It’s time to get the GATE program on solid footing in the school
district so the program has long-term benefits and parents have an
informed choice
The Gilroy Unified School District is experiencing the ill effects of its split approach to its gifted and talented education program.
Since the district moved from magnet to neighborhood schools a few years ago, Rucker is the only GUSD elementary school that remains as at least a semi-magnet school.
There are many advantages to keeping a GATE program centered at one school. Specialized teaching resources are concentrated in one place, the program is a priority at a magnet school, it’s easier to share tips and techniques when students and teachers in a specialized program are on the same campus, and the lobbying power of parents is simpler to harness with a large number of GATE families brushing shoulders every day.
By the same token, the magnet school approach has its disadvantages. Parents can be forced to shuttle kids from elementary schools at far ends of the district when parents have students in more than one elementary school; their time, attention and energy are split; and the program becomes more of a step-child at non-magnet elementary campuses.
The neighborhood school-only approach – having no GATE magnet school – addresses those disadvantages, but some parents and teachers worry that the GATE program will still suffer from step-child status without the power center of a magnet school like Rucker.
Here’s the main point: It’s high time that the district adopt one approach or the other with its GATE program. The community and district personnel should weigh the pros and cons and decide whether to institute a top-notch distributed GATE program at all of its elementary schools or offer one high-quality GATE program for students who qualify at a magnet school.
Either way, the communication with parents about what their children are eligible for must be improved so that parents have plenty of time to make a sensible choice for the student and the family.
If the magnet school approach is chosen, one way to mitigate the problem of kids in the same family attending multiple schools would be to move the GATE program from far-flung Rucker to a more centrally located school – perhaps the new Las Animas School (or whatever name is eventually chosen for it) currently under construction is a good option.
It’s time for a new and unified approach to GATE in GUSD that will solidify, bolster and provide long-term stability to a valuable program.
