Change often comes with resistance, because fear of the unknown is uncomfortable.  However, change in this case is not unknown.  Our history tells us that if someone on a local school board, who is not in favor of the gifted and talented program, needs to trim a budget then gifted education will be one of the first budget items deemed unnecessary.  Local school board officials come and go, but the decisions they make can have years of impact.  If our nation opperated on the same basis, then one of the issues of the civil war would be true.  State Rights are supreme and a weak, ineffective government is satisfactory. 

As a teacher of identification and assessment of the "little people" K-2, it is always a wonder to see how the gifted and talented students reveal themselves.  They can't help it - they are made the way to think and function as they are.  I would prefer to have someone specifically hired at the state level be the one to oversee gifted education in our state of Virginia.  They would be hired based on their qualifications and their focus would be on the effectual running of the gifted program statewide.  This is a much wiser decree of standardizing our educational system than to revert back to the good old days.

Please do not adapt the changes listed as they stand.

Thank you

Sharon Krasny