
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, May 1, 1990                   TAG: 9005010447
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B3   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: TRACY VAN MOORLEHEM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

EXPERTS ADVISE CLOSE CHECK ON FUNDS FOR GIFTED

A panel of experts from Virginia schools and the state Department of Education warned parents and educators Monday night that although gifted programs are mandated by the state, local groups should monitor school budgets to be sure that money allotted for gifted programs is spent as promised.

Parents, teachers and students ultimately are responsible for holding school districts accountable, said Janie Craig, associate director of gifted programs at the Department of Education. Sometimes, she said, money earmarked for gifted and talented programs is spent instead on general budget items.

Craig and four others, including Montgomery County School Board member James Hassall, addressed the spring meeting of the Roanoke Regional Council for the Education of the Gifted.

The state Board of Education allocates money for gifted programs to every school district in the state - between $27 and $30 for each student - not just those who have been identified as gifted and talented, Craig said. A percentage of this money is matched by the local school district.

Each school board must formulate a written plan for using the money, but the state can only monitor these plans and not the actual expenditure of the money, according to John Booth, director of gifted programs for Henrico County public schools.

Hassall said school boards need to be educated about the special needs of gifted children.

"The pervasive attitude is, `Don't worry about the gifted kids; they are bright; they'll get it on their own.' But gifted kids are every bit as at risk as other kids," he said.

Hassall recommended pro-active, not reactive pressure on school boards.

"By the time you react, it's too late. Be sure that the [gifted] plan as written has been implemented."

He said the most effective way to improve a school's gifted program is to go through correct channels, speaking first to the teachers involved, administrators, and the school board as a last result. He called going to the school board the "head-butting" mode.

"By the time you get in that mode, it is sometimes more a matter of wills than what is educationally good for your children."

Hassall also addressed rumors that the Challenger School, a regional governor's school planned for Pulaski, may not be viable without Montgomery County and Radford's participation.

"It is definitely going to happen," he said. "It is going very well. Next fall we will have students in class."

by CNB