The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board is reviewing the future of gifted programs in high schools across the city, but gifted students at Lisgar Collegiate Institute will probably not lose their program.
Although three of the five high schools that offer gifted programs are struggling to maintain enrollment, Lisgar has a strong program says Dawn Paxton, superintendent of learning support services at the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board.
With 340 students, roughly one-third of the student population, in the gifted program, Lisgar has a much higher enrollment rate than any other school. Students must pass a high level of testing before being eligible for the gifted program, which consists of courses that are more in-depth than regular classes.
The main reason the school board is reviewing the secondary school gifted program is because some schools do not have enough students in their neighborhood to fill program, says Paxton.
“We need the programs that are sustainable, that are viable and that are quality, and to do that we have to have a critical mass of students," she says. To achieve this, the board might need to move gifted programs out of some schools or combine two struggling programs into one, Paxton says.
Lisgar’s gifted program has historically been strong with students from other school districts transferring in specifically for the program says Liz Melanson, a parent of two gifted students at the Centretown high school.
Melanson, who is also part of an advocacy group called the Association for Bright Children, attended one of two public meetings the school board hosted in October. At the meeting parents were asked what they want from the gifted programs. Many of the 200 parents at the gathering she attended said they want to see programs in their children’s high schools that are like the one at Lisgar, she says.
“Lisgar’s program is definitely the strongest in terms of numbers . . . having that critical mass means you draw in the teachers who are interested in teaching higher level classes,” she says.
The high enrolment in the gifted program also means that a greater variety of courses can be offered, for instance history and geography as well as core math and English courses, says Melanson.
The feedback from the two public meetings will be considered in a proposal the school board will present to an education committee of trustees in December, says Paxton. Although the board has yet to determine what their proposed changes will be, Paxton says it is very unlikely that the program at Lisgar will be moved to another high school.
Melanson says she is pleased that the board is doing a review of the secondary gifted programs, but she does have some concerns. "If you look at moving the [high school] gifted classes you should probably also look at moving the elementary gifted classes since one feeds on the other," she says.
It is difficult for children who make friends in elementary school to then leave them behind when they have to transfer to a different neighborhood, to attend a gifted high school, says Melanson.
Cole Fischer chose to do the gifted program at Lisgar when he started Grade 9 last year because he wanted more of a challenge. "In every other class you gotta wait for the slower kids, but in the gifted program the class is waiting for you." Sometimes, he says, his gifted class is doing material covered in higher grades.
That gifted students are challenged in class and by their peers is something Melanson really appreciates about the program. "They need that kind of learning environment to reach their potential . . . there's no point in [gifted] kids sitting in class and learning things they already know," she says.