![]() And so we feel good that we are moving in the right direction,” Adams said.Īccording to the St. “We know that with the pre-assessments that we gave this year we were able to identify more kids. Louis Public Schools also expanded pre-screenings this year, hoping to identify gifted students that otherwise wouldn’t apply for a seat in gifted schools.Īccording to the district, minority and low-income families are less likely to apply for gifted programs. “We are working aggressively to get the publicity out and also to look at identifying kids earlier.” “The numbers have increased as a result of expanding the pool opportunity,” Adams said. Louis finished phasing into a gifted school in the 2015-2016 school year.As the oldest gifted elementary, Kennard Classical near Kingshighway south of Tower Grove Park is the most well known. Mallinckrodt Academy on Hampton in south St. began transitioning to a gifted school in 2016-2017. Louis Public Schools also recently lowered the qualifying score from the 95 th percentile to the 90 th, which Adams said increased the number of eligible black students.Ĭredit Mapbox | OpenStreetMap Columbia Elementary in north St. ![]() So I’m not disappointed at all.”Īdams said the district is working to improve diversity at the gifted schools by increasing the number of students tested. And we’re working to create that kind of buzz, if you will, so that could happen. “Parents have to feel comfortable with the program and the location. ![]() “I feel really, really good about the fact that we will have, if not numbers equal to Kennard and Mallinkrodt next year, numbers moving in the right direction and increasing,” Adams said. Parents can select which school they prefer when they apply. Columbia still had seven seats open in preschool, 12 in kindergarten and 11 in first grade. I am a hundred percent confident that that will happen over time.”Īs of March, both Mallinckrodt and Kennard were full. “It took us four or five years to get it up and running. “It happened the same way (at Mallinkdrodt),” Adams said. Louis Public Schools Superintendent Kelvin Adams watches as early results come in showing strong support for a proposition to increase school funding in April 2016.Īsked Thursday whether he was surprised or disappointed by the small number of black students eligible this year, Superintendent Kelvin Adams said, “Not at all.” Right now Columbia has gifted preschool and kindergarten next year it's adding first grade.Ĭredit File photo | Carolina Hidalgo | St. Like Mallinckrodt in 2010, Columbia’s gifted program will be phased in over five or six years, adding a new grade each year. Louis near more affluent, and historically white, neighborhoods. The district’s other two gifted elementary schools Mallinckrodt Academy for Gifted Instruction and Kennard Classical Junior Academy, are located in south St. It’s located north of the Jeff-Vander-Lou neighborhood, in a predominately black, low-income area. Louis Public Schools opened Columbia School for the Gifted this school year with a goal of improving racial and geographic diversity. Students are then assessed by a district examiner, who determines whether the student’s scores qualify for more advanced instruction and an enhanced academic environment. To be eligible for a seat in a gifted classroom in the district, parents first must submit a magnet school application and their child must be selected by lottery. Louis in the fall, the overwhelming majority of students eligible for gifted instruction in the district continue to be white.Īccording to a program update presented to the district’s state-appointed board in March, 81 white students tested this school year qualify compared to 29 black students, 9 Hispanic students and 24 Asian students. Louis Public Schools prepares to add a first grade gifted classroom in north St. ![]()
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