Parents and teachers want more support for Rucker Program
Gilroy – After 11 years in the classroom, Sue Gamm still doesn’t understand the resistance.
Rucker Elementary School’s gifted and talented program doesn’t cost extra to run and parents are generally content with the education their children receive. But still the Gilroy Unified School District continues to reluctantly promote it.
“I feel like there’s something about the Rucker self-contained program that the district doesn’t want to support and I don’t know what it is,” said Gamm, who teaches third grade GATE at Rucker. “The only thing we can guess is because it makes Rucker different and the district is looking at equalizing all the schools. We feel a little bit like the unwanted step child.”
Gamm thinks the program’s stepchild status has caused confusion because parents at other school sites don’t receive enough information about Rucker’s GATE classes.
“My main concern is I want the process to be smooth for parents,” she said. “I want it to be completely transparent.”
Marcia Brown, director of student services, said the district in no way attempts to squash communication about Rucker GATE. But, she pointed out, the elementary school’s self-contained GATE is only one example of the specialty programs offered in the district.
“Our goal is to provide services through the entire district for GATE students and one of those choices is very definitely the Rucker program,” she said. “It comes back to the concept of neighborhood schools. The idea is we can serve kids in the neighborhood. I feel that we need to provide a range of options at the neighborhood schools.”
Tom Bundros, GUSD board vice president, said he’s reluctant to assert that the district doesn’t support Rucker’s GATE program.
“I would need to talk to Marcia (Brown) a little bit and try to understand how the GATE program is being marketed,” he said.
Still, Bundros said he thinks there’s a reason behind the low GATE enrollment numbers.
“I think that parents have more confidence that their GATE identified students can get the support they need at their neighborhood schools,” he said. “I think parents, if they can, would prefer to send their kids to their neighborhood schools… Rucker does have a great GATE program and the parents kind of have to weigh that.”
Some parents and teachers are also critical of the new GATE identification process. In the past, only referred students were tested for GATE identification. But last year, a committee comprised of parents and administrators revamped the criteria.
Now, all second graders are tested using a new aptitude test called the Ravens and the student’s score from the Measure of Academic Performance, the district’s assessment tool, are all figured into the point system.
Parent and teacher recommendations are also used. Parents of students who fell into the 98 percent and above bracket on the Ravens test received a letter in the mail in the spring indicating that their children had met one step of the process.
Those who scored between 94 and 97 percent were sent a letter explaining that they could automatically appeal the district’s decision, while those who scored below a 93 percent received a letter explaining that the student does not qualify for GATE.
While Rucker houses the district’s sole self-contained GATE program, all other district sites offer various GATE services. Students who choose to enroll in Rucker’s GATE program transfer in in the third grade.
Beth Dick is one of the parents who ran into some hurdles. When the mother of two learned that her daughter didn’t qualify based on her Ravens test score, she appealed the decision.
With a son enrolled in Rucker’s GATE, she is familiar with the program and feels that her daughter is the perfect fit. But because her daughter’s score on the MAP and the language section of the CSTs weren’t high enough, she’s still below the threshold.
Dick said she’d like the district to adjust certain requirements, such as giving the MAP and teacher recommendation similar emphasis. Also, because gifted individuals often excel in one area – her daughter’s strength is in math – she thinks students should only have to score at the advanced level on the CST in one section.
But Brown said, parents need to understand that the CSTs are the final piece of the appeal process. So that’s why the committee decided to require advanced status in both the math and language sections, she said.
Also, some parents were critical of the CST process since students on the eligibility cusp had to wait until August, when the scores were released, to find out if they qualified. But as a result 10 students became eligible.
“So I’m sure those 10 parents believe it was a good idea,” Brown said.
