School zone

Minding their business
Gifted kids take a fresh look at the weekly news game

Though dressed formally, they appeared like an average group of teens — dangling jewelry, neon earrings, name-brand sneakers and expressions of boredom-induced torment that no one over the age of 19 can successfully emulate. 

Ernest Black, their teacher and an administrator for the Institute for Educational Advancement (IEA), held back from the group before answering some questions during a Friday tour of the Pasadena Weekly offices on South DeLacey Avenue. As if tasting the acrid connotation of his words, Black faltered and then lowered his voice to a barely audible whisper.

“They’re gifted,” he said.

A nationwide nonprofit organization, IEA advocates for a small but vitally important population of America’s youth who run the risk of becoming “problem children” simply because they are too intelligent to be challenged in school.

“Students considered ‘at risk’ are generally those who perform poorly academically, come from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds or are regularly exposed to drugs and alcohol,” said Black, who holds a doctoral degree in the education of gifted youth. “But that isn’t always the case. There are some kids who are constantly disruptive, but then test off the charts on standardized exams. Those are our kids.”

In 1999, The Pasadena Unified School District partnered with IEA to create Pipeline to Success, the Institute’s Pasadena-specific offshoot. Students eligible for the Pipeline program must have at least one score over the 90th percentile in any academic area (reading, math and/or language) and no score below the 70th percentile. 

“Pipeline currently has 190 students between the ages of 15 and 18,” Black said. “But they are all from the original core group chosen from Woodrow Wilson Middle School. The current plan is that once all of these students have graduated in 2010, we’ll go back and select a new group.”
In addition to running summer enrichment courses like Black’s seven-week class in business management, Pipeline provides additional tutoring for students during the school year, financial assistance advice, summer job referrals and consultations with parents and teachers.

“We are aware that there are many other kids who fit the bill for our program but remain under the radar,” Black said. “For this reason we place special emphasis on training teachers in differential education — catering curriculum to fit the needs of each individual child, not just the average.”

But if Pipeline participants have been selected purely on the merit of their talent and aptitude, then why all the secrecy?

“Some students see being deemed gifted as a compliment, but a lot of them don’t,” Black said. “For some kids ‘smart’ is synonymous with ‘weak.’ In school they’ll dumb themselves down to match their peers.”

By the end of Black’s course, each student must have designed a viable business plan using the skills they learned from lectures and field study. 

Though at first reticent and reluctant to share their ideas, all six students left the office with ideas for possible businesses.

“I signed up for the course because I thought about someday running a restaurant,” said PHS student Aiden Seine. “I know about good, quality food, but to have a successful restaurant you need to know the business as well. I want to get enough skills to be able to pay the bills but still have fun with my job.”

“When the college admissions process comes around everything seems to change,” Black said. “The kids who were once freaks or nerds get full rides to good universities and suddenly they’re the envy of the class. We just want them to embrace their exceptional abilities before it’s too late.”

-Liz Hedrick 

Boppin’ to the top
As part of a nationwide tour, kid- and parent-friendly KIDZ BOP LIVE! is coming to UCLA’s Royce Hall Aug. 8 featuring young performers — including multitalented Pasadena native Roxy Darr — singing today’s hit songs.

Based on the hugely popular CD series of the same name, the show features Darr and youngsters showcasing their singing talents for kids ages 4 to 11, covering popular tunes and changing the lyrics to better suit the young audience.

The 21-year-old Darr, show officials say, is a quadruple threat: She acts, sings, dances and models, and she has sung and danced her way into several productions, including the Theater of the World Festival and the upcoming television program, “Jetsettin’ the West.” 

Royce Hall is at 340 Royce Drive in Westwood. Tickets start at $30 through www.ticketmaster.com.  For more information on Kidz Bop, visit www.kidzbop.com.
-Kristy Lucero