Ask Missourians to write their legislators encouraging them NOT to support Missouri House Bill 1136 which will eliminate a penalty for not funding gifted education programs to 80% of their current level

While Missouri still has gifted education, it is now not a line item budget item. In other words, funds for gifted ed are no longer earmarked for that – instead, they are disbursed into the general education fund. Therefore, administrators can choose to use the money elsewhere if needed.

We still have gifted ed – just not as protected as it used to be.

From: Jane Clarenbach
Sent: Friday, March 24, 2006 3:00 PM
To: Ann Robinson; Ann Sheldon (OAGC); Barb Csicsko (legis cmttee);
Cathy
Blando ; Welch, David; Dianne Hughes (TX); Frances Karnes; Jay
McIntire;
Jim Gallagher; Joe Renzulli; Joyce VT-B; Julia Roberts; Martha Flournoy
(CAG-legis); Mary_Ruth-Coleman@unc.edu; Pam Clinkenbeard; Rebecca
Odoardi (UT-legis); Roberta Braverman; Stephen Martin (WA)
Subject: Javits Update

Greetings, I hope you’re all well.

I’m heading out today to the annual affiliate conference. We have
leaders from 32 state groups coming to DC for the weekend, and, of
course, trips to Capitol Hill on Tuesday. AND, of course, we arrange
to
have specific tasks for the leaders in their visits—beginning with
Javits funding for 2007.

Below is the message I just sent to state leaders about helping gather
co-signers on a Senate and House “dear colleague” letter to the
appropriations subcommittees that fund education. We’ve had good luck
getting signers on the Senate letter in the past; fewer signers on the
House letter in the past than I’d like to see. AND, as you’ll recall,
support is shakier on the House side, as evidenced by $0 for Javits
from
the subcommittee last year. (which we overturned by the end of the
process, but it was scary there for a while!)

SO…..I’d like to ask you to help out. Please contact your Senators
and Representative regarding the “dear colleague” letters. The more
signatures, the better off we’ll be. We have until April 1 for the
Senate letter, until April 5 for the House.

Thank you for your support, I’ll get a more complete legislative report
to you after the conference.

Jane

It’s THAT time of year again. The federal funding process for fiscal
year 2007 is underway and there is an important first step to take to
support funding for the Javits program.

The House and Senate Appropriations Committees will be making decisions
in April regarding overall spending priorities and limits. As a
result,
Senators and Representatives let the appropriations committee leaders
know what they HOPE the appropriators will spend the money ON!

As they have in the past, Senator Charles Grassley (Iowa), jointly with
Senator Chris Dodd (CT) and Representative Elton Gallegly (CA-24) are
sending letters to the appropriations subcommittees that handle
education spending, requesting funds for the Javits program in 2007.
They are also sending a “dear colleague” letter around asking others to
co-sign that letter with them. Obviously, the more co-signers on the
letters, the more powerful the message to the appropriations
committees.
Time is short, however—

You may recall that last year, the House subcommittee elected not to
fund the Javits program, and we had to fight until the 11th hour to
secure funding for 2006. This year, we hope to avoid that problem by
getting enough co-signers on the House letter to send a strong message
to the appropriations subcommittee.

HOW YOU CAN HELP:

Call or email your Senators and Representative BEFORE APRIL 1 and urge
them to do the following:

(1) For Senators: “Please support gifted and talented education by
co-signing Senator Grassley & Senator Dodd’s letter to the
appropriations subcommittee on funding the Javits gifted education
program in 2007.”

(2) For Representatives: “Please support gifted and talented
education
by co-signing Representative Elton Gallegly’s letter to the
appropriations subcommittee on funding the Javits gifted education
program in 2007.”

Senate phone and email information is at www.senate.gov
; for Representatives, visit www.house.gov
.

FYI: a copy of the Grassley/Dodd letter is on the NAGC website at
www.nagc.org/index.aspx?id=1300 ; we’ll post the Gallegly letter
shortly.

Jane Clarenbach, J.D.
Director, Public Education & Affiliate Relations
National Association for Gifted Children
1707 L St., NW, Suite 550
Washington, DC 20036
202-785-4268
202-785-4248 (f)
www.nagc.org

NAGC 2006: Charlotte, NC
November 1-5, 2006

The House Committee on Student Achievement and Finance held a hearing
on
Senator Shields’ Senate Bill 644, which fazes out the penalty for
summer
school decreased attendance. (Shields bill does NOT include the gifted
penalty) The Chairman Rep. Baker has discussed putting the language
that
would require every school district in the state to identify gifted
students and require them to report their gifted programs to the state
onto Shields’ bill. He also informed me he is working on an entire
gifted
funding bill for next session that would add a line item for gifted
education or a weight to the new formula. This is the “incentive” we
have
been discussing to increase gifted education funding in our schools.

Rep. Baker has come a long way since the start of session to work with
GAM
and our members. Although he has not agreed to a “mandate” for gifted
programs in our schools, his proposed language would be the first time
all
school districts would be required to identify gifted kids. This would
then allow teachers/parents/community to put pressure on the school to
continue to fund their gifted programs, or even start new ones.

Positive letters are much more needed now than negative ones. Please
encourage your legislators to support gifted education funding
legislation. Capitol Swithchboard 573-751-2000.

pril 5, 2006
On Education
No Child Left Behind? Ask the Gifted
By MICHAEL WINERIPMOUNT LAUREL, N.J.
ALL year, Roberta Braverman’s fifth- and sixth-grade gifted classes at
Hartford Upper Elementary had been planning their field trip to Ellis
Island. “This is the big trip,” Ms. Braverman said as she drove into
the
school lot. “We’ve done everything to raise money — recycling phones,
recycling print cartridges, selling stretchy book covers.”
It was not even 7:30 a.m., but she leaped out of her car, worried that
she
was late. “They’re probably looking for me,” she said. “My cellphone!
They’re calling! I knew it. They’re going to say, ‘Where are you?’ ”
“I’m here,” she shouted into the cell. “Right out front.”
The school was quiet, except for the teachers’ lounge, where a squad of
parent volunteers led by Michelle Ieradi, with her son Frankie, were
putting 12 dozen bagels into bags for the students to eat on the buses
to
Ellis Island.
“Mom, do I need a napkin in every bag?” asked Frankie. “And a butter
and
cream cheese in every bag?”
“It doesn’t have to be neat, Frankie, it has to be quick,” his mother
said. “You need to go fast! This is something we couldn’t pre-do.”
Everything they could pre-do had been pre-done. For six months Ms.
Braverman had been teaching her famous language arts unit on
immigration
(she’s been doing it for 15 years). Grammar, spelling and composition
had
all been taught with an immigrant slant. From their Wonderful Wednesday
Words, Catherine Rickman knew what an anarchist was and Amanda Cohen
knew
that German immigrants brought zithers to the New World.
The students had done eight-part research papers, several of them,
including Priya Patel, completing them before they were due, and some
of
them studying their own families. Courtney Kelly brought in her
mother’s
1967 Cuban passport. Rachel Rainier told the class she was descended
from
one of America’s first immigrants, Roger Williams, the founder of Rhode
Island.
“He was my great-great — there’s a lot of great-greats in there,”
Rachel
said. “I think 13 great-greats.”
In February, the students dressed in period-style clothes and created
their own simulated Ellis Island in the cafeteria, serenaded by
Christine
Kim, a fifth grader, who played Chopin on the piano and Bach on her
violin. (“I practice each for two hours a day,” she said.)
Christine brought in her mother’s spicy Korean cabbage for classmates
to
sample.
“It was so horrible,” Frankie said. “And what was that spongy thing we
ate?”
“The pastry from India that Tapasya Das brought,” Ms. Braverman said.
“Yeah,” Frankie said. “I didn’t like that either.”
Ms. Braverman is a perfect teacher for the gifted, since she herself
likes
to do 12 things at once. While the buses headed north on the New Jersey
Turnpike, the students eating their bagels, Ms. Braverman put on the
video
she always shows for this field trip, “An American Tail.” (“The story
of [
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/s/steven_spielberg/index.html?inline=nyt-per
]Steven Spielberg’s family’s journey to America, except the characters
are
cartoon mice,” Ms. Braverman explained.) The thing the children love
about
Ms. Braverman is that as many times as she has seen that video, she
still
thinks it is hilarious when the mouse says the streets in America are
paved with cheese.
As they neared Exit 14B, it grew quiet on the bus. Frankie LoPinto was
thinking about the ferry; he had never been on a boat. Elizabeth Henry
whispered to her seatmate, “When I get on the ferry I’m going to
pretend
I’m an immigrant coming to Eliis Island.”
This was Ms. Braverman’s second big trip of the week. She had spent the
four previous days in Washington, on her annual lobbying trip for the
New
Jersey Association for Gifted Children. Her mission was to seek more
financing for programs like the one in Mount Laurel.
Despite all the talk about America losing its edge in the global
market,
programs for the gifted and talented are threatened on several fronts.
There are fewer classes for gifted elementary and middle school
children
today than there were a decade ago, said Jane Clarenbach, public
relations
director of the National Association for Gifted Children. In 1998, 25
states reported that 80 to 100 percent of their local school districts
provided services to gifted students; last year, there were 22 states
reporting that level of services.
Ms. Clarenbach said the federal No Child Left Behind law was “eroding
support for gifted services.” Passed in 2002, the law rates schools on
how
students perform on reading and math tests, pressuring districts to
focus
resources on students struggling to attain proficiency. Schools that
score
too low can be taken over.
“It’s important to help the kids who are struggling,” Ms. Clarenbach
said,
“but it’s important to challenge the kids on the other end, too.”
She said that while the extra $90 million President Bush has budgeted
this
year for Advanced Placement math and science programs was good news,
“we
need to do more K to 8 so more kids will be in a position to take the
A.P.
tests in high school.”
Each year, President Bush has eliminated the $9 million Javits Act, the
only federal financing for elementary and middle school gifted
programs.
And each year, a bipartisan Congressional coalition has saved it, this
year led by Senators [
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/g/charles_e_grassley/index.html?inline=nyt-per
]Charles E. Grassley and [
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/d/christopher_j_dodd/index.html?inline=nyt-per
]Christopher J. Dodd.
IN New Jersey, Gov. John S. Corzine recently cut financing for the
Governor’s School of New Jersey, a 22-year-old, $1.9 million summer
program that sent 600 top high school juniors to college campuses to
study
science, engineering and international relations.
A new study by the Center on Education Policy found that the federal
law
put so much emphasis on reading and math, there has been a reduction in
teaching history, science and the arts. And that appears to have
affected
field trips.
Peter O’Connell, who runs the educational program at the national park
in
Lowell, Mass., just completed a survey of school visits to 10 history
museums in New England, including Old Sturbridge Village and Plimoth
Plantation. He found a 20 percent decline in student visits in the last
few years. “Schools aren’t devoting as much time to history, especially
urban districts,” Dr. O’Connell said.
For his part, Mackinley Tan, one of Ms. Braverman’s fifth graders,
cannot
understand anyone being anti-field trip. “It’s a more interesting
approach
to learning,” he said. “Instead of people just telling you it, you get
the
experience.”
The students raced up the steps to the Great Hall, careful not to
breathe
heavily, because they’d learned that immigrants who huffed and puffed
had
a “P” chalked on their coats for “pulmonary” problems and faced
deportation. Then they raced down the Stairway of Separation, where,
they
knew, the 98 percent who were cleared for entry were split off from the
2
percent rejected.
Their guide, Liz Carroll, was impressed when they played a “Jeopardy!”
immigration game and the entire class got the first two questions
right.
“I’ve never seen that,” she said.
“We’re very smart,” Ms. Braverman said.
At lunch, staring out at New York Harbor, Frankie Ieradi could not stop
smiling. “I was thinking about how my sister’s in school right now,” he
said.
E-mail: edmike@nytimes.com

Proud To Be a Teacher

“Where are the heroes of today?” a radio talk show host thundered. He
blames society’s shortcomings on education. Too many people are looking
for heroes in all the wrong places. Movie stars and rock musicians,
athletes, and models aren’t heroes; they’re celebrities. Heroes abound
in public schools, a fact that doesn’t make the news. There is no
precedent for the level of violence, drugs, broken homes, child abuse,
and crime in today’s America. Education didn’t create these problems
but
deals with them every day.

You want heroes?
Consider Dave Sanders, the school teacher shot to death while trying to
shield his students from two youths on a shooting rampage at Columbine
High School in Littleton, Colorado. Sanders gave his life, along with
12
students, and other less heralded heroes survived the Colorado blood
bath.

You want heroes? Jane Smith, a Fayetteville, NC teacher, was moved by
the plight of one of her students, a boy dying for want of a kidney
transplant. So this woman told the family of a 14 year old boy that she
would give him one of her kidneys. And she did. When they subsequently
appeared together hugging on the Today Show, even Katie Couric was near
tears.

You want heroes? Doris Dillon dreamed all her life of being a teacher.
She not only made it, she was one of those wondrous teachers who could
wring the best out of every single child. One of her fellow teachers in
San Jose, Calif. said, “She could teach a rock to read.” Suddenly she
was stricken with Lou Gehrig’s Disease, which is always fatal, usually
within five years.
She asked to stay on job—and did. When her voice was affected she
communicated by computer. Did she go home? Absolutely not! She is
running two elementary school libraries! When the disease was
diagnosed,
she wrote the staff and all the families that she had one last lesson
to
teach—that dying is part of living. Her colleagues named her Teacher
of
the Year.

You want heroes? Bob House, a teacher in Gay, Georgia, tried out for
Who
Wants to be a Millionaire. After he won the million dollars, a network
film crew wanted to follow up to see how it had impacted his life. New
cars? Big new house? Instead, they found both Bob House and his wife
still teaching. They explained that it was what they had always wanted
to do with their lives and that would not change. The community was
both stunned and gratified.

You want heroes? Last year the average school teacher spent $468 of
their own money for student necessities-workbooks, pencils-supplies
kids had to have but could not afford. That’s a lot of money from the
pockets of the most poorly paid teachers in the industrial world.
Schools don’t teach values? The critics are dead wrong. Public
education
provides more Sunday School teachers than any other profession. The
average teacher works more hours in nine months than the average
40-hour
employee does in a year.

You want heroes? For millions of kids, the hug they get from a teacher
is the only hug they will get that day because the nation is living
through the worst parenting in history. An Argyle, Texas kindergarten
teacher hugs her little 5 and 6 year-olds so much that both the boys
and
the girls run up and hug her when they see her in the hall, at the
football games, or in the malls years later. A Michigan principal moved
me to tears with the story of her attempt to rescue a badly abused
little boy who doted on a stuffed animal on her desk—one that said “I
love you!” He said he’d never been told that at home. This is a
constant
in today’s society—two million unwanted, unloved, abused children in
the public schools, the only institution that takes them all in.

You want heroes? Visit any special education class and watch the
miracle
of personal interaction, a job so difficult that fellow teachers are
awed by the dedication they witness. There is a sentence from an
unnamed
source which says, “We have been so anxious to give our children what
we
didn’t have that we have neglected to give them what we did.” What is
it that our kids really need? What do they really want? Math, science,
history and social studies are important, but children need love,
confidence, encouragement, someone to talk to, someone to listen,
standards to live by. Teachers provide upright examples, the faith and
assurance of responsible people.

You want heroes? Then go down to your local school and see our real
live
heroes—the ones changing lives for the better each and every day!

Now, pass this on to someone you know who’s a teacher, or to someone
who
should thank a teacher today.

I’d like to see this sent to all those who cut down the importance of
teachers. They have no idea who a public school teacher is or what they
do.

House Bill 1273 has not been moved to the House Calendar for debate at
this time. Things continue to move slowly in the House.
However, Rep. Brian Baker did speak with House Budget Chairman Allen
Icet
this week requesting a line item for gifted to be restored in the House
Bill 2 – DESE’s budget. Icet is willing to look into it, but does not
want
to open up the new foundation formula before it goes into effect.
The 66% legislation is heating up in the Senate. There will most likely
be
an omnibus bill relating to education that we may amend our language
for
gifted on to. Stay tuned…..

Report for February 23, 2006

HOUSE BUDGET COMMITTEE STARTS REVIEW AND MARK-UP

The House Budget Committee began discussing the 2007 fiscal year budget
Tuesday and likely will continue for several weeks. The House and
Senate
must approve the budget by May 5.

Besides numerous questions regarding the new foundation formula for
elementary and secondary education, there was some uncertainty about
the
limits of stem cell research in Missouri. The House budget panel
recommend against using $38.5 million in funds dedicated to
life-science
research until after this year’s elections.

Lawmakers have largely stayed on the sidelines as stem cell research
supporters gather petition signatures for a proposed constitutional
amendment that would ensure stem cell research that is legal under
federal
law could occur in Missouri. The amendment has caused a stir because
it
would protect a form of embryonic stem cell research that opponents
claim
results in the destruction of life in its earliest stages.

Republican Gov. Matt Blunt, who has endorsed the proposed
constitutional
amendment, recommended in his budget that the life-sciences money be
spent
this coming year.

FUNERAL PROTEST BILL SENT TO GOVERNOR

A bill prohibiting protests one hour before until one hour after a
funeral
has been approved by the House and sent to the Governor. The action is
part of a two-fold strategy on the issue in an effort to get around any
constitutional problems. The Senate plans to approve a second version
of
the bill later in the session that contains setback provisions that
supporters hope will withstand a legal challenge if the first bill
doesn’t. Representative Beth Low of Kansas City is one of only 17
Representatives who voted against the bill, saying its vague language
troubles her. Critics say the bill’s vagueness makes it vulnerable to a
constitutional challenge. It prohibits protests near a church or
cemetery
an hour before until an hour after a funeral. The second bill contains
for
specific language, prohibiting protestors from getting within 300 feet
of
a church or cemetery. The bills stem from disgust over a protest staged
in
St. Joseph at the funeral of a soldier killed in Iraq. A congregation
from
Topeka, Kansas traveled to St. Joseph to protest at the funeral,
claiming
the soldier’s death was part of God’s judgment on America for
tolerating
homosexuality.

SENATE MOVES TO ELIMINATE VEHICLE INSPECTION

Vehicle Emissions testing has demanded much of the floor debate time in
the Senate this week. The State Senate has voted to eliminate vehicle
inspections every two years at the end of this year. St. Joseph Senator
Charlie Shields says an inspection every two years isn’t the answer.
Shields has no guarantees that his idea will get final approval in the
Senate. He’s added it to another bill that has been sidelined because
of
opposition on the Senate floor. But he says the repeal needs
discussion.

BLUNT TAKES TO THE ROAD TO PROMOTE E-10 INITIATIVE

Governor Matt Blunt is visiting five Missouri cities as he promotes his
proposal to require gasoline sold in Missouri to contain 10 percent
ethanol. First stop: Jefferson City, where the Governor spoke of the
benefits, which include the creation of markets for Missouri corn
growers.
He adds greater use of ethanol would lessen dependence on foreign
sources
of energy. Blunt says Missouri would be the fourth state to require a
10
percent ethanol blend – behind Minnesota, Montana, and Hawaii.
Legislation
to require the ethanol blend is before the General Assembly.

HOUSE MOVES FORWARD ON FOOD STAMP PROGRAM

An effort to increase the food stamps available to the elderly is
moving
forward in the Legislature. The House has endorsed Speaker Rod Jetton’s
proposal to request the federal government give Missouri permission to
add
to its food stamp program for senior citizens. Jetton has proposed a
three-prong approach to battling hunger. If the state receives
permission
from the federal government, it would supplement the federal food stamp
program for senior citizens. Jetton also wants to add one million
dollars
to the meals-on-wheels program. And he proposes giving a 50 percent tax
credit to individuals and businesses which donate to food pantries.

SENATE COMMITTEE CONSIDERS “CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION” BILL

A Senate committee is being asked to approve a bill that would call on
school districts to spend at least two-thirds of their current
operational
expenditures on “classroom instruction.” The sponsor, Representative
Scott
Muschany of St. Louis, says the idea first hit him as he listened to
the
suggestions put forward during last year’s school funding formula
discussions. But Sharon Rees, President-elect of the Missouri School
Boards’ Association, says this proposal does not include numerous
important positions under the category of “classroom instruction.” She
also has concerns about a possible loss of local control. Muschany
points
out his two-thirds proposal is a goal, not a mandate, which would be
sent
to a vote of the people. This proposal builds on the so-called 65
percent
solution suggested by Governor Matt Blunt.

District A:
program for the UMSL Gifted Conference in March, which you
can print/copy or send as an e-mail attachment to others.
Please let your gifted parents know that the focus on Wednesday
is for them, along with G/T teachers. There is an incentive for
gifted teachers to bring a regular classroom teacher to the
conference, too.

Attached please find the pdf file for the Wednesday evening

The entire conference brochure, along with session descriptions, is
available at the
website link below. Registration for the conference is available
online
with credit card
payment or participants can download the registration form and mail it
in
with payment.

http://www.umsl.edu/~conted/education/conferences/inquiring.html

The House Committee for School Acheivement and Finance received an
>earful
>> on the importance of gifted education in Missouri’s schools.
>>
>> Rep. Brian Baker and Rep. Doug Ervin presented their proposed
>legislation
>> to remove the penalty for school districts that reduce their gifted
>> programs.
>>
>> In front of a packed room, Baker, also Chair of the Committee,
offered
>> amendments to leave the penalty in place, but increase the penalty
from
>> 20% to 40%. This would help smaller districts that fear losing
gifted
>> students due to attrition.
>>
>> He also offered an amendment to require all school districts to
>identify
>> gifted students, and report to DESE on the number of kids being
served
>and
>> the type of program being offered.
>>
>> Although Baker and the Committee stopped shy of making the gifted
>programs
>> a state mandate, there was much discussion on adding a line item or
>> “weight” back into the formula for gifted.
>>
>> We do Not want an unfunded mandate!
>>
>> A big thanks to all who have written, called, and attended the
hearing.
>> Your voices are making a difference!
>>
>> Sent via BlackBerry from Cingular Wireless

WMU (90.7 FM), St. Louis on the Air, will be broadcasting a show on gifted education on Monday, February 13th from 11:00 a.m. – noon. Dr. Linda Smith, director of Rockwood School District’s gifted program (my boss) will be one guest. The other two are Michelle Ryder, who heads the PEGS program in the Lindbergh School District and Sue Flesch who is executive director of the Gifted Resource Council.

You can tune in on the radio or via the internet at: http://kwmu.org/index.php

Sorry so late —-—-

IN THE SENATE:
The Senate Education Committee did not take a vote on legislation that
phases out the SUMMER SCHOOL penalty last week. They are expected to
vote
on Tuesday, January 31. I am watching the summer school bill, because
the
elimination of the gifted penalty could be amended on to it.
IN THE HOUSE:
Still waiting to hear from Representative Brian Baker on the proposed
language I provided him on Monday. I am resending Monday’s e-mail,
because
I was having trouble in Jefferson City getting it to go through.
Dear GAM Members:
As soon as session started today, Representative Brian Baker asked me
to
visit with him immediately in his office. Rep. Baker has been receiving
calls and comments from his colleagues regarding House Bill 1273, which
removes the penalty for decreasing gifted enrollment.
As I last informed you, Representative Baker wants to work with GAM to
find an “incentive” for school districts who provide gifted programs
that
would replace the “penalty” language in legislation. I have shared the
following language with Rep. Baker and he is reviewing.
“Section 162.720: 1. Where a sufficient number of children are
determined
to be gifted and their development requires programs or services beyond
the level of those ordinarily provided in regular public school
programs,
districts shall provide special programs or services for such gifted
children.
2. The state Board of Education shall determine standards for such
programs or services. Each school district shall report annually to the
Department of Education, at a prescribed due date, the extent to which
it
is providing educational opportunities specifically designed to meet
the
educational needs of gifted students.”
When you are visiting with your State Representative and State Senator,
please encourage them to continue to work with GAM on proposed
legislation
that will provide incentives for your gifted programs to continue in
your
school district.
THANK YOU for your advocacy efforts on behalf of Missouri’s best and
brightest students! Remember to keep your parents informed as well as
your
Administrators and School Board!
Kyna Iman
Lobbyist
Gifted Association of Missouri