Parents press Royal Oak board for stronger services for gifted students
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Summary
During two public-comment periods a parent and their child told trustees the district’s programs for gifted learners are insufficient, said the TAG program was cut and asked the board and superintendent to follow up and explore replicable models used elsewhere.
Parents and a student told the Royal Oak Schools Board of Education on Dec. 11 that current district offerings do not meet the needs of above-level or gifted learners.
One parent described years of meetings with school staff and said the family pulled their child from the district twice to protect her mental health because she was not being sufficiently challenged. The parent said their daughter’s math performance improved substantially when she used self-directed online tools while homeschooled and asked the superintendent to follow up with the family. The parent characterized district response as "a glaring level of apathy" toward providing a challenging curriculum for above-level students.
The child, identified as a 10-year-old in public comment, said she often comes home from school in tears because she is not learning and noted that two of her three close friends transferred to other districts for advanced learning. "I love learning, but many days I come home from school crying," she told the board.
Trustees acknowledged the comments and the superintendent said staff would follow up with the family. Board members did not take formal action at the meeting but invited the parent to contact district administration for further discussion.
Board members and administrators referenced existing program constraints, budget realities and staffing limits during later discussion in the meeting; trustees asked staff to follow up and provide more detailed options in future meetings.