McKinley Elementary School in Petaluma is slated to open a new gifted and talented magnet program for the upcoming school year, according to Petaluma City Schools officials.
The district is currently accepting enrollment for fourth graders only, with plans for expanding the program to include fifth graders in 2013-14 and sixth graders in 2014-15.
Enrollment for the inaugural fourth grade class, set to open in August, is 17. Enrollment will filled on a first come, first served basis, according to district officials.
Students in the magnet program will be taught be a specially trained teacher and use iPads in their curriculum. They will also participate in Spanish instruction for at least two hours a week, district officials said.
McKinley School, at 110 Ellis Street, currently serves 4-6th graders. The school is in Year 5 of Program Improvement for failing to meet academic targets under the federal No Child Left Behind law.
For more information or to register, call Jane Escobedo at 778-4719 or email her at jescobedo@petk12.org.
Jennifer
Did anyone do a survey of parents of Gate kids to see if this is what they wanted? Is the district just manipulating where Gate kids attend school in order to improve a low achieving school’s scores?
I understand the district is changing their approach to how ESL students are being taught and I applaud them for this but please don’t use Gate kids as pawns in a chess game to improve a schools scores. Gate students deserve better than this.
July 2nd, 2012 7:56 am