Vote to aid gifted kids

Spokane has been a solid backer of public education and the many programs that support a broad continuum of students. Tessera and Odyssey serve gifted students from grades 3-8 and are largely funded by the upcoming three-year educational program replacement levy. These programs are vital to the top 3 percent of our district’s students, whose unique characteristics go far beyond intellect.

Gifted children are driven internally to ponder, to explore, to experiment, to question, to seek solutions to injustice and demand perfection. Gifted preschoolers may be so aware of how these personal qualities don’t jibe with peers that they begin to ask, “What’s wrong with me?”

This lonely predicament is why programs like Tessera and Odyssey are so vital to providing a place for students to grow not only intellectually, but to learn how to channel their highly sensitive and intense natures. Linda Silverman, director of the Gifted Development Center, says, “The intricate thought processes that mark these individuals are mirrored in the intricacy of their emotional development.”

Spokane school district’s replacement levy is crucial to the ongoing gifted- education programs for this promising yet vulnerable population of students. Please vote yes Feb. 14!

Glenda Kohls

Spokane