MEETING HER POTENTIAL

Before Julia Riegel’s second birthday, her parents started hiding the newspaper.

An early reader, Julia had asked “What’s a terrorist?” as stories told of the first World Trade Center bombing in February 1993, when Julia was 21 months old.

“I read everything from a very early age and I was very curious,” said Julia, now 14.

Her endless questions were the first clues for Julia’s mother, Mary Moineau-Riegel, and father, John Riegel, in recognizing a highly capable – often called gifted – child. They have taken that journey along with educators in East Valley’s school district.

“People might assume a child like this has pushy parents,” explained Moineau-Riegel. “It’s more like a water skier skiing out of control, trying to stay up above water and stay afloat.

“It feels more like running behind.”

Julia turns 15 this month before her graduation from East Valley High School, where she started classes part time at age 11 and full time as a sophomore at 12. She completed the past two years of high school through Running Start with courses at Eastern Washington University.

She is East Valley High School’s first National Merit Finalist in several years – certainly the youngest – and a valedictorian with Spokane Scholar honors in science, social studies and English.

“I have so many different interests,” said Julia, who will take honors-level classes at Gonzaga University this fall.

An accomplished violist who plays for the Spokane Youth Orchestra, she lists intense studies of English, math, science and astrophysics. “Science has always been one of my primary interests.”

“I enjoy academic challenges and to really think about everything, rising to challenges. I tend to do worse in things if I’m bored. I don’t like being bored.”

Julia attended early years of private school and then was home-schooled by her mother, who studied textbooks at night to prepare. The family moved into the East Valley School District by Julia’s third-grade year when she participated in home schooling, distance learning and the district’s Planned Enrichment Program for gifted students.

Within a couple of years, however, Julia asked about high school classes.

“It took a few meetings,” said Moineau-Riegel, about making arrangements. The district’s PEP instructor met with teachers at the high school, and Moineau-Riegel talked to Julia about being around classmates already dating.

Her first EVHS classes were in biology, French and orchestra. Julia recalled some awkwardness the first weeks, but the leap proved positive.

“There have always been people in East Valley who have looked after her and met her needs as best as possible within a traditional public school,” said Moineau-Riegel, who is now home schooling Julia’s brother, Sam. “The biggest jump probably was Julia starting to take high school classes.

“I was surprised by how little teasing there was. It was almost like the other kids realized she wasn’t a fair target.”

Quick to laugh at herself first, Julia agreed. “I was very short. There was a little teasing, but not much.” Most jokes were about her rolling backpack for heavy textbooks.

EVHS Principal Jeff Miller described Julia as rare, one definitely needing the challenge of high-school level classes by sixth grade, perhaps earlier. She is both gifted academically and self-motivated to do hard work, he added.

“We’ve had a gifted program in East Valley but she goes beyond the bounds of typically gifted students. At a young age, she was ready for high-school level classes. We opened the doors when she felt she was ready. It didn’t take long for her to get through what we offered to her.”

In helping Julia, Moineau-Riegel learned to ask for a trial period. “I would say, ‘Let’s try this for six weeks and if either party is uncomfortable, then we’ll call it off.’ “

Julia soon won over Julie Seipp, who teaches East Valley’s Advanced Placement English Literature and AP European History classes. European history students spend nine months studying a country in-depth and then collaboratively writing a historical novel. They later visit the city.

When learning a 12-year-old would join students 15 to 16, Seipp admitted initial concern.

“I’ve gone from being one of her worst skeptics to one of her main advocates,” said Seipp. “Julia deserves to be given opportunities to excel at the high level in which she operates.

“She had to prove her way the first months of school. No one gave her any slack, including me. She was happy that she wasn’t given any slack – no extra time to do work, no deal, this is the exam, this is how it works.”

Julia not only held her own, she played an instrumental role, Seipp said.

“This is an open-ended class to accommodate people just such as Julia, because the sky is the limit what you can do. Julia Riegel at age 12 participated fully in that process.”

Classmates carefully included Julia without stigma, she said, and Julia helped older students in writing. “Her writing ability is phenomenal. There was careful, high respect for each other.”

Julia’s situation also served as a learning experience for school and district staff.

“There are opportunities in this district for people to meet their fullest potential,” Seipp added. “Julia reinforced our goal to have every child challenged to his or her full potential. I’m pleased that we could do that.”

Both Miller and Seipp described being eager to see what solutions Julia may discover.

“Her ability in science and to write – combined with her great empathy for fellow man – may alter some major concern in our world,” Seipp said. “I really think she can make a difference.”