theres-no-life-in-the-void:
x-sunshineboy-x:
everlasting-contrast:
The the American educational system ? I’m not sure exactly what you mean but hopefully this link addresses what you’re asking precisely.
(Lol why was this anonymously? Whatever.)
There are three different systems in the US.
And what I mean is, that according to Brooks and Sue, Dylan went to elementary school until 6th grade. After that in the fall of 1993 he went to junior high/middle school for two years, with Brooks and Eric (?). And in the fall of 1995 he finally went to Columbine High.
In conclusion this means:
6 yrs – elementary
2 yrs – middle/ junior high
4 yrs – columbine high
And if you now look at the educational system, this doesn’t fit in any of the three systems.
So did I understood something wrong? Or did the system changed somehow?
But anyways thanks for your answer ^^
Maybe anon wanted to know about the gifted program? It doesn’t exist in some countries (like mine), so it can be a bit confusing
Anons questions was kind of a broad and not-very-specific as to what they were confused about so, thanks to @x-sunshineboy-x for giving a ‘snapshot’ of how the education system works here in the US. As you described, this would be the one Dylan followed along in. Had he gone to a Junior High School instead of a Middle School, he would’ve attended Junior HS from Grade 6 – 8 rather than with Middle School which is only Grade 7 – 8.
@theres-no-life-in-the-void, I didn’t realize that other countries might not offer a similar equivalent to a ‘gifted program’. Thanks for pointing this out. 🙂
Here are the specifics:
As I’m not a resident of Colorado, it took me a couple of years to find out what CHIPS was. I knew from my research that Dylan Klebold was involved in this program but that’s about it. More research and a little help from a student who went to Columbine finally shed light on the mystery. I’d received an email from the student about another matter and thought it couldn’t hurt to ask. Here’s what he told me:
It stands for “Challenging High Intellectual Potential Students”. I think it’s primarily for late grade school and middle school ages. One of my best friends, [name removed*] sat next to him [Dylan] in that class. He had the same description for him [Dylan] as most I’ve heard, “real nice guy, a little bit dorky”. There’s very little information on the web about the program. I suspect that after the press it received from the Columbine incident they either discontinued it or changed it’s name.
Knowing [name of student’s friend removed*], I’d say you have to be pretty gifted to get into the program. He was a child prodigy when he was 14 when I met him, and probably younger. I’m not sure what the requirements were exactly to get in, but it’s a safe bet that Dylan was extremely intelligent.
..I got transferred to an experimental program for gifted and talented students. Of course diagnosing who’s really creative and who’s just an ADD psycho at that age is impossible, so my class had a little of both. It was called CHIPS (for Challenging High Intellectual Potential Students). And it was great. If you wanted to go to the bathroom, you didn’t have to raise your hand, you just went. If you got all your work done by Thursday, you could whatever you wanted all day on Friday (legally we still had to come to school – or at least arrange our own field trips). We could go as fast and as far we wanted. I had licked Algebra and Trig by the time I finished 6th grade. Teachers didn’t make the rules as much as they were agreed on in open committees. It was crazy. The only real drawback – it only lasted thru 6th grade (Elementary School).**
I wonder what the transition for Dylan was like, from the CHIPS program into regular junior high. It must’ve been real hard. The fellow who wrote the above went on to say:
Suddenly I was in junior high. Having to pretend to be re-learning all this crap. Knowing none of these people who all grew up together. Bored. Scared. I pissed my pants a couple of times in seventh grade, simply because I was too embarrassed to ask for a hall pass. Didn’t exactly gain a great reputation.**
This fellow never knew Dylan but from what Brooks Brown described in his book No Easy Answers: The Truth Behind Death at Columbine about the program, Dylan’s experiences weren’t all that different from what is described above. The major difference is that the fellow from the story above is alive today and making music based on his experiences, and having a good time to judge from the rest of his bio. Dylan.. is dead.
Brooks Brown, like Dylan, was smart enough to qualify for the program; they attended it together. He says in his book that CHIPS was made up of two types of students: The ones who genuinely earned a place there due to their test scores and those who managed to get a spot thanks to the fact that their parents knew people who could pull strings. According to Brooks, Dylan almost lost his spot in the program because the people making the choices had decided that there weren’t enough girls who passed the test. The Klebolds protested and Dylan’s spot was secured.
CHIPS was supposed to be a place where smart students could excel; where they could take advantage of their intellectual prowess to get a leg up on life. Instead it was a shark tank where students were locked in a state of one-upsmanship that included sabotage of other students’ projects. It was an environment where teachers looked the other way when students picked on each other.
The program was housed at Governor’s Ranch Elementary, where non-accelerated classes took place as well. Students in the CHIPS program found it difficult to mesh with other kids there as the other students regarded them as a group of intellectual snobs. I’ve seen this same ‘fishbowl’ effect in the accelerated program at the school my kids attend. Kids who aren’t in the accelerated program envy and despise the ones that are for being singled out as “special”. I’ve seen kids quit the program because they got tired of being isolated in the ‘fishbowl’. My oldest was in the program for years and, on graduating to high school, politely refused to move on to the next accelerated program for the very same reason, despite being amply qualified.
For Brooks, the hateful environment in CHIPS soured him on school in general. He quit the program – the only student in his class who did – and attended John L. Shaffer Elementary instead, a school recommended to his parents by Dylan’s parents because their oldest son Byron attended it and they were all quite happy with it. Brooks was glad to get out of the CHIPS environment but his enthusiasm for school never rebounded. Dylan stayed with the program – Brooks theorized Dylan knew it meant a lot to his parents that he was in the program and so he didn’t want to let them down by dropping out… even at the expense of his own personal happiness. Dylan was miserable in CHIPS but he stuck it out for the sake of making his parents proud.
Well, there’s still very little about the program on the web but they haven’t discontinued or changed the name of the program. [Source]
The present-day name of the program is:
We support, develop, and implement policies and practices that encourage 21st century skills and respond to the diverse gifts and talents in learners from all cultures, racial and ethnic backgrounds, and socioeconomic groups. Jeffco Schools’ Educational Research and Design Gifted and Talented team supports and engages in research and professional development, community outreach, advocacy, communication, and collaboration with all stakeholders to improve the quality of education for all learners. By nurturing potential through challenging, meaningful and respectful learning experiences, we support creative producers, responsible problem solvers and autonomous learners in a global community.
WHAT IS A GIFTED STUDENT?
“Gifted and talented children” means those persons between the ages of four and 21 whose abilities, talents, and potential for accomplishment are so exceptional or developmentally advanced that they require special provisions to meet their educational needs. Gifted and talented students are capable of high performance, exceptional production, or exceptional learning behavior by virtue of any or a combination of these areas:
- General or specific intellectual abilities
- Specific academic aptitude
- Creative or productive thinking
- Leadership and human relations ability
- Visual arts, performing arts, spatial or musical abilities
- Psychomotor abilities
Presently, the Gifted program is offered at: Governor’s Ranch Middle School, Westridge Elementary in Littleton on through Middle School years at Ken Caryl Middle School. Here is a list of all GT Center schools in the surrounding Denver area.
Very Large Gifted & Talented Program
12% of all students at Governor’s Ranch Elementary School are enrolled in the Gifted & Talented (G&T) Program, which is much larger than the median across all reported elementary schools in Colorado (3%).This school’s G&T program is much larger than the median across all reported elementary schools in the US (5%).
Parents must fill out an application form to demonstrate that their child qualifies to be enrolled in this specialized program. Using this handout as a guideline for characteristics and details regarding the 15 Traits that defines a Gifted child in conjunction to how some/most/all of the traits are applicable to their individual child enrolling in the program.
They now even have an ‘Early Access’ program to meet the needs of highly advanced children who have not yet entered kindergarten or first grade, Jeffco Public Schools may grant early entrance to school.This process is not for typical children who miss the October 1 Kindergarten entrance date.
I hope that fleshes out a bit more how the Colorado’s gifted program worked as Dylan attended in the Nineties. As with any state in the US, these types of ‘Advanced Programs’ run differently. It would also seem as though Colorado has put more effort in recent years to make this program more extensive rather than just covering Elementary school years.
To recap, Dylan attended:
Grade 1 – 2 – Normandy Elementary School
Grade 3 – 6 – Governor’s Ranch Elementary School (transferred to this school /entering the CHIPS program as a gifted student)
Grade 7 – 8 – Ken Caryl Middle School
Grade 9 – 12 – C olumbine High School
The Everlasting Contrast 