Close Topic Options

GATE Kids Program

In California (and probably other states), there is a legislated program for "Gifted And Talented Education" (aka GATE), which identifies high achievers and essentially separates them into cluster groups.

Prior to 2001, these groups were then given 200 minutes per week, outside of the regular classroom, of differentiated, augmented, enrichment activities and curriculum to stimulate their higher level of learning. Legislation passed in 2001 changed this program to integrate the GATE kids in "Normal" classrooms, with specially trained teachers who can recognize and facilitate the special needs of GATE kids on an ongoing basis within the classroom, rather than outside of the classroom.

The methods to identify GATE kids is not from standard IQ tests, but from observations and evaluations by teachers, parents, and several different test scores. In addition, after 2001, certain kids with disabilities may also be integrated into the program in order to stimulate higher learning.

Were you a GATE kid? Do you have GATE children in your family? What do you think about programs like this in public schools?

Here are some links about GATE kids and resources for parents and educators:

California Association for the Gifted (CAG)

National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC)

National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented

Program Kids GATE

We had something like that in the school I went to growing up. We actually had the gifted class, then specific subject classes like gifted science, math, and history that was a daily class and not a special class. There was an experiment done in which kids that performed poorly in regular history or science where put into gifted classes for the subject to see if it was the teaching and learning curriculum that was making the difference. The worst three students in history and science from seventh grade where put into gifted history and science classes in eighth grade. In the history class, the three under achievers ended the year in the top five percent of the class. One of them finished as the top grade in the class with a 101% average with the extra credit and went on to love history and become a ravenous history buff. That one person was me! The class that are taught for the gifted tend to lean more towards the individuals own ability to learn in ways that suit them. That experiment proved to me that the way children are taught makes a huge difference in the way they perform. Gifted classes allow for an environment that encourages learning to a higher degree and puts that control in students hands.

GATE Kids Program UFO & Writing Art Education Sciences

That's a terrific story, Konq, thanks for sharing it! This is one of the ways GATE operates now, to recognize that there are differences in the way kids learn and to let them go at their own pace.

I was in GATE in elementary school, but I don't recall anything exceptional in high school -- certainly no one particulary challenging me. And I think that's a shame, because I pretty much floundered in high school and never went to college. I'm sure it was partly because our family moved around a lot.

My daughter is now in the GATE program. The materials declare that she will always be in GATE, and it will follow her throughout her school career. She is in a regular class with a GATE-trained teacher. One of the benefits is that, if she is already proficient in a subject, she is able to move on to the next level, rather than re-reviewing it with the (slower) class. So far, it seems she's doing well.

Program Kids GATE

Name: VonKlaun

Comments: I was a GATE kid and it was as nothing in the end- it is a simple matter of who 'goes to bat' over you if you are born and raised in a place which is a gray, unintellectual dead area- I.e.: East (unincorporated) Whittier, Ca. My father is a Mexican-American whose father beat him to nonsense- and he was/is feminine and milquetoast - soft and a bad role model. It took me to 20 or 21 to learn how to relate to others like a regular, effective adult male.

Program Kids GATE

Name: Sharon
Country:

Title: Former GATE Kid

Comments: I was a gate kid during the 70's and 80's. I participated from 3rd through 8th grades. My son (15) is also gifted and has been in different gifted programs since kindergarten.

Because my husband is in the Army, we move alot so my son has been in multiple schools and programs.

I've been reading strange stuff about the GATE program and it makes me wonder if there is anything I should be worried about.