Saginaw Arts & Sciences Academy maintains top high school art program in the state despite cuts

Students at Saginaw Arts & Sciences Academy are among the few in Michigan who have access to gifted and talented education, as a lack of budget support from the state means most schools cannot offer services to high-performing students.

(Katie Bailey | MLive.com)

LANSING -- "Low-performing." "Academically failing." Words like these have drawn attention and focus to how Michigan schools are serving students, especially children who live in poverty, have disabilities or are scoring poorly on standardized tests.

Lawmakers at the state and federal levels have targeted funding at improving test scores, discussed how to reward teachers who improve scores or remove teachers who are ineffective, raised academic standards for students and created methods to "restart" or "turn around" struggling schools.

One group of children, however, has received little to no attention as a result of the focus on struggling students: gifted children.

A group of 27 states mandate that schools provide programs or services to gifted children. Michigan is not among that group.

Nor is Michigan among the 32 states that have a mandate to identify children who are gifted, or among the five states that provide funding for gifted education even without a mandate to identify or serve those kids. Michigan is one of nine states -- along with Delaware, Illinois, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Hampshire, New York, South Dakota and Vermont -- where state education agencies offer no gifted education funding or services. Washington D.C. also does not offer any gifted services or funding.

Michigan spends $0 on gifted education annually at the state level for both local districts and intermediate school districts, Michigan Department of Education spokesman Bill DiSessa confirmed. Some districts are spending their own funds, and the state is offering some funds to assist high school students with paying fees for Advanced Placement testing for college credit.

The department's website does have information on the state's "talent development" program, but its resources for parents have not been updated in more than four years.

Gov. Rick Snyder's office supports programs like dual enrollment for high school students to allow students to earn college credit, spokesman Dave Murray said.

"Gov. Snyder has supported efforts to expand dual enrollment with colleges, allowing gifted students to do college level work, and get college credit, while still in high school. The recommended 2015 budget has $1.8 million to support these efforts," Murray said.

Snyder's budget proposal also includes funding for STEM programs, which Murray said can help gifted students "realize their potential."

Other states are investing in gifted education, however. Four states -- Georgia, Iowa, Mississippi and Oklahoma -- mandate gifted services for students and fully fund those services at the state level, according to the Davidson Institute for Talent Development. An additional 23 states provide at least partial funding for their mandates. California, Hawaii, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota and Utah all provide at least partial funding without a mandate.

Georgia, for example, spent more than $367 million in 2012-2013 on gifted and talented education, according to a biennial survey of states conducted by the National Association for Gifted Children, an advocacy group supporting expansion of gifted education.

"It's actually growing," Christie McWilliams, a board member for the Michigan Association for Gifted Children, said. "The survey two years prior had fewer numbers of programs. It's improving."

Even without a mandate or any state money, some Michigan schools are still trying to offer gifted services to students. According to the U.S. Department of Education, which recently collected data on services offered by every public school in the country, a total of 128 school districts or charter schools in Michigan offer at least some gifted education services.

The range of services available varies, however. The Saginaw City School District operates an entire school devoted to "developmentally advanced" children, the Saginaw Arts and Sciences Academy. The school is open to students from three counties with abilities in language arts or math and science, as well as offering visual and performing arts-focused programs.

By comparison, East Lansing Public Schools only offers gifted programming to middle and high school students through Michigan State University's Gifted and Talented Education program. MSU's program allows students to complete coursework in language arts, mathematics or the arts during the school year, as well as offering summer enrichment courses.

For the vast majority of parents, however, gifted education opportunities for children are limited. McWilliams said the best thing parents can do is to be proactive in advocating for their children.

"I would investigate the districts and campuses my child would attend, and see what services are available," McWilliams said. If no services are available, McWilliams recommended talking with teachers and administrators to be sure they recognize how to challenge a gifted child. "Talking to teachers can be a touchy subject, so keep communication positive. Don't come across as critical."

One tactic that may be possible is allowing students to "accelerate" to higher grade levels in subjects where they excel, a strategy the National Association for Gifted Children recommends.

"Acceleration options should be available at each stage of development in a child's educational program from early entrance to primary school up through early college entry in order to even out the curriculum challenge," the association stated in a position paper posted on its website.

Parents can also look for opportunities for enrichment outside of school, like library events, academic competitions and extracurricular classes, McWilliams said.

The lack of attention to gifted education has also affected standardized test scores. A 2008 study from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute found that fourth-grade reading scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress remained flat between 2000 and 2007 for students in the 90th percentile, while scores for the lowest 10 percent of students jumped significantly.

Test scores for those high-performing students have remained flat since 2007, increasing by only a single point on the 2013 test.

Brian Smith is the statewide education and courts reporter for MLive. Email him at bsmith11@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter or Facebook.