MILLSTONE — The Millstone Township School District’s program for gifted and talented pupils is constantly evolving, and now it has a new structure.
Michelle Falanga, who teaches gifted and talented pupils, spent the past year helping to develop the new structure for the program, and she gave a presentation about the program at the Jan. 28 meeting of the Board of Education.
Falanga worked with Assistant Superintendent Stephen Cochrane, who was on hand to comment and lend support. Their efforts involved brainstorming with administrators, staff members and parents in an effort to “build opportunities for our future innovators as they move toward adulthood,” according to Falanga.
Falanga said the new structure for gifted and talented education calls for a three-tier approach:
“Classrooms and Teachers” would continue to provide students with more challenging work in the classroom;
“Beyond Classroom” would offer new opportunities such as clubs, electives and special lessons;
“Accelerated Subjects” would now become available.
For example, if a pupil shows the ability to handle work at a higher grade level than the grade he or she is in, more advanced work would be offered to that child, Cochrane said.
“Figment from Disney’s Journey into Imagination is one of my favorite rides and has an inspirational line,” Falanga said. “One little spark of inspiration is at the heart of all creation. Right at the start of everything that is new, one little spark lights up for you.”
Although there have been enrichment programs for students in Millstone, these were “largely differentiated” by the classroom teacher, who would provide more challenging work to children who could handle it, according to Cochrane.
Asked if the program for gifted and talented pupils would be separated from the mainstream, Cochran said it would not be. This is not an extraordinary situation, he said, adding that the schoolwide enrichment model being proposed is one that is continually fine-tuned.
Last year, Superintendent of Schools Scott Feder and Cochrane met with interested parents to brainstorm ideas for a gifted and talented educational program. They then formed an 18-member committee of teachers and administrators.
“The teachers are so open to learning about how to work with high-achieving students and to sharing the strategies they have been using for years,” Cochrane said. “Today this fits in and epitomizes the partnership that must exist between teachers, parents, administrators and students.”
Falanga noted that Lisa Van Gemert, the Gifted Youth Specialist for American Mensa, spoke on Jan. 31 at the Stone Bridge Middle School, Allentown. Van Gemert spoke before an audience of about 25 people that included school administrators and parents.
Van Gemert’s presentation on “Lit From Within: Developing Internal Motivation in the Gifted Student” covered topics such as motivation, rewards, problems and solutions.
“It is important to put praise into practice,” Van Gemert said.
She also explained the significance of embracing failure.
“When the winds fail, take to the oars,” Van Gemert said. “Too often kids get off the boat. You must do the things you think you can’t do.”
One parent questioned one of Van Gemert’s points about trying many different experiences and activities even if a child does not excel.
“Is it better for kids to be average at many things than to specialize in one?” the mother asked.
Van Gemert said she is not suggesting that a student feel mediocre, but that he is encouraged to try new things such as carpentry and to do it at the level of building a birdhouse, not an entertainment center. The more things that children feel they can do, the better their self-esteem will be.
“If you never try anything, you don’t develop a feeling of competence,” Van Gemert said. “Once it is tried, they might want to become excellent at something else.”
She pointed out resources to support this belief, such as John Maxwell’s “Falling Forward: Turning Mistakes into Stepping Stones for Success.”
Falanga said she planned to talk about Millstone’s program for gifted and talented pupils with Van Gemert.
Cochrane visibly enjoyed Van Gemert’s presentation and he seemed energized to continue his work in the field.
“It is a key concept that we are proposing a schoolwide enrichment model for gifted and talented,” Cochrane said. “I am incredibly excited by the range of opportunities as it will promote creativity and problem solving for all students, while at the same time providing appropriate and focused challenges for our most exceptionally able students. Moreover, the program offers enrichment in a wide variety of areas, from music to math and language to leadership.”