The determination and hard work of Gilroy Unified School
District parents who are so passionate about the education of their
gifted students that they’re forming a nonprofit organization to
help fund GATE programs is more than admirable.
The determination and hard work of Gilroy Unified School District parents who are so passionate about the education of their gifted students that they’re forming a nonprofit organization to help fund GATE programs is more than admirable. It speaks volumes about commitment and involvement.
The group, OpenGATE, hopes to secure grants for programs to help fund curriculum for their accelerated students.
“We plan to hit the ground running in the month of January. It’s going to be fast and furious,” OpenGATE member Bill Hudson told reporter Katie Niekirk. “Already I have my eye on some grants I want to go after in the month of January.”
It’s exciting to watch a group evolve around its sense of mission.
Moreover, the group is living up to the “open” part of its name: Anyone can join the group’s e-mail list, getting unfiltered e-mail messages that go out to the entire list, regardless of status. If you’re a founder, a sometime volunteer, or a lurker, you see the same e-mail messages as everyone else on the OpenGATE mailing list.
We encourage the group, as it establishes a board of directors in the coming month, to preserve that attitude of openness. It will go a long way to addressing our next concern: its relationship with GUSD administrators.
We urge everyone involved in educating GATE students – OpenGATE members and school district teachers and administrators – to work cooperatively to benefit Gilroy’s accelerated students. There has often been a prickly relationship between GUSD administrators and GATE parents, but this latest initiative has the potential to turn that situation around.
The school district should capitalize on the enthusiasm and resources of these GATE parents as a way to make sure Gilroy’s GATE students are challenged and engaged by the education offered in our public schools.
If OpenGATE is successful, it might serve as a model for similar advocacy efforts within the school district. What’s heartening is to see the involvement on an elemental level that embraces an action-oriented philosophy. These parents aren’t asking what the school district can do for them, they’re doing something to improve the school district. The effort holds great promise.
