Rehoboth Elementary School, which Delaney attends, has accelerated reading and math programs that let students work at their own pace.  Delaney calls accelerated math the one bright spot in her school day. In the math program, students are taught concepts and then set to work on their own. When they pass online proficiency tests, they move on to the next concept, at their own pace, explained Delaney’s dad, Scott Cinnamon.

Delaney, whose report card average is 97, said it all makes for a tough school day. “A lot of times I sit there and stare off into space – there’s nothing much else to do,” she said. Reading class is long and hard to get through, but so is science. “It happens in science, too, because I understand science pretty well. When the rest of the class is working, and I’m ahead, I just sit around and twiddle my thumbs,” she said. 

“School should be a place where kids face challenges, and if challenges aren’t there, then the kids like me can never truly reach our fullest potential,” she told the school board Jan. 28.

Joscelin Steiner, a Shields Elementary School parent, agrees with Delaney.  She has worked on a district task force charged with making recommendations for resurrecting the gifted program. 

She said Cape Henlopen spends a great deal of resources for at-risk students, but reminded board members that highly capable students are also at risk. 

Ignoring the needs of gifted students puts them at risk of social isolation and of becoming disinterested in school - and it puts the district at risk of losing very capable scholars who are classroom leaders, peer tutors and on whose test scores the districts rely, she said.  “These students learn differently, so they have as many special needs as other students,” she said.

The task force recommended two teachers, each of whom would work in two elementary schools.

Michael Kelley, district supervisor of elementary and middle school education, said the district needs to get started hiring teachers so they can make a curriculum plan and identifying students so the program can start in the fall.  The board is expected to discuss the program at its next meeting. 

However, Kelley said initial forecasts for the state budget don’t bode well for hiring new staff. At the same board meeting, district business director Oliver Gumbs cautioned board members that 19 positions are in jeopardy because of a state funding shortfall of more than $1 million. He said the state put some people on federal stimulus funds, and that money is due to be cut in half this year and eliminated next year.

Scott Cinnamon urged the board to take the recommendations seriously and get the program going.  “My kid is getting into trouble because she’s bored.  I don’t know what to do for her at home, I can’t do enough for her .... This can’t happen soon enough.  With our new high school we have the best facility in the state, so let’s fill it with the best kids in the state,” he said.