http://www.iagcgifted.org an affiliate of
NAGC http://www.nagc.org/
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From: CATHY GREENE, Co-chair, IAGC Advocacy Committee
Subject: Budget
hearing report
...
It would be impossible for anyone who was not in attendance at the February
27th House Appropriations Hearing in
For those of you who have not had the opportunity to
testify at the Capitol in
Before we had an opportunity to speak, we heard testimony asking for additional
funding for:
Finally it was our turn. Naturally we followed the group representing the blind
and visually impaired students- just our luck , the
one group that garnered sympathy and approval from the Representatives.
The three gifted students who were with us had waited patiently for the first
hour. The two little ones, both under eight years of age grew less patient and
a little restless in the second hour. Our group did not look as professional as
the groups that preceded us. They were suits and brochures. We were a little
rumpled after our wait. We had after all a six year old, a seven year old and a
twelve year old. The six year old had fallen asleep for a while but had perked
up once again and was more than ready to leave, but it was our turn. We were
eight strong at the table:
Seven year old Marlie Smith led off. She talked about
what it was like to be a gifted child in a school without programming and what
it was like to be a gifted child in a school that offered real services to
gifted learners. She drew a picture that only a child can draw of a little girl
who read Tolkien in a classroom that only offers
phonics. She used the "Bored" word, but did it in such a way that one
could not deny its existence. Her testimony garnered applause not only from the
representatives but from the others who came to testify, the others who would
be competing against Marlie for dollars. Next came Liesl, Marlie's
mother who is as eloquent a speaker as I've ever heard. She speaks from the
heart as a parent of a gifted child who worries every day about how she can
make sure her child is learning. This is a mother who knows more about gifted
education, the lack of federal and state funding than most school board members
ever will and who was able to share her fears in a manner that connected with
the Representatives. Applause followed once again.
Dorie Smith is Jeffery's mother, I don't believe that
she would mind my sharing that Jeffery is a twice exceptional gifted child,
both autistic and gifted, who has struggled in several school settings
and been kicked out of pre-schools because of his behavior before landing at Iles School, a school for gifted students, a school that
can meet Jeffery's needs, a school where Jeffery finally is able to make it
through the week without medication because his curriculum is matched to his
abilities.
Susan Rhodes the principal of Iles school
was eloquent as she described her school and what it offers gifted students,
and how they fight to keep it open and what the loss of funding has meant to
her and her teachers. As I listened to Susan and watched the Representatives I
knew that they understood who the students were that we are fighting for and
why there needs to be money in the ISBE budget for these students.
Tim Foreman talked about his daughter Katie who is accelerated in math and his
fears regarding what will happen to her when they reach the end of the
acceleration options. He noted that he was in a financial position to pay for
programming for Katie, but noted that many families are not as financial able
and wondered about the state's responsibilities to those children and their
families.
I ended our testimony indicating that our group was different, that we were the
one group that was not asking for more money. We were the only group asking for
a line item. We were asking to be put back in the budget after being removed
because Gifted students were the one group that had
been singled out for removal, and we were concerned about the message that sent
to school boards.
We had much encouragement from the Representatives. Representative Flowers said
that she wished she could clone Susan Rhodes and her school. Representative Coulson said that we had the support of many of the
committee members, but we needed a majority of the representatives to get
ourselves back in the budget. So our work is cut out for us, but we do know
what works now. It will take parents and teachers working together to get this
job done. It is the connection with the children that makes the difference for
the legislators. It will take parents and teachers making contacts with
legislators with students in hand. It has to happen quickly, but it can be
done. A visit to your local legislator can be a quick after school stop.
It can take only a few minutes to introduce your child and to tell your story.
I know that Marlie talked for fewer than three
minutes, but I can honestly tell you that our
group would not have made the impact it did without Marlie
Smith. She paved the way for us. Representatives saw asynchronous development
at its best in Marlie. They saw a little girl
squirming in her seat as she waited her turn. They saw a little girl up out of
her seat coming and going as her mother tried to keep her occupied for over two
hours, and then they heard he. Committee Chairman
Michael Smith said, "Can we vote for her for governor?
" If we are lucky maybe someday we can. A lot will depend on what
we do next.
c
IAGC Advocacy Committee
GOAL: Educate the decision-makers about the needs of gifted children
Co-Chairs:
"The difference between what we do and what we are capable of
doing would suffice to solve most of the world's problems."- Mahatma
Gandhi
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by Terry James Mohaupt
- Rockford tmohaupt@chicago.us.mensa.org
Chair, Parent Affiliates
GOALS:
1 - Increase the networking opportunities for parents of 165,000+ students
throughout 893 school districts in Illinois
2 - Assist all parents with ways to advocate for their children.
Representative Flowers quoted from the
Illinois Constitution: "...all students are to be educated to their
capacity...."
Please forgive any
duplication because you are on more than one list.