No. While we have a great honors and advanced placement program at the High School, we do not currently have adequate programs or policies in place for those elementary and middle school students that are academically performing well above their grade expectation. We also do not have adequate art, music, or performance instruction to bring out these skills in gifted students.
Recently Medford has begun to explore how such programs could be put in place. As a school committee member, I would make sure that we thoroughly investigate how we can take advantage of state and private grants to implement gifted and talented programs. I would also look into teacher training, teaching methods, and policies that would enable every teacher to better address advanced students at all levels.
One method that is employed by some teachers is referred to as developmental or constructivist. It allows teachers to work with not only the middle students, but also with those who either excel or have difficulty with the subject material. These are considered best educational practices and should be considered when hiring new teachers and when developing training programs for our current teachers.
