Master of Puppets is pulling the strings..Master! MASTER!--Part 3 of a series

Announcer:Previously on 90210: (Whoops, I've been apparently watching too much TV.) Seriously, though, we last left our story with the laughable letter we received telling us that the gifted and talented program were going to remain intact and Caleb, our oldest son, was going to be left on the waiting list yet again. So, pulling up our pants as high as Urkel (yes, I know I just aged myself there), we (as in Caleb's mom, his stepfather, my wife and I) would be attending a school board meeting and letting our concerns be heard there.

One side note: my stepfather is part of the school board for Rantoul. He has been extremely supportive of our endeavors and also has done some investigative work on the side in terms of looking into some past things for us. While he is in an obviously conflicted state of interest with this, it has always been of the notion that he has been overwhelmingly in our favor; I am very proud of his standing on that board and what he has accomplished and attempted to accomplish with this and other issues for RCS.

Mark (Caleb's stepfather) got us onto the agenda and we attended in full force. Another side note should be mentioned that another board member is a good friend to Mark and my ex-wife and had previous conversations with them about this situation as well--he was also in full support of the endeavor we were seeking. So--if you're scoring at home, or even if you're just alone, that means 2 of 7 people were clearly against the status quo of the gifted program.

As this was a public forum, Mrs. Holliday attended the meeting, where I met her for the first time. She was extremely nice and had wonderful things to say about Caleb and was very forthcoming with this being a true quandary in her eyes. Mr. Bill Trankina, Superintendent and the story's "Snidely Whiplash", was of course there, but when we entered the sanctum he quickly made haste out of the room. (Just thought I'd throw that in for good measure)

Since Mark signed us up for the forum, he was the person to be speaking only in this parliamentary-type setting. Because this was a public situation, we could not discuss Caleb himself, but had to speak more to the program itself. This is exactly what Mark did, speaking in very general terms, asking that the program as it was, with the 12:1 ratio, in all due respect, was not working for everyone involved. He discussed that with having too many children qualifying for the program--even with its stringent guidelines--that limiting children and basically keeping them out was not the message that we want to send to either the children but also to the community that these children are being left out. He also mentioned that by having the grandfathering clause that they do that if they qualify and are "in" that they basically are in--forever.

The point of this is that it also sends a message to those wishing to move to Rantoul that may have children that qualify--that they basically have no option if the class is full--and that's that. If the program was to insist on the 12:1 ratio, the only fair thing then to do is on a yearly basis retest for qualification and the best 12 be allowed to be in the program. One of our central points was using a sports analogy, whereby sports teams have tryouts every single year, and the best people for the amount of positions available would be filled. Based on Rantoul's philosophy, Michael Jordan could have moved to Rantoul and if the basketball team was filled, that he would not only get a chance to tryout, but that he wouldn't ever get a chance to be on the team.

This seemed to grab the attention of the school board--we saw a lot of nodding heads and notes being taken. Mark did a great job of making valid points and even mentioned that we knew of a child that had tested near the top of the district and was not being allowed in *wink wink nudge nudge*. To say the least, the request was done tastefully and respectfully.

The school board president, Kevin Modglin, discussed that he did know that additional work was available from teachers outside of the gifted program that would be of the "gifted" level. We again came back that this was just for all intents and purposes "busywork" and that it was not the same experience as being in the gifted program. There were a couple of other questions that were pretty irrelevant, but then Mr. Trankina took the stage.

He didn't even give Mark the respect of facing him and talking to him, he just looked at the board the entire time, and it was a lot of things like, "Well, please understand that the gifted program is not mandated by the State of Illinois and therefore is funded by the school district itself." Mark discussed that if there was a situation where the ratio of 12:1 was insistent, that there should be a possibility of hiring at least an aide for the overflow classes. Obviously, Trankina made a point that there was not going to be additional money spent for something like that. (Remember though--Rantoul is only 1 of 2 schools in their county that is not bonded--which means that it has a SURPLUS of money--guess that must have been the justification of those six grand lunch trays, eh?)

Trankina also threw out numbers that basically were spun to give merit to the way things were, such as the fact that the ratio had been in effect for over a decade (but--umm--this is the 21st century now, isn't it? And things do change over ten years, don't they? I'm thinking---ummmm....YEAH! They do! Ding ding ding, tell him what he's won!!!) and also figures like testing and gifted teacher training, etc.

The thing about this is that he could have been speaking gibberish and that school board would have Zombie-like nodded at what he said. For all of the basic questions that were asked by some of the members, it was clear that many didn't have really much knowledge of how the gifted program worked in-depth--how's that for community leaders? (No offense to my stepfather at all!!) As he continued to droll on with about as much emotion as Ben Stein in Ferris Bueller's Day off (Bueller...Bueller...), it became clear that "Auntie Mo" had changed sides and suddenly all of our points were being countered without anything more than words--no concrete evidence, just the trust of the man that was the "Super" was giving them the holy gospel.

However, there was one beacon of light that suddenly turned the tide. The board member that Mark had made numerous contacts with asked Mrs. Holliday if there had ever been someone who had to be removed from the gifted program. She responded with a kind of hesitant "Yes...because the student was not able to pass his normal classroom work and therefore had to repeat his grade, so he was not eligible for the program any longer."

You could have heard a pin drop. Or at least heard the thumping in Trankina's heart.

Modglin then went on to say that there was not going to be any decision made at the meeting, but then as he looked at Trankina almost as an actor trying to get their lines that they had forgotten, had said that the gifted committee would be meeting two weeks from then and would discuss this issue. Recommendations given by the committee would be then considered strongly by the board, etc. for any changes to the program. They welcomed us to attend and discuss this at length.

We then were praised on our parenting abilities almost--ok--it was--patronizingly--for our perseverance and reinforcement we were instilling in Caleb. My thought when they said that? Do your job as community leaders then.

So, we had gone through a formal meeting with Trankina, had withstood a BullS#&t letter from him trying to blow us off, gone and faced the school board and didn't get much--if at all--distance out of it, and now we were being put to the gifted "committee" where we would be able to make our case yet again. Surely in a concentrated arena of people that were specifically in charge of this program they would be able to see the error of this system, right??

Hmmm.....well...you'll have to wait and see!! :)

Thanks again for reading!!

TAGS: Being A Dad, Education, Education Issues, Gifted And Talented, Gifted And Talented Education, Gifted Education, Gifted Program Limitations, Kids, Parental Responsibilities, Parenthood, Parenting, Rantoul, Rantoul City Schools, Rantoul School District, School Policies
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[ READER COMMENTS ]

1

Jem said:

Aw man! Being kept in suspense ...*again*?!

I tease. Thanks for sharing - I'm enjoying the tale and hope everything works out for Caleb in the end!

Posted at 10:10 AM, on September 17 2008

2

Tim said:

Hi there! I am glad you are enjoying the story! I actually have to stop and leave everyone in suspense at the risk of carpal tunnel :)

I appreciate your comments and support! Stay tuned--same time, same bat channel!! muhahahaha.............

Posted at 01:40 PM, on September 17 2008

Master of Puppets is pulling the strings..Master! MASTER!--Part 3 of a series

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