I'm hopeful that a discussion at tonight's meeting can clear up the issue of the future of PATS for everyone that is concerned.
FROM A CONSTITUENT:
To Malcolm Thomas and Patty Cebula, copied to the members of the Escambia County School Board:
In my preparation for
writing this letter, I came across Mr. Thomas' website and his list of stated
goals as superintendent.
· Provide,
promote and support environments that result in world class 21st Century
learning.
· Secure
and develop resources (incl. human, fiscal and informational) that support and
promote the district's mission.
· Develop
and maintain an organization based on trust, teamwork, communication,
commitment, and competence.
· Optimize
students’, parents’, and other stakeholders’ pride and satisfaction with public
education.
Please explain to me how
dissolving an already diminished program serving students with special needs,
in favor of overloading educators who would have to balance even more IEP
related coursework on top of their regular curriculum, meets even a single one
of those goals. At no time has the ECSD put forth any plan that indicates
gifted kids will receive instruction suited to their non-neurotypical learning
and behavior patterns. Instead, every new piece of information presented (of
which there has been pitifully little) indicates that these students will
simply be dogpiled with harder academic work aimed at bringing up standardized
test scores, implemented by overworked gifted specialists spinning far too many
plates to truly meet the needs of their students.
Gifted education isn't
about "more" or "harder" or "fill out an extra row of
bubbles". It is about servicing the needs of kids who truly think
differently, act differently, and do not fit
