Eight-year-old twins Brooke and Breanna Bennett (shown left), have spent most of their lives in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where they received a rigorous, hands-on education and teachers thought of them as gifted. Since returning to the States with their parents, Adeyela and Bradley Bennett, the twins–in fact, the whole family–have had a rude re-introduction to American racial segregation and educational politics.
[Related: Children of Color Are Gifted, Too]
After diligently researching, the Bennetts chose a home to rent based on the A rating of the neighborhood school. With a full-time gifted program–unlike some schools which may offer a part-time gifted program or none at all–the school is also fairly diverse, with a 20% black student body. It is majority white. But instead of being rewarded for their diligence, the Bennetts encountered obstructionism when they asked about the gifted program. “‘It’s such a long process,’ they told me,†Adeyela says. Discouraged from pursuing the gifted program, she enrolled her children in the school’s regular program.
But then she saw the classes. “They are completely segregated,†Adeyela says. “The regular classes are all black with a few brown-skinned Hispanic children.†The gifted classes are nearly all white. That was when she decided to pursue the program for her daughters.
When she asked the principal why there were so few black children in the gifted program, he said, “It’s not my fault that black parents don’t want to sign up their children for the gifted program.â€
The Bennetts paid $600
to have their daughters tested privately (because the school insisted that the process was long, the principal suggested that they test their daughters privately). Although there are a variety of tests that can be used to evaluate for giftedness, the psychologist that had been recommended to them used the Reynolds Intellectual Assessment Scale–which is considered culturally inappropriate for assessing black children or children from overseas. The Bennett twins are black and have lived most of their lives abroad.The twins’ teacher, as part of the assessment, gave the girls a score of 0 for creativity–an astounding score for any child, but the Bennett girls in particular are both avid readers who write their own stories and perform their own science experiments. They are gifted in the visual arts and love science. The absurd score set off alarm bells for the Bennetts and caused them to question all the test results.
Adeyela Bennett was so shocked when she saw the flagrant, obvious racial segregation in the school, she wrote an article that was published in the Miami Herald.
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Since then, the superintendent of schools–who “expressed concern,‖has contacted the Bennetts,
and wants to help resolve the issue. The school recently tested the girls. Throughout the process, Bennett says, “mistakes were made every step of the way.†At a meeting with school officials, the first thing they did was apologize–however, the twins are still not in the gifted program, though they have been placed with a more compatible teacher.“The school seems to make a concerted effort to keep kids of color out of the gifted program,†Bennett concludes. However, she and her husband are still fighting for their daughters’ inclusion.
Gifted–with a disability
One of the Bennett twins has a vision disorder called convergence insufficiency which causes her to see words and numbers improperly. However, the Section 504 accommodation protects children with disabilities from being discriminated against. Students with disabilities can still be gifted. As part of the accommodation, this twin will get more time to figure out words and to take tests.
“Many children are kept out of gifted programs if they have a disability,†Adeyela says. “Schools just don’t know how to handle the combination. The expectation is that gifted kids are geniuses, they are perfect, they behave perfectly, when, in fact, many gifted kids have behavior problems and will ultimately have academic problems if they’re not challenged in the proper way.â€
The takeaway: If you’re getting the runaround at your child’s school, follow the Bennetts’ example and
- If possible, move to a neighborhood that has a gifted program in the school.
- Start the testing process as early as possible.
- If your child is disabled and gifted, find out about the Section 504 accommodation.
- Persist. Go to the press if you need to, as the Bennetts did. BE Smart would love to advocate on your behalf.