As my sources indicated last week, Norm Durflinger was approved as interim Superintendent starting December 1, when current Superintendent Ken Hinton retires. Additionally, Durflinger was hired as a part-time Deputy Superintendent between October 19 and December 1. This addition prompted a “no” vote from Board of Education member Laura Petelle.
I agree. Hinton is still supposed to be on the job until December, and if he’s going to take his remaining vacation or sick time between now and then, we also have an Associate Superintendent (Hershel Hannah) on the payroll. Why the need to hire Durflinger as a Deputy Superintendent during this time? How many Superintendents does one district need?
For some, the choice schools such as Washington Gifted, Northmoor Edison and the IB program at Richwoods help to save the district AS A WHOLE by giving those families a reason to stay in district. It is not that different of an idea from the alternative school notion – maybe just from the opposite end of the spectrum.
Jon – exactly. What the District has been doing to date is clearly not working to attract and retain families. You, as a matter of fact, are a living example of that. If I recall, your child would likely be enrolled in a District school, if he/she could have gained entry into Northmoor.
People in this area have already spoken (by fleeing District 150) about what they want in a school. The District must take notice and offer similar educational opportunties and environments for learning, if only in pockets. No matter who becomes the new Super he/she cannot change many of the realities that face this District. Chicago Public School, Miami-Dade School District are are just two examples of urban schools Districts that have been able to turn at least some of their schools around and now have top performing high schools in the country. The District Board can achieve this as well, if it chooses to make this one of its’ inititives.
Hot… sorry for the confusion with the comment I attributed to Sharon and thank you for your support.
Frustrated, I think I will answer your question below.
I personally want to increase the number of minority and low-income students in our IB program. I stated this during my interview process and I think that my comments helped in getting this position. I am proud to state that as a teacher I started the first AP program at Cahokia High School (a low-income school).
We are looking at ways to increase our numbers in the IB program. I can’t go into these any further at this time. The plans need to be fully detailed and approved but I have gotten a ton of support from the central office on this issue.
But, the reality is that we also have to hold to the district boundaries. Without these standards we will digress into an unofficial open-enrollment.
Our current system is based on prescribed boundaries that determine our enrollment numbers which determine staffing, funding, etc. Other than the IB program, my application has been to require residence in the Richwoods area and to check for residency as I would if Richwoods were a separate district. This is the only way to ensure consistency.
There are certain students that have been placed in non-resident schools by the central administration for various individual reasons. I have only seen this used in extreme circumstances (I can’t go any further without risking a violation of personal information). I have supported each decision involving RHS. The system needs to be flexible when our students face extreme situations.
If anyone knows that this consistency has been violated I would like the information. However, most of the questions that I have gotten have been answered with proper procedure.
For example, the district has other policies such as one that covers a family moving from one boundary to another after a student’s freshmen year. The guidance counselors are the experts on these policies. I don’t want to misquote a policy and start an issue (and I am sitting at home without my board policy manual).
Jon,
I agree with you about the necessity for the city of Peoria to have programs that make people want to move here. If the city doesn’t have a school with a high number of National Merit students, students regularly accepted to the best colleges in the nation, intense AP/IB programs, etc. then the long range ramifications will adversely affect everyone.
I think that we can do both…. attract outsiders while still providing top-notch programs for any student in the city.
I’m sorry to disagree, Jon and Frustrated, but Northmoor, Richwoods, and Washington Gifted are not going to save the district–they will not even save themselves for much longer. And I’m not happy about that at all–don’t get the idea that I’m in any way gloating about that. If Richwoods were saving the district, people would not have fled to Dunlap. Not too many parents from the Manual area made the jump to Dunlap–most made the leap from the Richwoods area. I firmly believe what I’ve said over and over–if the district can’t resolve problems in the lowest performing schools, the highest performing won’t continue to survive. Remember Richwoods did not make AYP last year–and in 2014 it won’t make AYP, which will then be at 100% (of course, neither will Dunlap). Also, remember that the NCLB guidelines state that students have the right to leave a school on the warning list for one not on the warning list. Also, the NCLB guidelines (wrongly I believe) state that the lowest-performing students should be the ones to have priority because the assumption is that the school is the cause of the student’s low performance. I believe that is the cause for the line of discussion on this post–people don’t understand why more students have not received waivers to Richwoods under the NCLB guidelines. There are only four high schools in Peoria–soon to be three–how long do you think Richwoods can maintain its current status? When the displaced Woodruff students are moved, the question of “why not Richwoods?” will be asked. This is no reflection on you, Steve, or your leadership; the wheels were set in motion long before you came to Peoria. You are doing and will do a good job.
This isn’t Chicago or Miami–this is not a big city where these “pockets of success” can remain “untarnished” or hidden or “safe.” How long does it take to drive from the Manual area to the Richwoods area? Aren’t the Chicago
successful and unsuccessful schools separated by more “geography” than that? I can’t quote chapter and verse but when I studied the Chicago papers to get information about Vallas, I believe that he and probably Duncan were assigned to solve the problems of the Chicago schools. I don’t think Daly was happy with their expensive charter schools that still left too many students behind in the other schools. I’m not predicting the collapse of Richwoods in the near future–I’m just saying that the district has for too long put all its eggs in that basket. When I listened Monday night about all the money that is now being spent on Manual, I was not happy. For the last 15 years of my career, I personally begged for reading specialists for Manual, etc. Nobody on Wisconsin Avenue cared about Manual’s academic or discipline problems–now that the state demanded restructuring all kinds of money is being spent there–and it’s now too little too late, not to mention that the efforts will not bear fruit because the discipline problems are the same. Steve, I’m sorry, but I believe the rumors have been fairly rampant about some fights at Richwoods in the last few weeks–and they aren’t your fault–but the problems are already moving north because they weren’t taken care of in other areas of the city 20 years ago. Frustrated, you claim that so much money has been spent on the low-performing students (yes, the Title I money–not district money), but the efforts have been a waste of money because the right problems were targeted with the wrong solutions. Hot in the City is right, Steve, she made the remark about principals not having the choice–although I, also, didn’t believe that they have a choice–they do the bidding of the district. And, as you said, that is the way it should be.
What Steve said about National Merit Scholars is true–maybe 15 or 20 years ago Manual had National Merit Scholars–not in the same numbers as Richwoods but we had them. I didn’t teach the enriched and/or advanced placement students, so I can’t reel off their names and the colleges to which they went, but Manual had a high degree of success in the 1970s and 1980s. Most Peorians found that difficult to believe then–we were definitely underestimated. That kind of success won’t happen today at Manual. I think we would all (including Steve) be amazed at the number of kids who have come into Richwoods through the back door–the business of changing addresses to “pretend” residences has been going on for a long time. In fact, I think (and here I go with the rumors that anyone is welcome to refute because I would like the truth, also) that may have been a factor in the recent fights at Richwoods. I hope everyone understands that we should aim for top-notch schools and/or programs in all areas of the city–not just in one geographic area (and that is what it is now). We had it once; Manual students and their parents weren’t hunting for ways to get to Richwoods (and there weren’t any). I will continue to maintain that an alternative school and a firm discipline policy are the only hope of moving back toward those days–and the only way of saving even Northmoor and Richwoods down the road a bit.
Sharon… once again thank you for your kind words.
School choice is not as simple as you make it. The district is required to offer the option to a limited number of parents. The limitations are set by the expenses that the choice options create. The feds can only mandate what they offer in funding.
I am probably overstepping my boundaries here and breaking my main rule for posting … but this isn’t really controversial information. (Some might think it is… but it is fact based on federal guidelines).
We were told that the district has to offer school choice to a certain amount of students based on transportation expenses the choice program creates. (I don’t think that I am the one to state the number.. but it is much lower than you would think). The number does not equate to many high school students.
The law does not state that anyone can choose to go to higher performing schools. Furthermore, the people offered the choice start with those in the qualifying groups (low-income and low academic performing are included as primary criteria).
They started contacting the people that sent in applications for the choice program and met the criteria. The offered the program until the number was met.
Simply being at a lower achieving school does not grant a student the right to attend a higher performing school. There are many misconceptions of NCLB.
Also.. our fights are SUBSTANTIALLY down from last year. We have had only two of any serious note during the school day this year (we had 3 the first week last year) and both of these involved the same small groups. We suspend and arrest. I believe that setting a clear tone about fighting is crucial for a school’s environment and that students will respond once the tone is established.
I will not tolerate fighting in school. It ruins the academic environment for other students and it is behavior that we MUST modify if we are preparing our students for the workplace.
Last year, I insituted a 10 day default for fighting. This can be shortened based on the specific circumstances and possibly with a suspension review between myself, the student, and the parents.
I don’t know who told you that we are having rampant fights. We did have one bad day, but your reports are not that accurate. (A certain student you know is a freshman and wasn’t at RHS last year… hint hint 😀 )
We did have some activity after the stunt show, but the football games were much calmer than last year. Overall the most common response from teachers, students, parents, etc has been what a great year this has been in the halls of RHS.
I bet that RHSTeacher would back me on this one!
I would never be naive enough to think that we don’t have “backdoor” (as you put it) students.
I can openly state that if we have knowledge then we are consistent. We also send out our person to check when we have questions.
I have had parents come in requesting boundary waivers and they initate the conversation by saying what a wonderful athlete their son/daughter is.
If anyone is reading and plans to come to my office about a waiver…. I don’t suggest starting out the converstation that way.
How about “my kid is really smart and will improve your school’s test scores”? 🙂
Steve – thank you for your many posts. I was aware of your goal to include more low-income and minority students in the IB program and applaud this effort. It is as it should be. But the ability of a student to gain inclusion into the IB program suggests that such student has demonstrated some degree of academic ability and desire to work hard. That is much different than posted discussions (rumors) of transferring underperforming and/or behavior challenged students to Richwoods.
My children currently attend an IB school. The MYP and PYP programs are also in place at this school. The school works hard at preparing students in the middle schools years so that they have the skill set to take on the rigors of the IB program. I have a middle school child and she has 2 hours plus of homework each week night and more on the weekends. The IB program is not for everyone, but then of course, you know that. In order for Richwoods’ IB to increase its’ number of low-income and minority students, it seems some pull out program or other intervention must be provided to students that “might” have the potential for such a program, otherwise, I am unclear how they can arrive at your door prepared to succeed. This is where a MS charter school would come in handy.
Steve: “Rampant” was the wrong word–and I knew that you put out the fires immediately–I should have said the news spread quickly. Face it the other schools delight in learning that Richwoods has problems, too–that has always been the case. I was at the stunt show–didn’t know there were problems after. I WANT TO MAKE THIS VERY CLEAR. The freshman student that I know didn’t know anything at all about the fights–so please don’t make that assumption. I am glad to hear that students were arrested and I am glad I gave you the opportunity to state that. I firmly believe that all school fights should be reported to the police. Such action was not always taken at Manual–trying to avoid publicity. That’s one of the reasons that problems escalated–we tried to keep them secret. I probably didn’t make it clear enough. I have no problem with special programs for excelling students at Washington or Richwoods. My complaint has nothing to do with either school. My complaint is with the district that has made no attempt to resolve the problems at the low-performing schools–instead the only solution was to provide higher performing students with escape routes. In the 1980s–I think into the 1990s–Manual had AP classes that served our students very well. My complaint is that the district was at fault in that they didn’t handle the problems at Manual, so the high performing students found escape routes–some to Richwoods and to private schools, etc. I just object to what wasn’t done at Manual, not to what was happening or is happening at Richwoods. I will continue to believe that what happens at the low-performing schools affects the whole district. When or if Richwoods is asked to include more of the low-performing students, the influence of NCLB on Richwoods will be felt sooner rather than later. As far as “fight” records are concerned, probably what happened in previous years wasn’t that well publicized. On the other hand, it’s only October. 🙂
I can not speak to the transfer issues because that is way above my place, but I can talk about the overall climate of Richwoods. I know that a few years ago, the violence at Richwoods was much much worse. I had enriched kids in 2005 say that if there was another fight, then their father was going to send them to Peoria Christian. It then happened. RHS is much much better this year when it comes to the fighting. Last year, we had more fights, but I have no numbers to back that up like Steve would. However, two fights is a big improvement. I also think that we should have fewer going forward, because the tone of the school is improving.
Jon said “How about my kid is really smart and will improve your school’s test scores”?
Uh- that would be Lindbergh.
A little off topic but its topical to me as I have a 7th grader and we are weighing options. And since Steve Ptacek reads this as does Eyebrows… maybe I can get an answer.
Why are the District 150 High School websites so devoid of useful information? I want to know course progression, course content, graduation requirements and how they are met at each school, conduct policies, teachers names, backgrounds, what extracurricular activities exist, etc. etc. The IB program?!? Important dates for those future students?
If I were an outsider trying to decide where to live and what school to send my kids, it would be helpful to know what at least the schools are trying to achieve.
Peoria Notre Dame has a lot more info on hand that is helpful to the prospective student/parent.
mahkno, try the district website (psd150.org) and use the “Parents” button on the left side. From there, you should find a “Welcome to High School Book” that is about 130 pages long. It includes information such as the IB program and is at least a start, if you haven’t run across it already.
Steve P. – you should see our son throw a fastball. Amazing…
Mahkno – I have mentioned this before as well. I don’t think a prospective student/parent should have to hunt and peck to find useful information about District high schools. The home page should be set up to “sell” what the high school is offering.
For example, I believe that Richwoods is one (if not the only) school in down state Illinois that offers the IB program. Why not shout that out?
I also believe the number of AP courses offered by Richwoods is comparable to Dunlap. I can go to Dunlap’s website and easily find the number of AP courses offered and in which subjects (there website is not all that great, but better). I cannot find this same information on Richwood’s website.
Finally, I always review the 10 ten lists of the area high schools. Richwoods, Central, and Woodruff all have grads that are doing impressively things, more so than the other area high schools. Why not post the colleges that graduates have gained admittance to for the last five years. Additionally, note the number of national merit scholars, etc.
In other words….District 150 where is your marketing department? The apple billboards don’t cut it.
How can I get details on when and where the D150 Watch meetings are held?
We are interested in this IB Program and the info is severely lacking. Yes, I have called the contact person and received a packet. The info needs to be out there up front.
I did find the Welcome to High School book. Why is this not directly linked on the High School websites? Very helpful book but there still are questions that are not really answered.
A troubling line in the book:
“Students from any District 150 attendance area may apply for admission into the IB program during the first semester of their sophomore year. Enrollment is limited.”
Ok… so what about kids who are not currently in a District 150 school but live in the district?
This bothers me because Washington Gifted ‘only’ takes kids from District 150 schools. If you have a high performing kid in a parochial school, you have to pull them out, put them into a District 150 school before they can even apply. [Which I might add is totally wrong and not strictly enforced, if you know the right people. I obviously don’t know the right people.] Is this the case for the IB Program?
Does my kid need to spend 8th Grade at a District 150 school in order to apply and be entered into the IB program?
mahkno, I would also put the question directly to Laura P on her blog (petelle150). I have been asking similar questions about Washington Gifted (look under the topics “I have lists” and “Quick Update”) going so far as to quote the State School Code that explicitly states that gifted students shall be determined ONLY on their gifted abilities (i.e. not what school they went to in 4th grade). That said, I have been told that my question posed some further questions and that no one had ever really considered it (could a gifted 4th grader from a private school go to Washington Gifted) so I’m still waiting for a complete answer (though I appreciate that the district has so much on its plate right now – I’ll try to be patient)
Jon, it used to be that only children from a Dist 150 grade school could get into Washington Gifted. Testing was done in 3rd grade and teacher recommendation was key. Unless that has changed in recent years, I would think it is still a requirement. Have you called and talked to the principal there? I also wonder if families moving into the area who have children going into 4th grade would be eligible.
Here is factual information on “choice” schools: Any student at a school that does not make AYP for a set number of years may move to another school within the district that is making AYP. I think RHS may be the only high school in the district making AYP. Students DO NOT have to be from the low performing sub-groups to ask for a transfer to a “choice” school….it can be any student. And yes, LMS was known to fill its classes with high-performing students outside its boundaries so as to not have to take any “choice” students because they were full…so yes “choice” students can be turned down if there is no room. BTW, this usually happens around this time of year because the final ISAT/PSAE data is distributed and school report cards are made public.
Steve P. you may want to check with your secretaries who actually enroll students before saying you always follow policies on student addresses and enrollment. I have heard that RHS simply goes by the address in Skyward and if it is in the RHS area, they are enrolled, no questions asked (even if it is pointed out). Even if it is a “false” address which happened at LMS. Last time I checked principals were not involved in day-to-day secretarial matters.
MAWB – yes, I’ve talked to principals, teachers, secretaries…and I’ve read the School Code – they don’t match, at least in my opinion. Here are some sections of the Code that stick out:
“A child shall be considered gifted and talented in any area of aptitude, and, specifically, in language arts and mathematics, by scoring in the top 5% locally in that area of aptitude.” (later there is discussion about other tests, such as teacher evaluations, but it sounds to me if you’re in the top 5% you’re automatically considered gifted)
“Eligibility for participation in programs established pursuant to this Article shall be determined solely through identification of a child as gifted or talented. No program shall condition participation upon race, religion, sex, disability, or any factor other than the identification of the child as gifted or talented.” (requiring that a student be enrolled in D150 prior to Washington Gifted sounds like a different “factor”)
and outlining certain requirements, including:
“Procedures for annually informing the community at?large, including parents, about the program and the methods used for the identification of gifted and talented children.” (I asked the question via Laura’s blog nearly six weeks and am still waiting for a response – though again, I will try to be patient given everything that is going on for the district)
Jon — I have a fourth-grader at Whittier and we got a letter dated Oct. 9 that explains the program. Here’s what it says (all capitalization, emphasis, and typos are in the original):
Any child in the District 150 area should be eligible for Washington Gifted, whether they are private, parochial, home schooled, or publicly educated.
That must be an error that “no students have even been referred for the 2009-2010 school year” because there is currently a fifth grade class at Washington. I do know families who opted not to remove their child from private school in fourth grade, had their child tested at Bradley on their own, their child was put on a waiting list, and when there was an opening for sixth grade at Washington, their child got it. If your child is not referred by a D150 school, you can contact Bradley Center for Testing and have your child tested, but you have to pay for it yourself. I can’t tell you the cost for sure, but I think it’s around $75-$100. To my knowledge, the test can be retaken after a 6-month waiting period, but the parents pay for retakes. I can’t recall anyone who said their child’s score declined on the re-take…usually it improves.
The parochial schools use standardized testing too. There is little reason that Dist 150 couldn’t use those too.
Why should a taxpayer have to pay twice (or thrice) for a test?
The test given at Bradley in ’06 was the WISC IV (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children). It’s not similar to the pencil and paper standardized tests our students take. The cognitive abilities test and Iowa Test of Basic Skills also used to be considered in the selection process–don’t know if that has changed in the last few years. My impression is the CAT is given at the middle schools in fourth grade, but I don’t know for sure that all fourth graders take it. I will be happy to try to answer questions based on my experiences and observations.
TR64: District Watch meets at Godfather’s Pizza on the Sundays before Monday board meetings. I always put a reminder on this blog.
TR64 – The District Watch group meets the Sunday night before each board meeting at Godfather’s Pizza Community Room on the corner of Sheridan and Glen. The meetings start at 6:00pm on the button and usually last an hour and then open discussion following. Any parents, teachers, staff, board members, taxpayers etc. who have an interest in improving the district are welcome.
ah-ha! Sharon you beat me to it! ;P
Thanks for the mtg details–if the meeting last an hour, do you have a format or specific agenda you follow? Is there a website for the watch group? I am looking forward to the next meeting. Just want to be prepared.
TR64
You are on the website for the watch group
Diane….lol
Frustrated… we currently do not offer the IB certificate option. Once our students start the junior year we only offer the much more demanding diploma option. I want to include the certificate program which will provide students with strengths in specific areas to take individual courses and tests for certificates in those courses.
Hopefully this will open up the IB experience to more students. We also need to start a vertical alignment as far back as the 5th grade.
Richwoods is currently working on a new website. I am actually meeting tomorrow to finalize our new site.
Mahnko… “in an attendance area” means living in the district. Private school students can apply. However, freshman can apply.
There are other opportunities being considered but I can’t discuss them at this time.
Mahkno – testing of eligible 4th graders begins in early Jan. The District is generous in testing many students (that in any way appear to have talent) in order to be fair. An outside panel of educators reviews the application data and makes the final selection. The District is very organized in this process (compared to other encounters I have had with it).
It is my impression that test results from B.U. are relied on heavily to determine which children are selected to attend Washington, so not having your child in the District is not an impediment it terms of offering comparable data, except for this pesky policy.
I have heard of one instance when a parent successfully argued to have their student admitted in 5th grade. I think this family lived in a very low performing primary school and their position was the grade school in their area did not offer an appropriate education for their child. And, I imagine the stats bore this out as to the number of students coming from that particular primary school to attend Washington. Typically, former Kellar students make of the greatest percentage, then Charter Oak, Northmoor and Whittier.
Thanks Steve. Interesting information.
Mahkno – did you note from Steve’s post that the IB diploma program actually does not begin until your junior year of high school, but obviously it is the prep work that determines whether a student will be successful or not.
RHSteacher: I had a kid that graduated from Richwoods in 2005. I don’t remember that “the violence at Richwoods was much much worse” than this year. There has never been a whole lot of “violence” at Richwoods. I heard about more fighting last year, but who really knows why there seems to be less this year (2 months into the year).
TR64 – The agenda and the meeting are casual–participant friendly–anybody who wants to offer comments on any subject can do so. Just listening happens, also. Of course, there’s also an opportunity to visit–to get acquainted, etc. Steve, the certificate program sounds like a great idea. I am having some trouble with the complaints about students from private schools not being given priority to attend Washington Gifted without first attending a 150 school. All 150 area parents are taxpayers, so the argument that a non-150 school parent is a taxpayer with rights doesn’t seem to be a very good argument for placing his/her child at Washington Gifted. I can’t think of any good reason why students from 150 schools shouldn’t receive priority placement. Besides the taxpayer argument, some argue that it’s a way to bring students into 150. Are there any other arguments that would support non-150 attendees from going directly to Washington?
According to letters from WMS, 190 students were tested for Washington in 2004 and 207 were tested in 2006.
I’m not aware of anyone claiming that non-150 students should be given PRIORITY at Washington Gifted. I don’t think anyone should be given priority period – as per the statute. I don’t think that a student who lives in 150 should be excluded from going to a choice school, as is the case now with non-150 students and Washington Gifted. The issue is equal opportunity, plain and simple.
I would think that the District would prefer to attract those students from the private schools, rather than completely exclude them. I don’t think the District should effectively punish students whose parents chose an option that they perceived to be better than an inferior District opportunity (private elementary school vs D150 elementary school) – once the District offers an opportunity in the gifted program that is better (all things considered, such as cost) than the private alternative.
What is the rationale for limiting Washington Gifted to current D150 students, but not doing so for the IB program?
Jon – I think it is a PC thing. I think the District is concerned that an overwhelming number of students from private schools would garner spots at Washington.
You and Mahkno are poster families for what the District could tap into if it offered more charter and magnet schools beginning as early as primary school.
Jon, I don’t think there is as much a demand for the IB program. I think there would be if the district would go back to weighted grades–which I believe should happen. I haven’t really made up my mind (as if that makes any difference) about the Washington Gifted situation. I think that I lean toward believing that those enrolled in 150 schools should have the first shot. Washington Gifted and the IB program aren’t “choice” programs, are they? There are qualification requirements–can’t enrollment in a 150 school be one of the requirements?
Not according to Illinois statute on gifted programs.
Re: demand for IB program. Demand will grown through education and communication. I do not think the District has done a very good job of this in the past. Now that Steve is at the helm, it appears this will be one of his focuses, which is great news.
Recent diploma grads from my childrens’ IB school were accepted and are now attending Yale, Univ. of Penn, Georgetown, Northwestern, Cornell, Brown, Oxford, and so the list goes on.
Talk about providing opportunities to young people — the IB program certainly does that to those who are willing to work.
http://www.pjstar.com/news/x128839675/PBC-says-District-150-needs-solid-plan
Where have these people been all this time?
Jon, what did you mean “not according to Illinois statute on gifted programs.” Are they “choice” schools or not? I have no idea–just asking. I just assumed they can’t be “choice” in the same way that charter or Edison schools are “choice.”
Frustrated, how do you feel about weighted grades? At least, I think Steve’s hands are tied until that change is made. Most students don’t want to work that hard for grades that are “equal” to those of basic classes. It is my impression–could be wrong–that not all the kids who start out as freshmen in IB go on to the junior-senior program.
MAWB: Well, the PJS article answers the question I asked the board on Monday night. I asked what the PBC was hanging over the heads for that $30 million–now we know.
Sharon, see my earlier post, right above CJ’s. This has nothing to do with “choice” (despite my accidentally stating that earlier). The Illinois School Code as a section specifically dealing with Gifted Programs. Here is a link:
http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs4.asp?DocName=010500050HArt.+14A&ActID=1005&ChapAct=105%26nbsp%3BILCS%26nbsp%3B5%2F&ChapterID=17&ChapterName=SCHOOLS&SectionID=17356&SeqStart=107200000&SeqEnd=109300000&ActName=School+Code.
I think much of the confusion is that the statutory requirements did not come in to play until the 2006/7 school year while Washington Gifted has been around much longer.