Gifted classes rise from dead

The start of the school year means plenty of new beginnings.

For 71 students in Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, the first day of class Thursday marked one such beginning as the Learning Environment for Accelerated Programming reopened at Smith Middle School.

LEAP — formerly Tier 1 — is a program in city schools for gifted students whose needs are not being met in the traditional classroom.

For a few years, the program has been available only to fourth- and fifth-graders, as it was phased out of the middle schools in 2000.

But the city school board approved reopening the program for middle-schoolers last March, and it is now open at Smith for sixth- and seventh-graders selected from across the district.

Students in the program take their core classes, such as science, in self-contained classrooms but also have the chance to interact with other students during elective classes.

“I just know that the parents and their kids are extremely grateful that this decision was made (by the board),” said Ed Holub, a member of the Tier 1 Task Force and parent of a LEAP student.

To be in LEAP, students must be nominated by a parent, guardian or teacher based on test scores or aptitude in the classroom. The application is submitted to the district, and the district coordinator for gifted education will notify parents of the child’s acceptance status.

Though it might be too soon to tell, Holub said he senses that students and parents alike are excited about the reinstated opportunity.

When school resumed Thursday, sixth- and seventh-graders participating in LEAP began the year with an orientation, said Carol Horne, coordinator of the gifted program curriculum. One element of orientation was a ropes course meant to “develop a team spirit,” she said.

“They’re hopefully being assimilated as a group,” Horne said. “We want to emphasize community.”

Some of the debate concerning approval of the program last spring centered on whether the LEAP students would be too isolated.

Superintendent Neil Pedersen said then that the self-contained structure might go against the school board’s wish to mix students in the classroom.

But both Horne and Holub reiterated that LEAP students are still Smith students and have ample opportunity to learn with students outside the program.

Horne also emphasized that LEAP is not the only way that the district serves its gifted population.

The 2004-2007 Plan for the Education of Gifted Students outlines the district’s goals for differentiated instruction.

According to the document’s philosophy statement, “The plan calls for widespread modifications of curricular and instructional models in order to provide rich, rigorous opportunities for gifted students in all classes.”

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.