Parents planning charter school

Lowcountry parents of gifted students are mobilizing to create a new educational option for their children.

A parents' group plans to submit an application to the state to establish Palmetto Scholars Academy, a sixth- through eighth-grade charter school that would open for the 2010-2011 school year. The charter school would be geared toward academically advanced students, and it would expand to serve high school students.

"It's exciting," said Stacey Lindbergh, a parent of two gifted students who's spearheading the effort to create the school. "There are a lot of parents who are concerned about their gifted kids because all our kids tell us the same thing - they don't get enough stimulation."

Lindbergh initially didn't know what it meant when her children were identified as gifted, but after doing research, she found that despite the funding and classes for gifted students, they often end up teaching other students, becoming bored in class and dropping out because they aren't challenged, she said.

"The regular school system is not geared toward gifted kids' needs," she said.

She decided last summer to organize an institute with experts and programs for gifted students on Daniel Island. She was curious about whether the broader community would be interested in a similar institute, and she worked with Julie Swanson, a College of Charleston associate professor and board member of the South Carolina Consortium for Gifted Education, to host a meeting for interested parents in December. More than 100 people came.

Those efforts led Lindbergh and others to decide to pursue a charter application. She's working with the gifted consortium, plans to forge partnerships with colleges and businesses, and has developed a parent network for gifted students.

The group plans to seek approval from the South Carolina Public Charter School District, enabling the charter school to accept students from across the Lowcountry regardless of the county where they live. Charter schools approved through the statewide district do not receive local money.

Any student would be able to apply to the school, but it will offer an academically rigorous program that will target gifted learners.

State funding for those students has fallen during the past nine years, but gifted students, similar to low-achieving students, need a different educational model to meet their needs, said Rick Blanchard, who oversees gifted and talented programs for the state Department of Education.

Gifted students need to be challenged, he said. The state has only a handful of schools that truly concentrate on educating gifted students, and Blanchard said it's beneficial for high-achieving students to spend time with other gifted students as well as teachers who know how to push them to reach their potential.

He said "it's good when you can put them in groups with their peers."