Lafayette Superintendent shows GATE alternatives

Lafayette School District Superintendent Fred Brill spoke on Nov. 28 about the GATE program in his
district, which switched from a program like the one in Davis to a program where students are more
integrated.

Currently, Davis Joint Unified School District separates Gifted and Talented Education-identified students
into separate classrooms for their core classes. The GATE master plan, deciding how the district runs the
program, is up for review right now and the district would implement any new changes for next school
year.

In Brill’s district, most GATE-identified students were moved into normal classrooms but still given
different instruction. The district’s academic performance has improved after this change.

“I continue to see education as the great equalizer in our society,” Brill said, adding, “I believe our
schools are not structured so all students can be successful.”

Differentiation between students based on intelligence tests made it harder for some students to
succeed, Brill said.

“Every year that I’ve been on the board, as part of our annual retreat, I’ve said that I have an interest in
evaluating the GATE program and how well we’re serving the students in it and how the students outside
of it may be impacted by the program,” School Board President Susan Lovenburg said. “I’m very much in
favor of looking at this, and that’s not to say I want it to go away.”