Urbangifted Education

The History of Urban Gifted Education Joyce VanTassel-Baska 18 fall 2010 • vol 33, no 4 Urban Gifted Education The history of the world could be told through countless terintuitive. We know the problems that urban education has biographies, as Carlyle said, and these biographies undoubt- faced over the past half century, and the spate of reports that edly would represent gifted individuals and their contribu- have been issued at regular intervals, decrying the conditions tions at different times in different cultures of our world. in large city school districts in respect to serving the poor The Greeks and Romans recognized the value of talent, as and culturally diverse, the bureaucracies that keep anything did the tribes of the Bible, responding to the parables told from getting done effectively, and the problems with facili- by Jesus. The Chinese Dynasties and Confucius as a scholar ties’ upkeep, teacher unions, and a myriad of other problems saw value in educating those from all social strata accord- that escalate, based on the scope and size of the problems (see ing to their talents. Cultures embraced the recognition and Passow, 1963). However, for all of the problems in urban development of giftedness as a way to determine potential America, gifted education has always been a bright spot. contributors to a society—as leaders, even philosopher kings Urban programs often have been more highly evolved in Plato’s imagined world, or guildsmen, or clerics. Galton than other settings for gifted learners because the critical made the observation that we lost a unique possibility of mass of learners is available to try multiple delivery models inherited ability during the Middle Ages when gifted males and respond to needs in different ways. It is also possible were recruited into the clergy, thus losing valuable contribu- for urban centers in our country to provide comprehensive tions from potential children of these brilliant men. And the articulated options across the breadth of needs. Moreover, history of the world and these societal contributions have leaders in urban education of the gifted, typically being able occurred predominantly in cities, as Arnold Toynbee (1972) to devote full-time efforts to program development, have has noted in his text Cities of Destiny. been more circumspect about the nature of what programs Thus, it is not surprising that cities are where gifted edu- and services should be able to do and why. As the Director cation began, from Hollingworth’s Speyer School experiment of Chicago Public Schools’ Gifted Program from 1970–1990 in New York City on the East Coast, to Terman’s efforts stated: on the West Coast in large cities like San Diego, to the work of others in large Midwestern cities like St. Louis, When administrators of gifted programs can feel they Cleveland, Quincy (IL), and Chicago. In 1918, in Los have converted their more superficial add-on programs Angeles, so-called opportunity classes and similar groupings into major curriculum strands, and that they have in Rochester and Cleveland sought to identify the brightest pushed their programs toward greater comprehensive- grade-school children and separate them from their slower ness in the areas of curriculum scope, range of ability learning classmates through application of individual abil- level, program type, and support services, then they ity testing (Chapman, 1988). By 1940, in Cleveland, more may wish . to ponder whether schools have a great than 1,200 bright children were enrolled in 17 major cen- or limited potential to affect positively the education ters catering exclusively to their needs, utilizing some of the of gifted students. (Ronvik, 1989, p. 240) methods of earlier experimental schools like Horace Mann and Winnetka (Tannenbaum, 1983). From the beginning, urban settings also have grappled During the 1930s, honors classes, special classes in foreign with the poverty issue in respect to gifted education because languages, and other extracurricular programs were offered these settings have always had a large percentage of chil- to the gifted in the secondary schools. In various parts of dren coming from poverty backgrounds. In New York the nation, special schools exclusively for the gifted were City throughout the 20th century, the majority of students established; these schools were typically situated in big cities have come from low-income backgrounds, many children with large concentrations of students from which could be of immigrants. Moreover, 60% or more of urban popula- drawn the most intellectually able. tions in general are comprised of different ethnic groups. Early research in gifted education was conducted in these Thus, the central issue of our field has been studied and urban sites, and our first longitudinal research on program addressed through urban programs for almost a century. effectiveness was carried out in New York on the Speyer Recommendations from early reports on improving the state School (Hollingworth, 1926) and in Cleveland on the Major of gifted education have focused on the need to include Work Program (Barbe, 1953). Thus, the history of our field more students from underrepresented groups, provide more is inextricably linked to the work that went on in cities diversity in program options, and conduct more research throughout most of this past century. to demonstrate the efficacy of gifted programs in various In many respects, an examination of urban settings as a configurations. One early chronicler of gifted education even rich reservoir of insight about gifted education seems coun- specifically addressed this issue (Gold, 1965): gifted child today 19 Urban Gifted Education program efforts to the building level Schools gifted program served more Anxiety in official quarters and stripping the program leadership than 25,000 students out of an overall over problems in the big cities of authority to do what is needed. In student population of half a million in must eventually transcend con- the process, they have dismantled some the 1980s. At its height, the program cern with the culturally deprived lighthouse programs and services that ran 40 citywide options, six regional alone and come to grips with have been stellar in the history of this centers, and 518 local programs in superior educational opportunity field. Perhaps this article and special individual schools. It employed 25 for young people in the culture- issue may serve as a beacon of hope full-time personnel to work on the rich metropolis. the spate that we need, as never before, to heed administration and service delivery of research in the next decade our history and learn from it and the aspects of the program at the central on urban education cannot fail urban pioneers who forged it. The office or regional center sites, including to give attention to problems of model gifted programs throughout six full-time program coordinators who educating the gifted in large cit- the 1960s–1980s were in San Diego, were responsible for program design ies. (p. 445) Chicago, and selected sites in New York and curriculum, and psychologists City. Today, the sites of greatest interest and social workers who assisted with Yet much of what we know about the to international visitors are of two types: testing, counseling, and home visits effectiveness of urban gifted programs (a) our residential and day high schools (VanTassel-Baska, 1983). from the past is anecdotal or descrip- that serve the gifted in 13 states but are The program offered museology tive in nature, not empirical, making it often not located in urban settings, or options at 24 different museums in the difficult to generalize to today’s efforts (b) exurban sites that offer an array of city for students in grades 7–12 where in any setting. Most urban programs program options, including full-time they could be assigned to a curator that were run from the 1960s through centers and school-based services, and one day a week for a semester to learn the 1980s collected data on student are linked to a surrounding metro area how the museum worked, the nature learning and did formal evaluations. such as Montgomery County, MD, of its subject matter, and exhibit con- However, the work was never translated and Fairfax County, VA, both sprawl- struction, culminating with a student into journal articles to find its way to ing school districts that are in the top exhibit as the project. Chicago’s cul- the field. Rather, it was archived in 20 in population in the country. Yet, tural enrichment program was selected Research and Evaluation offices in the as one of the top 10 programs for dis- the models that were developed in cit- individual urban school district, never advantaged gifted students in 1984 as ies in earlier times remain important to be used as a basis for further study it showcased opportunities to use the testimony to effective program devel- or as the foundation on which to build city’s resources to benefit the promising opment and implementation for our future programs. poor—attending concerts at Orchestra best learners. Leadership in gifted education in Hall by The Chicago Symphony; seeing The next section of this article urban settings historically has been professional classical and contemporary chronicles the history and evolution strong, with many of these leaders theater, ballet, and art in world-class of urban programs in three sites— having the deepest knowledge base of venues like The Goodman Theater and Chicago, New York, and San Diego— anyone in the field about programs the Art Institute; and even experiencing to profile the extensive efforts that have and services that work. People like opera (Maxwell, 1984). Dave Hermanson in San Diego and preceded our work in this field today The hallmark feature of Chicago’s Rick Ronvik in Chicago had depth of and to illustrate the extensiveness of elementary programs was the focus experience with the way that programs those efforts to focus on this popula- on critical thinking, achieved through played out in urban contexts and were tion of learners within our largest and the careful selection and use of mate- successful in developing and institu- most diverse national settings.

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