A committee of Humble Independent School District parents has formed to advocate for gifted students, hoping to improve communication within the district and educate decision-makers about the needs of such pupils.

Parent Andrea Badot spoke at the Humble ISD Board of Trustees’ February and March meetings, outlining the group’s goals and inviting those interested to an informational event it will host on April 6.

“If we don’t have a parent group telling us how we can do a better job, then I think that’s hurtful for the district,” said Christine Bruton, gifted and talented coordinator. “I am very excited to have a parent group that can talk to us.”

Formally called Humble ISD Parents for Gifted and Talented, the organization is similar to one that had been active in the past.

Badot, its president, was spurred to research “GT,” or gifted and talented, education after her daughter began coming home from school feeling stifled by her coursework.

Though her child has been in the district’s gifted program for five years, Badot only discovered last month that Humble ISD has a handbook for parents of GT students.

Bruton acknowledges the dialogue could improve. “One of the things I’m working on is talking with teachers and encouraging them to make sure they’re communicating with the parents,” she said.

Parents in the group are concerned that cutbacks have harmed their kids’ opportunities. Roger Daily has seen the curriculum change as his three kids, all of whom are part of the gifted program, have matured.

“Over the years the amount of services provided for these kids has really diminished so that kids who are really bright or could excel are sort of having a wet blanket thrown over them,” he said.

Daily and Badot said teachers are hamstrung by the need to help weak students pass standardized tests, lest the district suffer the consequences of poor scores.

“It’s putting everybody in a pack and having them go at the same pace,” Daily said. “People don’t learn that way.”

Bruton says teachers prevent this concern by using a model called differentiation, which helps them meet the needs of various learners by clustering pupils and introducing more flexibility into instruction.

“It takes a lot of professional development and a lot of dedication, but we have a lot of teachers out there who are doing a great job of getting all the kids where they need to be,” Bruton said. “It can be done — it just takes a lot of work.”

Badot and Bruton agree that professional development is crucial. All district teachers must complete a 30-hour training course helping them identify gifted kids, for example.

But identification is only part of success, Badot said, adding that a central myth of GT instruction is that the kids are sharp enough to learn without guidance.
Humble ISD trustee Dave Martin spoke to that concern at the board’s meeting on March 9.

“There’s some smart kids in this district and we can’t just think they’ll be OK because they’re smart kids and they’ll take care of themselves,” he said, calling an increased focus on GT instruction. “Those are going to be our doctors and lawyers of the world.”

Board members Charles Cunningham and Brent Engelage also have expressed support, saying they would like to see more emphasis on GT education in separate interviews last month.