Schools

Sachem Restores Gifted & Talented Program

Board of education, administration will develop model to enhance benefit to students.

The Sachem Central School District board of education and administration agreed Wednesday evening not to cut their Gifted & Talented Education (GATE) program.

At the district’s regularly scheduled work session at Samoset Middle School, the board of education, prior to the start of the business portion of the meeting, came out with an agreement that GATE will stay.

District administrators will be providing a model of how to better utilize the program going forward. Board members also agreed to save at least $365,630 for the enrichment program in the budget.

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“We are going to continue to meet to discuss different models to provide these services for our students,” said Sachem Superintendent James Nolan.

Contrary to what some parents and tax payers may have thought, all board members said they were conscious about cutting such a traditionally rich element to Sachem’s academic past, which has existed for nearly 30 years.

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“This was not something that just came up today,” said board Vice President Jim LaCarrubba. “This came up the day the program was proposed to be cut.”

“We never felt comfortable cutting that program,” board President Rob Scavo said. “We understand the value of the program, in fact, we want to make it more rigorous to really have a difference between what’s being taught in the classroom and what’s being taught in GATE.”

Sachem received a $13.4 million cut in state aid for the 2011-12 school year, resulting in many programs being analyzed and possibly put on the chopping block such as GATE at one point.

Some parents were ready to unleash more torrid orations about the benefit of GATE in their children’s lives, but the board of education and Nolan announced the restoration of the program early on to calm potential issues.

“Never once did I think you’d look at educational programming that affects our best and brightest kids,” said John Mankowich, a former Sachem athletic director whose children are part of the GATE program, in a three-minute visitor speech at the meeting. “The fact that was even a consideration by this board of education and this administrative cabinet is not good sense. Where are these kids going to get nurtured? We’re not providing it in a regular classroom setting, we’re not differentiating instruction to the level of these kids. These kids deserve better. The parents of these kids should never have been put in this place, nor should the teachers.”

The board of education will meet again Wednesday, April 13, for its regularly scheduled monthly meeting where they will discuss a direction they’re all comfortable with regarding the $2.5 million in restored state aid that was released last week.

One option is allocating it for the 2012-13 fund balance, another is restoring more programs originally cut in the proposed budget.

Recognitions: Receiving recognition Wednesday were Sachem North’s Model United Nations team, who recently traveled to Johns Hopkins University for a competition, as well as the Sachem East and North girls winter track & field teams for their athletic accomplishments over the winter season and Sachem North’s Ruchi Shah, who has received a number honors as of late from various science institutions, including the Simons Research program.


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