Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums THINKING BIG About Gifted Education cut backs and gifted programs

You need to create an alternate PTA to raise alternate funds.

We got a grant to redo the playground, 300K. There is money out there but you have to work and the PTA has to do it. Or else go and pay the 30K for private school.

I think it is going to get worse. So my daughter has a new technology lab at school to use because we did the grant writing. It would be nice if the people in charge really did their job but considering how Congress acts like teenage cliques, what can you really expect?

LOL. They are using the GT person for regular classes. Pretty clever.

How much money does the district spend on sports on a per student enrolled in sports basis? I am all for sports, played varsity in several sports and got my letters, but IMHO they should be private organizations not affiliated with schools at all.

You could then take the money used for sports and for grounds upkeep and coaches salaries and put that into education.

Its affecting the other end of the spectrum, too.

Schools are also mainstreaming the learning disabled students.

I doubt that will benefit the regular classes.

It's a money problem nationwide.

Well, yeah, budgets are beginning to affect Special Education decisions, but sometimes this is a good thing. Depending on the local budget structure and parent wishes, some disabled students sit in pull-out classrooms for years that would really benefit from being with their non-disabled peers.

For example, in my state, a school's Special Education budget has been separate from the school's general budget, and has been determined by the number of students and the intensity of their needs (expressed in hours of services). Schools have had a financial disincentive to move kids into more general education classes or out of special education altogether. Add to that the pressure of parents that do not want anything taken away from their children, and you do often end up with an inappropriate placement.

When a team meets to make that kind of decision, the needs of the child are supposed to be the driving factor, not available resources. But those decisions are made by humans, and humans have all kinds of motivations.

I'm a general education teacher, one who has been more heavily involved in the files of disabled students than most. I appreciate having Special Education students in my classroom. A small fraction of them can be disruptive, but the same is true of the rest of the students.

My experience has been that having (properly placed) disabled students and English Language Learners in the general education classroom is of enormous benefit to those students, with no significant impact on the achievement of other students. Sometimes an annoyance, but most students are blissfully unaware that their neighbors have an IEP and some special education classes.

And to be honest, sometimes adults do things in school that are more disruptive than what most Special Education students do. Having a functional school with appropriate supports--and a solid understanding of those supports on the part of the teachers--makes a huge difference in general.

I agree Beckee. A lot of kids can be mainstreamed and it helps both these kids and the regular student body. In my HS my GF volunteered to help with the first year of a mainstreaming pilot there and the results were very positive.

My ODS shared a class with a special ed child last year and my YDS is doing so this year. In fact, we just went to her birthday party last weekend and fun was had by all!

I think it greatly benefits my children to see such diversity in the classroom, as long as their own education remains rigorous. I think that separating Special Ed kids (and Gifted too) in their own classrooms creates unfamiliarity and discomfort with difference. And these are some of the conditions that lead to bullying and exclusion. By the time my son hits the older grades and that stuff starts kicking in, I am hoping that Cheyenne will just be Cheyenne that I've known since kinder and not "the Special Ed kid"!

Since you've said this, and it does make sense, I googled it and quickly found school grants . org, which tries to sell you a grant writing course on cd. I don't mind buying it, but since you're already involved I thought I'd ask if you could recommend a good resource for me to educate myself about the process. I would love to help my town and the kids.

I don't do the grant writing at our PTA. There are people, like an astrophysicist mom, who do this for their jobs and they know how to get it done effectively. Find someone in your group with similar experience to help.

I've been on both sides of the grant process, first in my early teens writing them and then in my 30s sitting on eval committees.

Its not that hard to write a winning grant request. It just takes time and commitment. The quality of requests is hit and miss. A well written request by an "amatuer" with lots of facts and cites is going to blow the barn doors off.

Texas has a TON of foundations, too.

I'd start by getting copies of winning requests and by researching what grants are available locally and in the state. Once you become a rainmaker, people will come out of the woodwork, so watch out for that, too.

I'd think you'd probably be good at it!