“They're smart. Why would they need additional services? They’ll be fine!” Sound Familiar?

Time and time again we hear “they’ll be fine, they’re smart," when people refer to gifted learners. Because of this sad misconception, too many students fail to reach their potential because they do not receive appropriately challenging curriculum and services.

The National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) reports that 73% of teachers agreed that, “Too often the brightest students are bored and under-challenged in school. - we’re not giving them a sufficient chance to thrive.” Our nation’s education policies narrowly focus on the achievement gap for struggling learners, which is extremely problematic for the widening “excellence gap” faced by high-ability students. Most regular classroom teachers do not receive adequate training to recog ...