6 minute read
THE GATEWAY TO A BRIGHTER FUTURE
Briley Blasdel has a passion for learning that’s contagious; she can’t wait for the school day to start. The 11-yearold sixth grader, who wants to be an author one day, is so consumed with her education she’s even a fan of the subject matter that doesn’t come as easily as the humanities.
“I wasn’t as big of a fan of science as I was of reading,” she admits. “But I learned a lot about STEM projects, and that taught me so much about these subjects. We did an engineering project where we learned about electricity. We also did the paper rollercoaster. We had to build a rollercoaster out of paper and send a marble down. I learned so much from that. It was really interesting.”
Briley’s enthusiasm for her studies is a direct result of the Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) program offered through the Mountain Home Public Schools. This program, which students test into as early as second grade, provides additional learning opportunities during the school day. For 45 minutes, four days a week, Briley and her fellow GATE students engage in special projects designed to spur curiosity and critical thinking in a variety of subject matters.
“I thought it would be a great opportunity for her to get in the classroom with other creative thinkers, expand her view of a regular classroom and try new STEM projects,” said Briley’s mother Alisa. “It’s been incredible. She has really become confident. She’s always been a naturally curious kid, but this has really helped her be confident in asking questions.”
“(GATE) has helped me learn to take risks and that it’s okay to make mistakes,” Briley added. “It has given me a lot of confidence because the teachers have taught us to ask questions whenever we want to.”
— MARSHA PARTNEY
Marsha Partney is in charge of the GATE program, which runs third through fifth grades. She said the program is essential in helping participants reach their full potential in the classroom.
From left: Madison Ingle, AP Chemistry and AP Statistics teacher at Mountain Home High School and Marsha Partney, in charge of the GATE Program offered through the Mountain Home School District.
Photography by Jason Masters
“Research and longitudinal data prove gifted children do need something qualitatively different to enhance their learning experience,” she said. “We know GT students have unique social/emotional needs that are different from the regular population. As a result, they often struggle in certain ways related to giftedness. They know early on that they are different and think differently, and they need a gifted specialist to help guide them through those social and emotional aspects.”
Mountain Home’s program follows state standards in terms of curriculum but differs from other programs in terms of student selection.
“Generally, the referral process starts with a regular classroom teacher and the gifted and talented teacher noticing that there are strengths across academic disciplines,” she said. “We look at any standardized test score that shows the child in the top 5 percent. In Arkansas, the state recommends we identify the top 3-5 percent of our population. So that would have the students testing in the 95th percentile or above.
“The end of second grade is where we start the formal identification process, but we do start early identification with whole group enrichment, starting in kindergarten. And, of course, parents and community members can refer a child for gifted and talented at any time. I’ve even had one of my gifted and talented students refer a child she was babysitting. I took it, we tested the child, and yes, she did place in our program.”
The GATE program is a part of an accelerated academic continuum that feeds into pre-AP courses, open to all students. Students as young as sixth grade can begin to take these higher-level courses with the opportunity to take actual AP level classes starting in ninth grade.
Emili Elkins, a senior at Mountain Home High School, in the chemistry lab
Photography by Jason Masters
Emili Elkins, a senior, came through the program starting in third grade and has taken full advantage of the advanced coursework open to her.
“When I was in ninth grade, the school offered something to a few students they never offered before and that was AP World History,” she said. “I just wanted to see what an AP class would be like, so I decided to take the class. I’m so glad I did. It was very fast paced, which I appreciated, and it was challenging as well. To be honest, I never really had a challenging course before.”
Immediately hooked, Elkins started accumulating AP credits every semester of her high school experience. She’s on track to complete 14 AP courses by the time graduation rolls around, a class load that is instructive in itself.
“Being in the program has taught me to be self-motivated,” she said. “It’s very difficult to keep up with different timelines when you have five AP courses, but you find a way to manage.”
“The opportunity for Emili to take a challenging course was very exciting from a parent standpoint,” said her mother, Terrie. “She has had this issue from a very early age of being bored in class. Fortunately, the district has always been very accommodating, and they’ve given her teachers who have challenged her to the point that she worked at advanced levels long before she got to middle school.
“I feel the teachers and administration have all in some way facilitated her learning. As a parent, I’m happy she is taking classes that challenge her. It’s great knowing that she’s going to be prepared for college.”
Madison Ingle, AP Chemistry and AP Statistics teacher at Mountain Home High School, has a unique perspective when it comes to his advanced placement students. Ingle, a 2011 graduate of MHHS, came through the accelerated programs himself as a student. He said that perspective, as well as seven years of experience in the classroom, has helped him approach AP students in a different way.
“My teaching style actually frustrates a lot of students because I’ll present a problem or have a question, and I’ll just step back from it and make them think. I won’t always answer their questions directly; I’ll try to answer it with their prior knowledge,” he said. “It’s really frustrating to students who just want an answer.”
“With most of my AP students, they are craving that ability to problem-solve themselves, and they rise to the challenge every time. In the AP class, they’ll ask the questions, and sometimes I just don’t know the answer. It’s hard to accept sometimes, but we look it up and learn together.”
Ingle said the school has shown its support for students in other ways, such as celebrating high academic achievers in the same way as championship sports teams. It’s a seemingly subtle gesture that actually provides a lot of motivation, he said.
“The last three or four years, it’s been a larger push,” he said. “It started out with the Wall of Honor where students who made all A’s would be in one section; A’s and B’s would be in another. It’s in the cafeteria, so you see the names all year. They also do an academic awards ceremony at the end of the year, and it’s quite the event. Then they have a senior awards night separate from that.
“It’s great that the school recognizes the students’ hard work in the classroom, and I also think it serves to motivate the younger kids coming up. I’m very proud of my alma mater and love teaching here.”
