Recognizing Youthful Potential

The district’s Gifted and Talented program (GT) helps advanced students, giving them extra learning opportunities, faster lessons, and additional support for qualifying students. A big goal is to get more identified high school students involved with the program, which currently serves 173 students in Polson School District, two-thirds of them in the elementary district and about one-third of them in the high school. 

To identify eligible students, Tamara Alley, the school district’s GT specialist, uses a cognitive abilities test. Alley explains, “I test all first graders at the end of first grade, and then any student of any grade level at any point in time who is referred can also be tested.” Once students qualify for the program, Alley meets their learning needs in ways as varied as the students taking the classes. Some students need accelerated learning programs while others need more help overcoming obstacles that come with being gifted, including managing a drive for perfectionism, developing resilience, and coming up with strategies to help with perceived boredom. Alley also offers students a place where they can interact positively with their peers and get creative with technology that includes 3-D printers and computer programs that allow students to explore music composition and video game design, among many other things.

Aniya Rosenbrock is a 10th grader in the GT program, and for her, it has meant more than just accelerating her intellectually but in life. “Being in GT has really helped me work on my problem-solving skills,” Rosenbrock said. “When stuff is too easy, you don’t get to build resilience. So, the challenges in GT pushed me to work harder, especially when things aren’t familiar.” Rosenbrock credits GT with teaching her the value in exploring different things. “It showed me that there are a lot of opportunities out there, and that sometimes my intelligence can actually make learning harder since I don’t always go through the normal process of learning new stuff,” she explained.

Students in the program learn important skills like problem-solving, confidence, and independent thinking, which help them in the future. Lots of former students have done amazing things, too, like starting tech companies or even competing in the Iditarod. Often their accomplishments began with independent projects in the GT Program, where students write a proposal and manage their progress.  Alley explains, “As long as it’s legal, appropriate to school and has academic value, I tell them the sky’s the limit, and I’ll support them in taking it as far as they want to take it.”

Due to recent budget shortfalls, the GT program, which the school district funded for 42 years prior to this one, has had to seek alternative sources of funding, including grants, donations, and events like auctions, T-shirt sales, and support from local businesses. Alley’s salary as well as other program costs, such as supplies, all must come from these sources. A former student donated $20,000 to help offset costs of the program this year. Alley reported “that he said he wanted to do that because not only was he in a position to be able to but mainly because of the value that he had gotten out of the program and that he wanted that to continue for other kids.” The community has come together to support the program. Parents, teachers, and volunteers help by planning fundraising events and telling others about them. On Saturday February 15, the GT program held a silent auction with items donated from families of GT students as well as other community members and businesses. Marcie Motichka donated a hand-made star quilt, a few GT students offered their original paintings, and local businesses contributed goods as well, such as a sofa and loveseat donated by Harbor Light Furniture.

Ultimately, Alley hopes to re-establish a stable district source of funding to continue the program for the indefinite future.