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Parents irked as Alpine School District cancels 3rd grade gifted program

By Sarah Hunt - | Feb 3, 2023

Evan Cobb, Daily Herald file photo

The Alpine School District Education Center is pictured on Friday, Aug. 24, 2018, in American Fork.

On Jan. 13, Alpine School District sent an email to parents at Foothill, Highland, and Saratoga Shores elementary schools informing them that the 3rd grade Advanced Learning Lab program was canceled. Five parents spoke out during the Jan. 24 school board meeting against the cancellation.

ALL is the gifted student program of the Alpine School District for students who score high enough on an entrance exam to qualify. According to the district website, it is “curriculum is built upon the Common Core State Standards, with students reading advanced level literature, advancing in mathematics and going deeper and broader in science and social studies.”

This program is currently implemented in 10 elementary schools in the district for grades four through six. Only 3 of the 10 schools offer ALL for third grade (Foothill, Highland, and Saratoga Shores), which the school board plans to discontinue in the coming school year.

The format of the ALL program is one, all-day class in the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth grades in the schools mentioned above that puts all the gifted students together with a certified advanced teacher. They teach an advanced curriculum that is often above the normal grade level. Students stay with the same classmates, but not the same teacher, as they move on to the next grade’s ALL class.

What started out as a pilot program has become an essential part of students’ everyday learning and mental health, according to parents.

“Kids desperately need a program now that’s dedicated to their unique needs. … They shouldn’t have to wait until years of damage has been done to their mental health,” said Nicole Miles, parent of three Saratoga Shores elementary school students.

Miles told the Daily Herald her children are intellectually gifted and have additional diagnoses, such as ADHD, autism, anxiety paired with OCD, among others. She and other parents emphasized the importance of having a challenging curriculum being taught in an encouraging way to gifted and “twice exceptional” children.

She added that her children’s “spirits were crushed” before being placed in the ALL class at Saratoga Shores.

“Finally (they) were in an educational environment where their strengths could shine and their weaknesses were accommodated. They found joy in learning again. I shed so many tears of gratitude and joy and the changes I saw in my children once they reached that program,” Miles said.

After reading the email about the cancellation of the third grade ALL program, several parents organized an online petition with, as of Thursday night, 564 signees.

Multiple parents told the Daily Herald they will continue urging ASD to keep at least one “lifeline” ALL third grade class for students who need it the most.

“A doctor doesn’t unhook someone from life-support while they try to come up with a different treatment plan, yet, that is what the school district will be doing. These kids need services just as desperately as do those on the other end of the continuum,” parent Jeana Swapp said.

Before the meeting, Superintendent Shane Farnsworth read a statement acknowledging the program’s use and communicating the board’s decision.

“I, working with the staff, have created a statement that we wanted to make you aware of. It says: We appreciate parents and students reaching out and expressing their concerns regarding the third grade ALL advanced learning lab services at Highland, Foothill and Saratoga Shores. We recognize the impact suspending services as had on some of our families. We are suspending these services to allow us time to study them in depth and restructure them so they can be provided equitably across the district,” Farnsworth said. “In addition, we are building the capacity across the district to provide services to our gifted students in their mainstream classrooms.”

Additionally, Alpine School District director of external communications David Stephenson responded with an official statement.

“The district is conducting a comprehensive district-wide boundary and programs study to identify and address needs across the district. This study will allow us to propose various models of gifted education and services that can be equitably accessible throughout the district. In the interim, we will be providing a year-long professional learning opportunity for non-A.L.L. teachers in lower grades on how to provide differentiation with a focus on academic extensions to meet the educational needs of gifted students in the mainstream classroom. We will provide more information and seek public input as this process unfolds. We thank you for your patience and understanding.”

According to the Alpine School District’s annual budget report, state revenues budgeted for the gifted and talented programs went from $427,647 in the 2020 to 2021 school year to $912,485 in the 2021 to 2022 school year, more than doubling the amount the district has to spend on all gifted programs, including ALL. The budget for the 2022 to 2023 school year is $942,776.

Students that are currently in the third grade ALL classes will continue in the program until the end of the school year. About 120 second grade students were set to take the entrance exam that, if passed, would allow them to join the third grade ALL program in the fall, according to Jamie James, Director of Gifted Services.

“The teacher would teach a lesson and assign some work. Once three kids were done with their work, she would move on to the next lesson. This ensured that the children never got bored, and they were pushed to develop a strong work ethic,” parent Carly Ferrin said during the meeting.

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