(From MAGC on Facebook)
“Gifted students are not simply children who make good grades or finish their work early. They are students who deserve instruction designed to help them grow, just like every other child in our classrooms,” writes Dr. Brittney Chaney, who also says Mississippi legislators must act to protect gifted funding.
As a mother of three and a principal in rural Mississippi, I have spent much of my adult life looking at education through two different lenses:
- As a principal, I work every day to ensure that students have the opportunities and resources they need to succeed.
- As a mother, I want my own children to be challenged, encouraged, and given every opportunity to discover just how much they are capable of accomplishing.
Both roles have taught me something important: Meeting a child’s educational needs does not always mean helping them catch up. Sometimes, it means giving them the opportunity to move ahead.
Next fall, state gifted funding is set to decrease by approximately 83% when our state’s new education funding formula goes into full effect. That level of funding reduction will significantly reduce opportunities available to students, limit districts’ capacity to hire gifted-certified educators, and create undue burdens for principals and superintendents in every district in Mississippi.
In public education, we spend a tremendous amount of time discussing achievement gaps, interventions, and students who are struggling academically. Those conversations are necessary, and that work is incredibly important; however, in our efforts to ensure that no child falls behind, we must be careful that we do not unintentionally hold others back.
Gifted students are not simply children who make good grades or finish their work early. They are students who deserve instruction designed to help them grow, just like every other child in our classrooms. Gifted students have unique educational needs, and thrive when given opportunities to think beyond the textbook, ask difficult questions, solve complex problems, and explore their own creativity.
As an educator, I have seen what happens when students are granted these resources; however, I have also seen how easily a child’s excitement for learning can fade when they are not challenged or given opportunities to thrive.
In rural Mississippi, these opportunities are especially important. Many of our students do not have access to the enrichment programs and resources available in larger communities. For some, their public school may be the only place where their unique abilities are recognized and nurtured. Gifted programs in our schools provide these opportunities and allow our children to thrive and develop into Mississippi’s future.
We often talk about workforce development, economic growth, and keeping our brightest young people in Mississippi, but we cannot expect to build a workforce of innovative thinkers and problem-solvers if we are unwilling to invest in developing those abilities while students are young.
The future engineers, entrepreneurs, healthcare professionals, educators, and leaders of Mississippi are sitting in our classrooms today. The question is whether we are providing the opportunities they need to reach their potential.
Gifted education is not about giving certain students more than others. I believe our responsibility is greater than helping children meet a minimum standard, but rather is to give every student what they need to grow. We should be inspiring them to exceed expectations, challenge themselves, and imagine possibilities beyond what they can currently see.
Because when we invest in the potential of our children, we invest in the future of Mississippi.
Our legislators must act to protect gifted funding – our students are counting on it.
Learn more about how you can help protect gifted programs in our state here.
