brain teasers to develop thinking and reasoning skills, followed by brain teasers that are relevant to a subject they are studying. They then complete a math curriculum to develop complex thinking skills, and perform an hour to 90 minutes of research on a new subject. Following that research the students are required to build or construct something based on what they have learned.

Last week, students were required to research helicopters. They found relevant Web sites using the Internet, then were told to use a limited number of supplies to make a helicopter that would propel itself.

"You would be amazed at the different items we got," Lusk said. "They were very creative and some of them quite simple. Most importantly, every one of them worked."

Lusk said she would like to see Jackson's gifted program expanded to kindergarten and first grade. She provides enrichment activities to spur creative thinking in those grades each Friday.

"They don't automatically turn gifted in the second grade, they're gifted when they get here," she said. "I think it would be a wonderful opportunity to work with those students at that age."

Walker works with sixth- and seventh-grade students in a pullout program or math and reading accelerated courses. The term pullout means that students leave the regular classroom for at least 150 minutes a week to work independently on a preferred subject. She said the gifted program allows her access to students she didn't have as a classroom teacher.

"It is so amazing to see the potential these students have," she said. "As a regular classroom teacher, I didn't have time to tap that."

CHARACTERISTICS OF GIFTED LEARNERS

All children may exhibit these traits of giftedness. Gifted students possess these characteristics to a much greater extent thatn do other students of the same age, background and experience.

* Superior reasoning powers

* Keen sense of humor

* Sets high standards for self

* Persistent intellectual curiosity

* Wide range of interests

* Markedly superior in quality or quantity of written and/or spoken vocabulary

* Reads avidly and absorbs books well beyond age level

* Learns quickly and easily and retains what is learned

* Shows insight to math problems that require careful reasoning and grasps math concepts readily

* Gets excitement and pleasure from intellectual challenges

ABOUT MISSOURI'S GIFTED-EDUCATION PROGRAM

Program services are available for up to 55 of the enrollment in any school slected for participation.

Participating students are selected by the school in accordance with state guidelines. The student must

* Have an IQ of 125 or better

* Demonstrate proficiency on assessment tests

* Maintain good grades and citizenship