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Superintendent discusses changes to Escambia’s gifted program

February 13, 2015
/ Mollye Barrows
/ early-learning

Superintendent Malcolm Thomas answered some tough questions Thursday about changes to the district's gifted education program. Thomas and the district’s top administrators for gifted education presented the board with an update in response to questions about recently reported changes to the PATS Center. “I had no idea this was coming,” board member Jeff Bergosh told Thomas. “I saw one of the social media posts on Pensacola Today and there were a lot of comments about it and I was like, ‘Wow, I’m on the school board and I didn’t know anything about it. “So I think communication’s important because a lot of people don’t understand. They see us as the face of ‘we’re doing it,’ but we weren’t consulted at all.” Bergosh also wants to know if Thomas can legally make these kinds of changes without input from the board and what, if anything, the board can do about it. Thomas is proposing all but closing the center that houses the Program for Academically Talented Students. It’s a program for gifted elementary and middle school students, located on the campus of Brown Barge Middle School. He says it’s part of a new direction he’s taking with gifted learning — that he’s not closing the program, but attempting to put those services in every school. “I’m not in opposition to PATS," Thomas said. “I’m actually attempting to expand and to enhance for the majority of our kids.” Board member Patty Hightower, mother of two PATS children, told Thomas his changes may be good ones, but she questions why the board is just now hearing about them. She and Bergosh say they’ve also heard from parents and others who aren’t happy about it. “My frustration is that nobody talked to the parents about what the possibilities might be before they read about it,” Hightower said. “If you tell a parent, let them know about the process so they’re included in that decision making. “That creates a much friendlier environment and it also gives them insight into what your plans are instead of them having children come home and saying, ‘my teacher just told me I’m not going to be able to go to PATS next year.’” Thomas says they’ve sent letters to the parents of students affected by the changes, but the media broke the story before they had a chance to update the school board and parents. Pensacola Today first reported the story several weeks ago and the reports got a lot of attention on social media. The 49-year-old PATS program is well-loved by many parents and graduates, but Thomas says enrollment is dropping and the district can provide similar services at all the middle schools and most of the elementary schools. “All we had was PATS Center and it was very much needed then,” Thomas said. “Now there are other options. It’s just been evolving.” Thomas says enrollment in the PATS program has dropped 40 percent since 2010, from 545 to 321 students, in part because of students have more options. “Part of the shift has come about because of the capacity we’ve built in our schools,” said Pam Cebula, program director for gifted, who made the presentation to the board. “Our schools are able to provide services and so they don’t need an option to send them to a special center.” While gifted services in classrooms will be similar, there will be more of a focus on the Common Core curriculum and less on creative options. Some are concerned the lack of creative options will take a toll on gifted students who need the academic and emotional outlet. [caption id="attachment_17147" align="aligncenter" width="850"]

Parents react to changes to the Escambia school district's gifted program at a school board workshop Thursday. / Mollye Barrows, Pensacola Today[/caption] Angela Johnson, a parent and former student spoke to the board. She attended the PATS Center along with her brother, niece, nephew, and three children. “I believe my children are as successful as they are because the PATS Center is the way it is,” Johnson said. “I understand what you’re saying that we need to serve more students, but the problem is all you’re saying is we need to serve them better with math and science and more difficult classes.” Students are bussed to the center one day a week, to work with other gifted students and specially trained teachers on a variety of academic and creative projects. Thomas says the lost class time combined with a tougher curriculum makes it hard for some students to keep up. “This isn’t something somebody set out and said, ‘Oh we need to do this,’” Thomas said. “Now we see where we are and I see 85 percent of our kids on a middle school campus. I’ve got to strengthen that program, which means we need to invest and we need to bring that PATS kind of synergy on that campus five days a week. “That’s what we’re attempting to do here. I’m not in opposition to PATS, I’m actually attempting to expand and to enhance it for the majority of our kids.” Board member Bill Slayton is supportive of the changes. His son and daughter also attended the PATS Center and he says while they both enjoyed it, they experienced it differently. “She dropped out of PATS for fear of having to leave her school every week, once a week,” Slayton said. “She was very conscientious about her grades and she didn’t want to leave. My son thoroughly enjoyed leaving once a week. And then we had the problem of keeping him up with everything else.” Thomas told the board detailed discussions about changes to the PATS Center and the gifted program started about a month ago, but some parents say teachers have been discouraging their students from attending PATS for several years. Parent and ‘Odyssey of the Mind’ teacher Debi Dunkerley spoke to the board, protesting the changes and the way they’re being implemented. [caption id="attachment_17145" align="alignright" width="300"]

From left to right: paren't Debi Dunkerley, parent Melissa Venezia and her 9-year-old daughter Rose Venezia who is a 4th grader at Helen Caro and is in the PATS program. / Mollye Barrows, Pensacola Today[/caption] “Couple of gifted parents over here, we didn’t know what you’re talking about, but we did hear through the grapevine that people were getting discouraged," Dunkerley said. "We were getting discouraged to send our kids there and teachers started talking about, ‘They’re trying to pick away, dismantle PATS.’ “So to say that parents have not been notified because, ‘Oh gosh the media got a scoop when we’re talking about plans and we weren’t going to implement them until we had it all hashed out,’ that’s not true. It’s absolutely not true. Those plans were getting implemented before the media had anything to say about it.” Bergosh told Thomas he had heard similar concerns. “Is there any truth to what we’re hearing that parents were discouraged from sending their students?” asked Bergosh. “Because if so, it sounds like there was plan.” “I don’t know about every conversation that’s happened with every parent,” Thomas answered. “I do believe there are probably conversations at schools when they have their plans, where parents are given options and they’re told what happens. And part of it in middle school, is about leaving that full day ever day and how that might be challenging when it occurs.” The regular School Board Meeting is Feb. 17, at 5:30 p.m. at the Hall Center.

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Superintendent discusses changes to Escambia’s gifted program

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