When Dr. Jack Bierwirth first arrived as Herricks School Superintendent the school board commissioned him to do an extensive evaluation of the Gemini Program at the Herricks School since it had never been done before.

At the outset Dr. Bierwirth explained that by presenting the study it was just the beginning of an open dialogue regarding the recommendations. The next meeting on the subject will be held on Feb. 28.

In order to conduct the evaluation efficiently and objectively Dr. Bierwirth asked his colleague Dr. Marc D. Summers, who is an expert in the field, to highlight issues and make recommendations. Dr. Summers has been associated with a similar program for the last 20 years at C. W. Post College and is very knowledgeable about programs around the country.

Gemini Program Evaluations, by Dr. Summers, were then handed out and may be obtained at Dr. Bierwirth's office.

Dr. Summers went through his report highlighting the questionnaires he handed to students, teachers and parents and then went to his recommendations.

However, prior to that discussion he handed out the United States Office of Education Definition of Gifted and Talented Children that states:

"Gifted and talented children are those identified by a professionally qualified person, who by virtue of outstanding abilities are capable of high performance. These are the children who require differentiated educational programs and/or services beyond those normally provided by the regular school program in order to realize their contribution to self and society."

Dr. Summers continued, "Children capable of high performance include those with demonstrated achievement and/or potential ability in any of the following areas, singly or in combination:

* General intellectual ability

* Specific academic aptitude

* Creative or productive thinking

* Leadership ability

* Visual and performing arts

* Psychomotor ability*

* The area of psychomotor ability was subsequently removed from

definition."

Dr. Summers' recommendations, which will be discussed in further detail at the meeting on Feb. 28 include:

1. Clarify admission criteria. Published admissions criteria are inconsistent and confusing. Teacher nomination form needs to be expanded; a checklist of gifted behaviors would be useful. Consider adding a measure of creativity to admission criteria. Standardized tests, such as the Torrance series, or submission of creative student products should be considered. The definition of giftedness should be expanded to conform with the guidelines set down by the United States Office of Education.

2. There should be more formal evaluation of students' progress. Student self-evaluation should be encouraged. Evaluation should emphasize the in-depth quality of the student products as well as originality. Dr. Summers added that students should be taught to evaluate themselves.

3. Student continuation in the Gemini Program should be reconsidered yearly. Currently, it appears that once a student is accepted into the program, he/she remains through the eighth grade. In addition to product evaluation, task commitment should be a key element in determining student continuation.

4. The Gemini curriculum and admissions criteria should be aligned. A formal curriculum, including scope and sequence needs to be developed for all Gemini grades. Curricular components should include creativity training, critical thinking skills, creative problem-solving, leadership development, research tools and psychological development. All Gemini teachers should develop this curriculum together and the final product should be disseminated to parents and staff members.

5. The psychological development component is a key element in student success and frequently neglected in gifted programming. Topics might include positive self-concept and self-acceptance, personal growth targets, independence training and risk-taking in creative activities or projects. The non-intellective variables of perfectionism, frustration tolerance, boredom, motivation, sensitivity and emotional intensity should be explored. Staff psychologists could assist with these curricular areas.

6. Consider relocating the elementary Gemini program to the home schools. This would serve the following objectives.

A. Regular classroom teachers and Gemini teachers could have on-going contact, increased communication is essential to improve teachers' perceptions of the benefits of Gemini attendance.

B. Curriculum could be adjusted to expand on classroom topics.

C. Gemini teachers could push-in to the classroom to provide experiences for the whole class. These push-in experiences would be in addition to the pull-out program.

D. The Gemini teacher could act as a resource to children in grades one and two who may need instructional differentiation.

E. Classroom teachers could be more involved with student assessment.

7. Increase communication between middle school Gemini teachers and classroom teachers. Build in opportunities for team teaching and selective push-in instructional units. Involve classroom teachers in student evaluation procedure. Increased communication between middle school teachers and parents is also encouraged.

8. Consider phasing out grade eight from Gemini. Since the grade eight focus is independent projects and competitions, this could be handled in other ways. For example, faculty members could serve as mentors to students whose research interests dovetail with their own. After-school clubs could be created or expanded for students who want to participate in math, science or other competitions. Thinking skills clubs could focus on Odyssey of the Mind or Future Problem-Solving competitions. These after school activities could be open to all students who demonstrate interest and commitment.

9. If at all possible, find a way to schedule the grade six program so that students would miss less class time.

10. In-service training on the education of the gifted should be provided for classroom teachers. Curriculum compacting and divergent thinking strategies should be emphasized.

11. Workshops for parents on both intellective and non-intellective issues should be offered.

12. Program supervision should be re-examined. While this clearly is a program of great merit, there is a gap between what the program is and what it could be. These proposed revisions will require supervisory time, and at least, a temporary reallocation of resources.

At the conclusion of Dr. Summers' presentation , Herricks School Board President Emilia Sutz thanked him and then encouraged all in attendance to return to the meeting on Feb. 28 to continue the discussion of the recommendations by Dr. Summers to make the Gemini Program more efficient.

Results of Terra Nova Testing

Assistant Superintendent for Personnel, Dr. Ronald Barnes announced the results of the Terra Nova tests for Grade three and Grade five given in October of 2001. The results of the tests were broken down as the district as a whole and then for the individual schools. In each category the students scored high in all subjects with the math scores surpassing the other subjects. Anyone wishing to see the results of the testing may do so by calling Dr. Barnes'office at the school administration building.

Complaints About School Personnel

The Policy on Complaints About School Personnel was reviewed and it was decided to leave the policy as it is. To resolve the complaints by the individuals closest to the concern so that the staff be given every opportunity to consider issues and attempt to resolve problems. Complaints should be presented in the following order: 1. Staff member who is the subject of the complaint and/or the immediate supervisor of staff member who is the subject of the complaint. 2. Building principal. 3. Assistant Superintendent of Instruction or Business. 4. Superintendent of Schools. 5. Board of Education.

If there is no satisfactory conclusion reached between the individual and staff member or in those cases where an individual feels unable to speak directly to the staff member, the individual should make an appointment and speak with the immediate supervisor of that staff member.

The board expects prompt and considerate treatment by district personnel of all persons making complaints.

If an individual board member receives a complaint he or she will refrain from expressing any judgment about the complaint but will instead inform the complainant of the policy and refer the complainant to the appropriate staff member as noted. The board member receiving the complaint will notify the superintendent and the remainder of the board of the complaint in a timely manner.

Further, the board may not entertain criticism of individual district personnel at its public meetings.

The board voted to leave the policy as it is written.

The very long meeting finally adjourned and the board members went into executive session.