THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, May 7, 1995 TAG: 9505060105
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 07 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Long : 146 lines
I have been a resident of Virginia Beach for seven years and a faithful reader of the Beacon for much of that time. I have never written to you in all of that time; however I feel I must address the letter from M.M. Elswick, ``Let parents pay extra for extras for gifted students'' (Beacon, April 30).
She seems to feel that parents of gifted children should have to foot the bill for any education they receive that is accelerated. I suppose she also feels that parents of children with learning disabilities should foot the bill for their special needs also. As the parent of a child in the gifted program, I greatly resent this attitude. Should my child be held back because I am not financially able to send her to private school?
Public school is just that: public. We all pay taxes to keep it that way. That doesn't mean that every child has to learn at the same pace or pay for being different! I am very dismayed to think there are people who think that only children of average intelligence should receive a ``free'' education. My child qualifies to go to ODC summer program; unfortunately I do not have the $115 it would take to send her there. I am grateful for the opportunity she has to attend ODC during the school year. The alternative would be for her to go through the year being bored and underchal-lenged.
Thank the Lord that government does not feel as M.M. Elswick does about education for those children both above and below the standard mean.
L.A. Flynn
Virginia Beach
Thank you for your recent, increased coverage of gifted education. I would also like to thank the ad hoc group of parents who spearheaded the effort to convince the School Board to approve the gifted initiatives. Although Mrs. Nancy Jacobs was the most publicly visible parent, I know there were many other parents who gave of their time, energy and money to ``get the word out.'' Even children licked stamps and envelopes to send out letters. This was truly a grass-roots endeavor, and I hope that parents continue their efforts for quality gifted education in this city.
In reply to Mrs. Elswick, I am a taxpayer with two gifted children in Virginia Beach Public Schools. I do pay extra for my children's education, because the public schools do not adequately provide the education my children require. I send them to after-school programs, weekend programs and summer programs costing hundreds of dollars.
Mrs. Elswick stated that ``all children should receive equally in the budget.'' Would she require that parents of special education/dis-abled children pay extra money for the services their children require? The Virginia Beach school system spends $34.5 million on 9,000 ``special ed'' students ($3,800 per child), $19 million on 7,000 ``at-risk'' students ($2,700 each), $7 million on approximately 23,000 ``vo-tech'' students ($985 per child) and a paltry $4.7 million on 6,000 gifted students ($783 per student). Where is the equality?
Gifted children, who also have special academic needs (and can't just ``advance to the next grade''), deserve no less than any other student. Existing services for middle-school gifted students are inadequate or non-existent. The sad fact is, our children are being deprived of their rightful education.
Randi Klein
Virginia Beach
At this time when school budgets fall short, Farm Fresh Inc. was kind enough to donate three computers to our gifted program at Bayside High School. These computers were made available due to system upgrades. Farm Fresh's generosity will enable our students to participate in a PSAT/SAT study skills program as well as other computer applications.
I would challenge other businesses in the area to follow Farm Fresh's innovative plan to donate similar equipment, which although outdated for their use provides access to computers that are certainly functional for many of our students' needs.
Bonnie Alder
Gifted Resource Teacher
Bayside High School
Mrs. Elswick doesn't realize that severely mentally retarded children receive more money than anyone else does. Gifted students have the intelligence to be tomorrow's leaders in society and probably will be. They need to be challenged so they don't become like the rest of America - lazy. We need to spend money on people who actually have a chance at being successful, not on those who don't.
John Geniesse
Virginia Beach
The issue is one of values, both ethical and economical. As a society, our commitment to public education is evidenced by declining national academic standards and, hence, falling test scores. Because of our local commitment to educating our children, that is not the case here in Virginia Beach.
According to the school system's Office of Budget Development, the 1994/95 budget for the Virginia Beach school system is $340,790,112 with only $3,648,325, or 1.7 percent, allocated to the gifted and talented. What does this say about the values we place on academic advancement?
Compare this to the approximate $1.3 million we willingly spend on athletic programs (excluding maintenance and transportation). Neither expenditure constitutes a ``frill,'' but each is rather an investment and both are vital to the well-being of our children and our city's economic development.
Indeed, I reiterate the question posed by Mrs. Elswick: ``Whatever happened to the reading, writing and arithmetic which were the backbone of our country over the years?'' Do we provide a standard of education that can enable our students to achieve their academic potential, or do we foster a system that caters to the average and doomed to produce the average? Is public education for the masses or for the median?
We take pride in our efforts to educate the learning disabled, but resent efforts to provide for the learning enabled. Their significant contribution to the classroom and to achievement test scores places the Virginia Beach school system in an attractive position in Hampton Roads and in the state. I assure you that this commitment to education is used fervently by our city's economic development staff when trying to persuade new industry to choose Virginia Beach as their home. Continued economic development is vital to our tax base. Without it, your taxes would surely increase, whether or not that money is used to educate.
If, as Mrs. Elswick suggests, we require the parents to pay to properly educate our academically advanced children, we would surely lose them from the public school system. Academic test scores would fall. Virginia Beach could no longer boast of our higher achievement standards. We would lose one of our city's feature attractions and we would all feel the economic consequences. Providing well-balanced educational programs is not a choice, but a necessity.
Our children are our most valuable resource. In Virginia Beach we value their development - emotionally, physically and academically. Additional funding is desperately needed to keep our ``gifted'' program viable. Let's continue to provide a nurturing, challenging environment for all our children for they all contribute to what makes our city special. If not for the children, then do it for yourself.
Martha Malbon Geroe
Virginia Beach
Reading, writing and arithmetic are not enough for these special children. Their minds work differently from most children's. Their mental skills often surpass their social skills. Skipping a grade is not always an option as a special-education service.
Gifted children need special education just as the students with learning disabilities or handicapping conditions do.
As far as a parent paying for extras, what about the gifted children who come from low-income families? Are the parents to forgo their children's special education to put food on the table?
Take a few minutes, please, and visit Old Donation Center for the Gifted and Talented and see how much these special children have to offer to our future world.
Patricia Mashek
Jacqueline Avenue by CNB