Renzulli Academy Proposal Shifts To Incubator Program For 2013-2014 School Year

A proposed Renzulli program for gifted and talented students in the New London Public Schools would be scaled back from a full academy to an incubator program in the 2013-2014 school year, Superintendent Nicholas Fischer said on Wednesday.

Fischer said some requirements of applying for the program would have been difficult to accomplish before a Monday deadline for a local charter application. He said the requirements included establishing a financial structure to support the academy as well as an academic governance council of at least seven people.

“We did not feel that we could meet all the requirements of that local charter application,” he said.

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Earlier this year, the University of Connecticut proposed using a $500,000 grant from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation to replicate the Renzulli Gifted and Talented Academy—a Hartford school for advanced students—in New London as well as Bridgeport and Windham, according to the Hartford Courant. The New London program would be housed in the Harbor School.

Fischer said a Renzulli incubator program would start with a focus on some classes, with an application for funds from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation toward the same goal of training teachers in the Renzulli model and having them train other teachers in turn. He said he hopes the board would also have the opportunity to apply for funding to support a full academy in the coming year.

Fischer said the Renzulli model would be an academic advantage for the district as well as a financial incentive, with the academy receiving $3,000 per student and the district eligible for up to $500,000 to acquire a facility to house the academy or renovate an existing school building.

Board member Barbara Major said she supports the Renzulli model, saying a separate gifted and talented program will avoid potential bullying of these students and allow them to push each other to succeed.

“I think it’s a wonderful opportunity,” she said.

The proposal has also received criticism from some parents, and in adopting an all magnet school model toward school improvement the board omitted a strategy for a district charter school for gifted and talented students due to the complexity of the topic. Mongi Dhaouadi said New London needs to support a gifted and talented program, but that the district needs to focus more on the magnet strategy at this point. He suggested that the issue be tabled for five years and that the district develop a more detailed financial plan on how much the Renzulli academy would cost and who would pay for it.

“At this time, under the conditions we are in in New London, it is the wrong time,” he said.

Mirna Martinez said she thought the district’s gifted and talented program can be more integrated with existing classes. She said the board has heard only the positive aspects of the academy, including a visit from founder Dr. Joseph Renzulli and several students participating in the program.

“The cons are out there also, so they should be looked at,” she said.

Mayor Daryl Finizio, who said he was in a gifted and talented program when he attended school, said he has written to both the Board of Education and the State Board of Education to support the initiative. He said he thinks there will be some apprehension about both the Renzulli model and the district’s decision to adopt an all magnet school model, but considered some of the negative response to be a reactionary opposition to new proposals from outside the city.

“I can say from my own experience that this program is absolutely a godsend,” said Finizio. “For the city of New London to have this in any form would be a huge step forward.”

Regina Nichols said she thought the district could make better use of funds by maintaining existing school buildings. She also took offense at Finizio’s comment, saying parents want to be cautious about new initiatives.

“We want to ask questions,” said Nichols. “We want to know that we fight for what’s right.”

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