In Henrico County schools last year, African-American students made up 36 percent of the enrollment and 7 percent of the children who received gifted education.
Chesterfield and Hanover counties saw similar patterns the last school year.
Area school officials who provided the numbers acknowledge the disparities and say they've dug in with task forces, targeted programs and studies.
But last week, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine put the issue in the spotlight with an order to analyze disproportionately low representation of minority students in gifted education.
"Virginia is proud of both the high standards of our educational system and the wealth of diversity in our communities," Kaine said, adding that it's "critical" to assess any disproportionate barriers to enrollment.
In Chesterfield last year, African-American students made up 28 percent of the student body but represented less than 10 percent of the gifted students.
In Hanover, African-American students were 10 percent of the population but 3 percent of the gifted population.
In Richmond, the latest information available is for 2007-08. That year, 86 percent of the system's students were African-American and made up 61 percent of the gifted program.
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Local school officials say several factors likely are at work. Students may not be applying for or pursuing advanced or gifted programs, or they're being identified and choosing not to pursue the more rigorous curriculum.
Others, including the NAACP, say it's partly the way schools identify the students. They want to see broader criteria used in identifying prospective gifted students and a more flexible screening policy that considers student populations at the school level and not just the district level in hopes that such factors as socioeconomic status would be better addressed.
The group raised concerns about the disparities with the governor's office, leading to Kaine's order.
At Kaine's request, the Virginia Department of Education, with assistance from the Regional Educational Laboratory Appalachia, will analyze the disproportionately low representation.
The analysis will seek to find best practices for identifying gifted and talented students and align them with Virginia's regulations and procedures for gifted education. It will compare school systems' percentages of minority students to the rate of participation of those students in gifted education.
One of the area's governor's schools for high-achieving students -- Maggie L. Walker Governor's School -- hired the University of Virginia's Curry School of Education last year to look into its recruitment and retention policies because of the disproportion of minorities in its student ranks.
The study was presented to Maggie's Walker's board this summer. It pointed out that some of the school's procedures limit the identification of students from diverse backgrounds, while some assessment criteria aren't appropriate.
For example, the report indicated there's a general perception among some communities that recruitment efforts are geared toward students who already are in gifted programs rather than all students. It said that in some cases, recruitment efforts start in eighth grade, which is too late for students who haven't take the courses necessary for admission.
The report said some admissions requirements, such as Algebra I, were found to be arbitrary and may limit unfairly the number of students who can apply, particularly if their schools don't offer that course in middle school.
Maggie Walker Director Fred Morton IV said he and his staff have reviewed the report and plan to address its finding at the School Board's meeting next month.
The report suggested ways for local systems and the school "to broaden the opportunities and create a level playing field" for all students, Morton said. But "what you shouldn't change is the quality of what you're doing."
He said the school has mentoring programs that provide support for minority students, as well as other groups such as freshmen.
Morton wouldn't talk specifically about his conversations with local systems but did say "I don't know of a school division that hasn't been working on these issues."
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Indeed, local school officials say they are working to increase minority student participation in gifted education through various programs that target younger students.
Jamelle Wilson, assistant superintendent for instructional leadership for Hanover's schools, acknowledged the discrepancy in Hanover's gifted enrollment numbers.
Wilson said the county's Emerging Scholars Program identifies students who demonstrate above-average abilities while they're young and provides a support network that follows them through school.
The system also holds information sessions starting in elementary school to introduce parents to possibilities such as a governor's school or other advanced programs.
Wilson said the county is moving toward having collaborative learning in all schools. That occurs when gifted teachers go into regular-education classrooms and teach all of the students. Typically, gifted students are taken out of regular-education classes and grouped together in gifted programs.
Chesterfield's schools created a task force to review their gifted program and the procedures for identification of gifted students and students from underrepresented populations, schools spokesman Shawn Smith said.
A key recommendation from that panel urged that all elementary teachers be trained to identify students from underrepresented populations who may be eligible for gifted services.
"This is an issue which we are working to address," Smith said.
Henrico, too, is looking at ways to reach students early in particular neighborhoods.
The system's Young Trailblazers program, which aims at geographic neighborhoods, started five years ago in the Fairfield District and has expanded to Varina District this year.
Henrico students who are identified as gifted are grouped together as first-graders at four designated elementary schools within those two districts. They remain in a group and with the same teacher for three years.
Once they get to fourth grade, administrators use a portfolio of the students' work to determine whether they should continue with gifted education.
"We're aware that we do have some students that are underserved," said Judy Williams, Henrico's specialist for gifted education. Now that Young Trailblazers is in its fifth year, Williams said it's time to look at the program to see whether the earlier identification methods are working.
Contact Holly Prestidge at (804) 649-6945 or hprestidge@timesdispatch.com.
Contact Olympia Meola at (804) 649-6812 or omeola@timesdispatch.com.
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