As a regional director in the school system, I have to admit I’m pretty disappointed with how it’s being run by the state. A new strategy for improving educational outcomes for gifted and talented children was launched with great fanfare by the powers-that-be, all while schools in my region continue to have serious problems with attendance and attainment for disadvantaged children.
I have had to deal with my fair share of parents, who are reaching out concerned about their kids falling behind, as well as with complaints from teachers. My teachers are far too busy and stressed supporting the neediest students to be expected to divert time and effort to helping the ones who need it least. I’m in the same boat as them; if I didn’t have to waste time running a program for a tiny minority of students, I’d have more time to deal with the bigger problems!
We need more local control over what is relevant to students in our region. We understand these kids better than anyone on the other side of the state ever could. Only people close to the students should decide what teachers should be doing to help our kids.
As an education executive, I disagree with some of the points you’ve made there. I recognise that many students in your region may have particular needs, but I don’t think that justifies disadvantaging a minority in your region, or a very substantial number of students across the state. Your view of the system may be slightly skewed by the challenges you see every day confronting some of your students.
The gifted and talented strategy is supported by mounting evidence, which shows that investing in our brightest students – especially in disadvantaged communities – vastly improves their opportunities and raises standards for all students. Early results from across the state suggest that it’s already doing just that.
If every school or region made its own decisions about what to teach and where to focus, then many kids across the state wouldn’t get the opportunities that similar kids in other schools can access. Having state-wide programs means that even schools with very few gifted and talented students can benefit from excellent resources designed for their needs, with very little effort required at the school.
I understand that you don’t have the bird’s eye view of the whole system that I’m privileged to have – but this is why local directors such as yourself do not have total control over state-wide priorities.