KCTS program Sunday 5am

A KCTS CONNECTS LEARNING CURVE SPECIAL REPORT

Thursday, December 7, 2006, 7:00pm

Repeats Sunday, December 10th, at 5:00am

LEADING SEATTLE SCHOOLS

Learning Curve reporter, Jenny Cunningham talks with School Board President Brita Butler-Wall and Paul Hill, Director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education, about the growing concern with the leadership of Seattle Public Schools. A panel discussion on school district leadership features

Don Nielsen, former School Board President
Wendy Kimball, President of the Seattle Education Association.

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A GIFTED KID – IT'S HARDER THAN YOU THINK

This segment includes a visit with a local family whose three children are all gifted. The family moved to the area from California because of the Accelerated Progress Program at Seattle's Lowell Elementary School; the program offers classes for students who perform within the top one percent on standardized tests. Interviews with the family members show how tough it is to find an academic and social fit for profoundly gifted children.

THE COLLEGE COMPETITION

How do you get your smart kid into a good school? That's the question on many a parents'
mind these days when even valedictorians are turned down at top universities. This segment features a live panel discussion with experts including:

Philip Ballinger, University of Washington Director of Admissions

Pauline Reiter, College Placement Consultants, a private firm in Bellevue that helps students get into good colleges.

Viewers will be invited to call the studio with their questions.

GIFTED STUDENTS – ARE THEIR NEEDS BEING MET?

Could federally mandated efforts to help all children succeed in public school actually be hurting smart kids? This segment includes a live panel discussion with:

Mike Riley, Superintendent of the Bellevue School District, which recently opened an academy for gifted students at Interlake High School

Kathleen Noble, professor and director of the University of Washington's Halbert and
Nancy Robinson Center for Young Scholars, which serves the needs of gifted young pre-college and college students;

Christina Chan, a U.W. senior pursuing a double major in economics and international studies, who came to the university through the Robinson Center's Academy for Young Scholars;

Nathan Weizenbaum, a U.W. sophomore who came to the university through the Robinson Center's early-entrance program.

Go to www.KCTS.org for more information and related links.

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