{"id":32361,"date":"2020-02-06T05:59:34","date_gmt":"2020-02-06T11:59:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/?p=32361"},"modified":"2020-02-05T16:24:20","modified_gmt":"2020-02-05T22:24:20","slug":"how-oklahomas-identification-of-gifted-native-students-could-serve-as-a-national-model","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/2020\/02\/06\/how-oklahomas-identification-of-gifted-native-students-could-serve-as-a-national-model\/","title":{"rendered":"How Oklahoma&#8217;s identification of gifted Native students could serve as a national model"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/player.simplecast.com\/40b16f70-c43f-4493-9869-39f8f7e9e2bf?dark=false\" width=\"100%\" height=\"200px\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" seamless=\"\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p><p>A group of fifth graders intently watch a color-shifting octopus dream at the top of its tank.<\/p><p>Today, inside an outbuilding at Tahlequah\u2019s Cherokee Elementary School these children are tasked with critically thinking about what they\u2019re seeing. It\u2019s all part of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tahlequahschools.org\/vnews\/display.v\/SEC\/District%7CPrograms%3E%3ERISE%20%26%20STAR\">RISE<\/a>, the school\u2019s gifted and talented program.<\/p><p>\u201cWhat do you notice?\u201d their teacher Libby Osburn asks.<\/p><p>Shifting colors. Swishing tentacles. Strange movements.<\/p><p>By the time it\u2019s Charlie Stone\u2019s turn to make an observation his classmates have seemingly taken every good observational detail that can be made about an octopus taking a nap. So, he zooms out.<\/p><p>\u201cIt was up at like the very top,\u201d he says of the cephalopod\u2019s sleeping position.<\/p><p>The assignment is simple enough, watch the video and come back with observations and questions about what they saw. It might seem like a very basic exercise, but these activities require a little more critical thinking and keeps kids engaged.<\/p><p>It\u2019s a sharp contrast to the repetition these fifth grade students say they experience during a typical day in the classroom.<\/p><p>\u201cIt\u2019s mostly hearing about the same stuff that we\u2019re already learning about and that we already know,\u201d Stone said.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_32364\"  class=\"wp-caption module image aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 672px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-32364\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/02\/IMG_6468-2-672x432.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"672\" height=\"432\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/02\/IMG_6468-2-672x432.jpeg 672w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/02\/IMG_6468-2-1920x1235.jpeg 1920w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/02\/IMG_6468-2-768x494.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/02\/IMG_6468-2-150x96.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/02\/IMG_6468-2-300x193.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/02\/IMG_6468-2-620x399.jpeg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/02\/IMG_6468-2-1680x1080.jpeg 1680w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 672px) 100vw, 672px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Robby Korth \/ StateImpact Oklahoma<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Fifth grader Charlie Stone works on a school lesson during RISE, a gifted and talented class in Tahlequah Oklahoma.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3>The importance of gifted education<\/h3><p>Gifted education isn\u2019t about finding Oklahoma\u2019s next astronaut.<\/p><p>Getting away from a repetitive day is important for gifted students, said Robbyn Glinsmann, director of gifted and talented programs.<\/p><p>The stakes are higher than simply making sure certain kids aren\u2019t bored in elementary school.<\/p><p>\u201cIf they\u2019re not properly challenged in lower grades, then when they\u2019re challenged in high school, the first thing they want to do is drop out,\u201d Glinsmann said.<\/p><p>In the classroom, teachers are prepping gifted students to lead, Osburn of Tahlequah said.<\/p><p>And getting the best students to use critical thinking will build skills that they\u2019ll need throughout their lives.<\/p><p>\u201cWe\u2019ve got to make sure that they are prepared and that they have those real world skills, but also that creativity and innovation thinking,\u201d she said.<\/p><p>According to the State Department of Education, there are 94,117 gifted and talented students in Oklahoma.<\/p><p>They receive a wide array of programming, but because gifted education is fully funded by the state, Oklahoma gives its students some of the best access in the nation according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.education.purdue.edu\/geri\/new-publications\/gifted-education-in-the-united-states\/\">data collected by Purdue University<\/a>.<\/p><p>That study found that <a href=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/2019\/12\/02\/report-suggests-many-gifted-and-talented-minority-students-go-unidentified-in-oklahoma\/\">millions of students are left out of gifted programming<\/a> across the country.<\/p><p>The reasons for that are historic, the authors write and include a lack of access.<\/p><p>\u201cThe field of gifted education has much work to do to mitigate lack of opportunity and inequity within the field if all talents in the United States are to be developed,\u201d the report says.<\/p><p><iframe id=\"datawrapper-chart-BpnFV\" style=\"width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;\" title=\"Percentage of Oklahoma students who are gifted vs. proportion of population\" src=\"\/\/datawrapper.dwcdn.net\/BpnFV\/3\/\" height=\"388\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" aria-label=\"Bullet Bars\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">!function(){\"use strict\";window.addEventListener(\"message\",function(a){if(void 0!==a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"])for(var e in a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"]){var t=document.getElementById(\"datawrapper-chart-\"+e)||document.querySelector(\"iframe[src*='\"+e+\"']\");t&&(t.style.height=a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"][e]+\"px\")}})}();\n<\/script><\/p>\n<h3>Racial inequality<\/h3><p>There are also cultural challenges Oklahoma educators are working to overcome, said Glinsmann.<\/p><p>\u201cIf you were to Google \u2018What is gifted?\u2019, the list you\u2019d pull up is pretty much a white, middle class list, so that is the lens that our teachers have been looking through,\u201d Glinsmann said.<\/p><p>However, white children aren\u2019t inherently more gifted.<\/p><p>Marcia Gentry, a Purdue study author and the school\u2019s director of the Gifted Education Research and Resource Institute, said that teachers need to have an open mind. Then, they need to take listening to their students to the next level by understanding what they\u2019re saying.<\/p><p>\u201cIt\u2019s more than just being open,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s about saying what are these students good at and how can I help them become better.\u201d<\/p><p>\u201cYou have to embody and understand and care about the kids you work with and be open to their strengths and their talents rather than put your own lens on it.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_32365\"  class=\"wp-caption module image aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 518px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\" wp-image-32365\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/02\/IMG_6284-1920x1571.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"518\" height=\"424\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/02\/IMG_6284-1920x1571.jpeg 1920w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/02\/IMG_6284-672x550.jpeg 672w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/02\/IMG_6284-768x628.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/02\/IMG_6284-150x123.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/02\/IMG_6284-300x245.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/02\/IMG_6284-620x507.jpeg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/02\/IMG_6284-1320x1080.jpeg 1320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 518px) 100vw, 518px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Robby Korth \/ StateImpact Oklahoma<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Robbyn Glinsmann, director of gifted and talented programs with the Oklahoma State Department of Education.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3>A lack of recognition<\/h3><p>When Joy Hofmeister was running to be State Superintendent of Public Instruction, she said one thing she noticed was that gifted classrooms didn\u2019t mirror the hallways of Oklahoma schools. There were so many more white faces.<\/p><p>\u201cIt really, really was a concern of mine because I didn\u2019t see minority children and special education children being identified for the gifted and talented services that they deserve to have and be a part of,\u201d she said.<\/p><p>So, she made it a priority. The state applied for and was awarded a five-year, $3.2 million <a href=\"https:\/\/content.govdelivery.com\/accounts\/OKSDE\/bulletins\/1bde8cd\">grant from the Jacob K. Javits Foundation<\/a>, which provides for support of gifted and talented teachers and helps them form lesson plans that can then be used by anyone.<\/p><p>The grant work is done in four districts, including Tahlequah, and is slated to impact 6,000 students.<\/p><p>Teachers like the ones in Tahlequah are getting training in recognizing giftedness and are designing lesson plans to later be spread around the state and potentially beyond.<\/p><p>Hofmeister and Glinsmann credit that grant with raising awareness of screening for gifted education.<\/p><p>Oklahoma education leaders say the grant is working. According to a count conducted in October 2019, more Hispanic students are being recognized, and the number of Native students recognized remains strong. However, recognition for black students remains low.<\/p><p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\" wp-image-32366 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/02\/IMG_6363-2-1920x928.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1006\" height=\"486\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/02\/IMG_6363-2-1920x928.jpeg 1920w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/02\/IMG_6363-2-672x325.jpeg 672w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/02\/IMG_6363-2-768x371.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/02\/IMG_6363-2-150x72.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/02\/IMG_6363-2-300x145.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/02\/IMG_6363-2-620x300.jpeg 620w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1006px) 100vw, 1006px\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>Gifted teaching on the ground<\/h3><p>The Tahlequah district is more than half Native, but many of their teachers are white. But because the educators here are immersed in Indigenous culture, they\u2019re looking out for giftedness in their students that might not go unrecognized in traditional programs.<\/p><p>\u201cThey are us,\u201d second grade teacher Jessica Morrison said.<\/p><p>Though she is white, her husband\u2019s family and her daughter identify as Native, which makes it easier for her to recognize giftedness in that population.<\/p><p>Here, transcending racial barriers isn\u2019t part of the discussion for students. Instead, the students in this gifted and talented program are<\/p><p>talking about future career possibilities or other fun things they\u2019ve gotten to do in school.<\/p><p>The programs their teachers develop will have a big role in how educators across the state &#8211; and perhaps the country &#8211; can reach more gifted minority students.<\/p><p>Because, after all, Osburn said, it\u2019s important to have quality programming for all students.<\/p><p>\u201cGood gifted teaching is good teaching for all students,\u201d Osburn said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\ufeff\ufeffA group of fifth graders intently watch a color-shifting octopus dream at the top of its tank.Today, inside an outbuilding at Tahlequah\u2019s Cherokee Elementary School these children are tasked with critically thinking about what they\u2019re seeing. It\u2019s all part of RISE, the school\u2019s gifted and talented program.\u201cWhat do you notice?\u201d their teacher Libby Osburn asks.Shifting [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":209,"featured_media":32363,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[450,731,983],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32361"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/209"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32361"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32361\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32380,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32361\/revisions\/32380"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32363"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32361"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32361"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32361"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}