Enrolling in advanced learning programs is getting tougher as school districts look to limit admission to only the most profoundly gifted children.
Citing budget cuts and parents' concerns about mission creep, Jordan and Canyons school districts are tweaking their testing criteria and paring back programs.
"There has been concern that students were being enrolled who didn't necessarily need those extra services," said Teri Madsen, director of Jordan's accelerated learning program.
There will be no set quota but Jordan intends to reserve its magnet programs for the top 3 percent of learners as determined by test scores and other gauges, said Madsen. "The idea is to identify those students whose needs won't be met in a regular classroom."
For other accelerated learners, the district will continue to offer "enrichments," such as field trips, tutoring and periodic specialized instruction.
Canyons is also retooling its program, and more immediately consolidating some of its Accelerated Learning Program (ALPS) classrooms.
Four Canyons elementary schools now offer accelerated programs: Sunrise, Ridgecrest, Alta View and Peruvian Park.
Superintendent David Doty is shutting down the first grade program at Ridgecrest next year and moving those students to Peruvian Park. He is also transferring Sunrise's first grade program to Alta View.
Heeding parent concerns, though, Doty agreed to retain the ALPS for grades two through six at Sunrise. And Ridgecrest will continue to serve grades two through six. Grades at some of the schools may be combined.
The goal, said Doty in a letter to parents, is to build a "financially sustainable [and] educationally and legally defensible" program.
