What makes a student gifted? It’s a question that local educators are hoping that the provincial government might help to answer, as a more defined set of criteria for gifted and talented students could lead to more funding support for programs and resources designed to keep these bright minds engaged.

Currently, gifted and talented students can be classified as such under Alberta Education’s “Code 80”. Students with this designation are then lumped together with students who have “mild or moderate” special needs and specific funding can be allocated as individual school boards see fit. But without a clear set of parameters for defining gifted students, many might be left out.

“With the whole coding issue right now, the guidelines are so nebulous that it’s really difficult to pinpoint what makes a child gifted,” said Raymond Blanchette-Dube, principal of Jasper Elementary School. “I’m kind of hoping that we’ll see something a little more defined in the near future.”

That said, Blanchette-Dube acknowledges that there are many different ways in which students can be gifted, something that makes a simple measure ineffective.

“You can’t give them a test,” he said.

At JES, Blanchette-Dube and the teaching staff try to address any enrichment needs as best as they are able, in and out of class time.

“We have enrichment embedded in lesson plans, and there are extra curricular and co-curricular clubs that offer opportunities for students,” he said. “I think we’re doing a lot with what we have in the way of funding and resources. With more money we could do more things, of course.”

That sentiment is echoed by Blanchette-Dube’s counterpart across the playing fields.

“We do not have any specific gifted and talented program,” said Dale Karpluk, principal at Jasper Junior/Senior High. “I would think that there are gifted students in the school, but the fact of the matter is that there are only so many hours in the day. I suppose that if we had more teachers and more Alberta Education dollars designated for things like that, there would be the opportunity to build programs for kids like that. For a small high school, I think we do a pretty good job trying to meet the needs of these students.” 

The Grande Yellowhead Regional Divsion recognizes the need for a more complete strategy for identifying gifted students across the division.

“The code 80s are on the radar to address more concretely,” said Jan Ruhl, the division’s assistant superintendant for learning services. The difficulty the GYRD faces is that there is no province-wide approach.

“Without a provincial standard, it’s difficult for an individual school division or an individual school to develop one on their own,” said GYRD spokesperson Nicole Merrifield. According to the provincial government, the base funding grant of $5,087 allotted to every student in Alberta includes money for gifted and mild/moderate special needs students. School authorities have the ability to take as much of this money as is needed to provide for these students, but the province operates on the understanding that these groups make up 10 per cent of the student population. The GYRD board recently discussed the number of special needs students in the division, which is close to 10 per cent, but the figures presented to trustees did not include any gifted students.

“I can tell you that from the discussion at the board meeting, the trustees and administrators want to come up with a strategy for gifted students,” Merrifield said.

For the time being, however, the focus of the GYRD is on special needs students that need support to maintain the same pace of learning as their classmates.

“Once we’ve got those children up to where the division wants them to be and we have all the supports in place ... then we’ll be able to dedicate our energy and effort towards the gifted students,” said Merrifield.

An Alberta Education spokesperson told the Fitzhugh that while there are currently no guidelines in place for a Code 80 designation, that situation may be changing. A departmental committee has been struck that is working to draft suggested guidelines to support the determination of mild, moderate special needs and gifted and talented students.

“We’re not wanting to come with a hard-and-fast rule where if you score 94 on a test you are considered gifted and if you score 93.5 you’re not,” said the spokesperson.

Count Raymond Blanchette-Dube among those who would welcome some suggestions from the province.

“That makes so much sense,” he said. “It’s very hard to define someone as gifted. If there were specific guidelines that we could follow, it would be better.”