How State Supported Public Schools for the Gifted Can Have Difficulties

Why the difficulties exist and what can be done about it.

Calls for gifted programming and opportunities are sometimes answered with good intentions coupled with a lack of important background on giftedness and issues surrounding identification. A recent and ongoing example is taking place in the New York City public school system in the 2020s.[i], [ii]

The example for this post, which is also relevant to the NYC gifted magnet schools situation that more readers have heard about, explains how there is an issue of relativity and preparation when children’s backgrounds and opportunities vary.

The Maine School of Science and Mathematics (MSSM)

After my first book, 5 Levels of Gifted: School Issues and Educational Options was published in 2005 (originally titled Losing Our Minds: Gifted Children Left Behind), I was invited to visit a state residential high school, the Maine School of Science and Mathematics (MSSM), to provide faculty development after the school’s director heard me speak at a conference for educational administrators about the Levels of Gifted.

The state legislature voted for and financially supported the creation and costs of this new residential high school. The students…