Thanks for the years of gifted education you have given my family. With this opportunity, we have hoped to contribute to the future of our country. We work hard with our children to help them to be the best possible citizens they can be. There are many programs for the special needs children and so much work given to the SOL test results and hope that you will not take away from these gifted kids. It is a large task  for us parents of gifted kids to keep them challenged. We are forced to find reading material and activities to help the teachers attend to diverse needs of other  students.  If the gifted programs are taken away, then our gifted students will  become behavior problems in the graade level classroom. This will create a distraction and take away from the learning of other students. I know that my gifted childen wait every week for their one day of gifted education. Without this opportunity to participate in gifted program, I would have little to bargain with that they behave in the grade level classroom. They work hard to stay focused in classes where their abilities are clearly above grade level and  the reward is the gifted programs. Please help me and my  family present the best people possile to the futue of our nation. THANKS!!!