The Daily Nonpareil - L.C. Highlights Success of Talented, Gifted Students

News Article

by Scott Stewart

Harley Waldstein will technically graduate from college before he walks to collect his high school diploma.

The Lewis Central High School junior will earn an associate's degree in mathematics from Iowa Western Community College thanks in part to L.C.'s talented and gifted program offering the opportunity for college classes.

In second grade, Waldstein was identified as gifted after he stopped doing his homework -- because he was bored by it -- and teachers decided to test him with third-graders, and he aced the higher material. He was put into advanced groups, and L.C. continued to foster his education when he came into the Council Bluffs district.

"I wasn't sitting there alone in the classroom uninterested while everyone else was learning," he said. "I had competition, and I had friends who cared."

He shared his story Thursday morning during a brunch held by Lewis Central to celebrate its talented and gifted students. Rep. David Young was on hand as well to hear their testimony and offer his own feedback.
"I was one of those kids who was sat up against the window of the school," Young said. "I didn't feel like I was challenged, and my grades reflected it. We didn't have gifted and talented programs when I was growing up."

Young told a group of L.C. students who are TAG identified that they were "blessed and fortunate" to have that opportunity. Lorraine Duitsman, the district's secondary TAG strategist, said it's important to have advocates in government who support specialized programs for gifted students.

"I wish it was true that gifted students didn't need our advocacy and support," she said, adding that such programs are not consistently offered nationally and are not federally funded or required. "Critics of gifted education believe that gifted students will succeed on their own and simply don't need our attention. This is simply not true."

Without support, students can become bored and not achieve at their true potential, she said. Some may even drop out or turn away from learning. She said students in Iowa, and Lewis Central in particular, are lucky.

"At L.C. we make gifted education a priority and encourage avenues to foster the talents and abilities of our brightest students," Duitsman said. "Teachers and administrators care about meeting the needs of all of our students, including our talented youth."

Superintendent Mark Schweer said he was blessed to work at L.C. in part because of the quality of its TAG programs. He also thanked parents, some of whom were in attendance at the brunch, for their role in school.

"It is about doing what we can for kids, all kids, and this is the far end of the spectrum," he said. "It still comes down to parents who are engaged and involved and supportive to make things truly play out well for kids."

The Council Bluffs Community School District also recently highlighted its TAG programs through a patron tour, which brought community leaders to see first-hand different programs in action.

During Thursday's brunch, which was held at the L.C. Educational Resource Center by Titan Hill Intermediate School, several students discussed their experiences in the TAG program.

Dane Norville, an eighth-grader at Lewis Central Middle School, said he is taking precalculus and freshman English as well as competing nationally as part of the district's Future City team. He said acceleration in English and math have been strong suits for the district, and he said science and social studies should be coming next.

"I'm confident that Lewis Central can continue to be the best it can be for TAG kids," he said. "I'm definitely proud to be a part of the L.C. TAG program."

For Anna Bilek, an junior and incoming student council president at Lewis Central High School, the TAG program seemed unimportant at first. She said she took Advanced Placement and college-credit classes, which helped her form better study habits and be prepared for college.

"Next year, I will be able to organize a fundraiser for a cause I feel passionate about and receive high school credit," she said.

Gabe Kjeldgaard said his mind "goes 15 different ways at once," and the skills he's learned from TAG has helped him focus them into productivity.

"The TAG program has been an outlet for me to handle those thoughts and put them into use," he said. "TAG has influenced my life not just in school but as a person."

His communications skills have improved, he said. And teachers offering TAG students different instruction has helped him accelerate his learning and get more of his school days.

Kjeldgaard's mother, Denise, said she raised him to be curious, and she said she didn't want that to be extinguished at school.

"He was raised wanting to know more, always, always, always, from sunrise to sunset," she said. "The talented and gifted program just lets him, as his mind keeps going and keeps asking more questions, it allows him to foster that."

The TAG program offers social and emotional support, too, said graduating senior Kyler Nixon, who started his last day of high school at the bunch as one of two emcees. He participated in student government and mock trial, and he plans to double major because of the skills he developed.

"I was able to grow as a person and as a student through the TAG program," he said.

Young summed up the event by observing that providing support to talented and gifted students was a bipartisan issue, and one he said he was proud to support it in Congress, although he does not favor mandating programs.

"What matters is that everyone recognize the importance of this," he said. "You do have advocates in Washington, but your biggest advocates are here."

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