After touring the relatively new Ramsey Middle School (built only a few years ago) and Noe (built in 1974 and renovated this year) I realized that what Ramsey was missing was a sense of history. Noe isn't necessarily an architectural marvel, but the building has a presence and vibe that older schools give off. They carry the history of their students within their walls, chipped paint, and distinctive classroom. I was most impressed by the several gifted and talented teaches who made themselves freely available for questions, and the art teacher, Ms. Whitaker, who helped generate some incredible work from her young students.
But what struck me most about Noe was a comment that one of the teachers made about Noe being the first place where a gifted student comes in and feels like (paraphrasing) "I'm surrounded by people just like me."
Jefferson County Public Schools does an inadequate job of addressing the needs of gifted and talented students in my opinion. Not only should they be offering an advance program in every school, but they should also be offering a gifted and talented program in every school. Kids should be pulled out and given time for deeper learning experiences outside of the normal classroom setting. I can speak from my own experience that having this in my own life made my own school experience far richer than it would have been without it, and I think some of my daughter's own boredom and frustration could have been eliminated if she'd have had the same opportunities I did.
So we're hoping that my daughter gets her shot at Noe. Thank you to the Noe staff for providing us with an excellent open house experience.