Support the Gifted

We are writing to express our serious concern about Gov. Deukmejian’s proposed elimination of funding for the “Gifted and Talented Education” (GATE) program.

Our son, Jeremy, is a third-grader at Oak Park Elementary School in San Diego. This year, he was accepted into the GATE program. In the relatively short time that Jeremy has been in the program, we’ve noticed a heightened interest in school and a lot of growth and development. The homework assignments Jeremy has are both challenging and educational, including weekly book reports and written news reports.

Bright children like Jeremy need a challenging educational program like GATE. We fear that he would be bored or insufficiently challenged in a regular program.

ALLEN HOLDEN

CARLA HOLDEN

San Diego