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

DATE: SATURDAY, July 28, 1990                   TAG: 9007310313
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-11   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

GIFTED EDUCATION REQUIRED BY STATE

Ms. Johnson questioned the use of tax dollars for the PLATO program. Local schools are required by the state to provide appropriate education to meet the needs of all students, whether those needs are physical, emotional or academic. Programs designed to meet special needs (including those of gifted children) are supplemented by state money, earmarked for those students. Gifted education is not an option the local system may ignore.

Ms. Johnson was also critical of the placement procedure for PLATO. Of course there must be a selection process for placement of a child in any special-needs class: speech therapy, gifted or remedial. No student who moves into the system should be arbitrarily placed in any special-needs program without careful consideration. In most cases instant assessment would be faulty assessment, not the goal of educators who are striving to determine what is appropriate for a particular child.

As a parent of PLATO students, I overlook the larger classes and am grateful that my children have been appropriately challenged. Another parent might demand a small class with different challenges to meet his children's special needs. That diversity can be found in the city schools. Luckily, the city schools have moved beyond the children-as-cattle mentality to the consideration of all children as individuals who learn at different rates and in different ways.

Appropriate education is not a luxury; it is a necessity, specified by the state and important to every student. MARLENE H. PRESTON ROANOKE