As a student in elementary and middle school in the Bedford County Public School System, I benefited exponentially from my involvement in the Talented and Gifted program. I strongly disliked elementary school until I was enrolled in the TAG program and allowed to participate in classes that stretched my mental capacities. In TAG, I bloomed, I loved every minute of my classes, and most beautiful of all, I learned.

Gifted programs as a whole allow gifted children to move at a pace that matches their abilities and needs, sparing them from the crippling mental agony of classes taught at a pace that caters to children who need a bit more help. If public schools offer extra tutoring to children who need it to do well in their classes, is it not a crime to deny gifted students the challenges that allow them to thrive academically?

Please, please, please do not pass this legislation. Doing so would be a wholly reprehensible act against all gifted students in Virginia.

Thank you,

Sincerely,

Rachel L. Padowicz