forum

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Emily Martine, Chair, PAGE-CHCCS, emilymartine@mindspring.com

PAGE to Host Candidates Forum
The Chapel Hill-Carrboro chapter of Partners for the Advancement of Gifted Education (PAGE) will sponsor a forum for candidates for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board of Education. The public is invited to the forum, which will be 7:00-8:30 p.m., Tuesday, September 29 at the Chapel Hill Public Library.Emily Martine, chair of the local PAGE chapter, noted that the school board will be under pressure to ensure appropriate education and growth for all students with a reduced budget.“Our school system has identified 31% of its students as academically gifted,” she said. “For our community, our state, and our county to be competitive and innovative in the global marketplace, we must provide curricula that challenge all of our students, including the academically gifted.  We must also make sure that gifted education does not become an automatic area for cuts whenever the budget is tight.” PAGE has been supportive of the school system’s approach of aiding differentiation by clustering AG students, assigning gifted education specialists to each school to collaborate with teachers, and encouraging flexible ability grouping within and across classrooms.“Given the more limited resources we are facing now, we will need more creative options that will challenge gifted students to work hard and develop good work habits,” Martine said. “We look forward to hearing our school board candidates’ ideas, and to making them aware of parents’ concerns.All six candidates for the school board have been invited to the forum and five out of six have confirmed their attendance. They will respond to questions prepared in advance by PAGE members and other audience members.