Forget about Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader? For the past 30 years, Union City’s Woodrow Wilson School has been putting on a superior show of intelligence with its rigorous ROGATE program. ROGATE, run by the National Talent Network, stands for Resources Offered in Gifted and Talented Education, and is considered one of the most competitive gifted programs. Only students in the top 5 percent of the nation in terms of SAT scores for mathematics and reading are considered for induction.
The intensive program is comprised of two components. A student progresses to the second step – the Gold Satori Award as an eighth grader – only through demonstrated excellence as a seventh grader.
This year, 25 students in both grades are enrolled in the ROGATE program, and nine eighth graders are going for the Gold Satori.
Students must submit their project to a newspaper.
________
‘Model for the state’
As a component of the program, students must submit an article based upon their research to a newspaper for publication. (See sidebar for Natalie Moncayo’s story on bullying and suicide.)
For years, the achievement-oriented Union City School District has furnished Woodrow Wilson School with students capable of not only meeting, but exceeding expectations in the ROGATE program.
Woodrow Wilson School was selected in 2004 as a Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education, an award given only to the nation’s highest performing schools.
To even qualify for the demanding program, students must demonstrate superior testing aptitude and glowing teacher recommendations.
But for years, students have continued to make the grade. Last year, eight students advanced to the Gold Satori round of the program.
How it works
When first inducted into the Satori program in seventh grade, enrolled students take classes that instruct them on how to choose a topic and create a hypothesis to be proven or disproven through a research project. As they get down to starting their research, students work one on one with the instructors.
Instructors involved in the ROGATE program include Treanor, Technology teacher Denise O’Dell, and eighth grade Language Arts teacher Barbara Ramirez.
Students also attend SAT courses and take the test in January. If they do well, they receive an award certificate of achievement.
Next, the students prepare a 10- to 12-minute PowerPoint presentation to be presented at the end-of-the-year ROGATE Expositions. A panel of judges comprised of teachers and college professors evaluate the students with a rubric that comments on categories such as presentation, resources, and data, and then distribute awards depending on their scores.
Performance is critical, as it determines a student’s further participation in the program as an eighth grader.
“It’s a very involved process,” Treanor said. “Once you get to Satori, you’re not automatically selected to go on to the next step for the Gold Satori.”
The coveted Satori
If chosen to progress to the Gold Satori round of the ROGATE program, students must produce, in independent study, an article based upon their research project from the previous year, and submit it for publication to a newspaper. They must also present their research projects from the previous year at a district location.
Students are in no way permitted to receive adult assistance.
“It’s like going for a doctorate,” Treanor said of the higher-learning aspect of the program. “The kids are very dynamic and self motivated, needless to say.”
Simply completing the program is not enough to receive the award. One more step must be taken.
Students must submit a portfolio of their achievements to the state for review. If it is deemed that a student has fulfilled all of the requirements, that student then receives the coveted Gold Satori award.
Bullying and suicide
By Natalie Moncayo
Woodrow Wilson Elementary School
Nationwide, teenage suicide rates have been increasing. It is now the third leading cause of death for teenagers throughout the country. Also, with the increase in technology, cyber bullying has become a major problem for the youth of today’s society. Cyberbullying is one of the main reasons teenagers will commit suicide. I am in a program called R.O.G.A.T.E. (Resources Offered for Gifted and Talented Education), which is organized by the EIRC’s Gifted and Talented Service, the National Talent Network, and last year, I had to do a presentation on a topic. My topic was teenage suicide and cyber bullying.
I learned that there are many different types of cyber bullying that can lead to teenagers feeling like their only option they have is to commit suicide. As technology continues to expand, ways for a teenager to be cyber bullied also expand. A teen can be cyber bullied through text, through email, and, the most growing way, social networking sites (i.e. Facebook, MySpace, Twitter…). They will be insulted or harassed over the internet by their peers and it will cause them to make drastic decisions.
A great example of this is the story of Phoebe Prince. She was harassed by text, email, Facebook and some people even did it face to face. Some of the more “popular” girls at her new school felt that she needed to be taught a lesson since she was new, but was dating a football player. Constantly, Phoebe would be harassed and teased by these girls. They wanted to make her life a living nightmare. Soon, Phoebe just wanted to end it all. Two days before the big dance, her sister found her hanging from the ceiling in her room. The girls were suspended from school and then legal action was taken.
Phoebe was not the only person to take their life because they were teased online. It makes their life miserable, and we have to stop cyberbullying before it gets out of hand. Imagine hearing someone you know has committed suicide because someone would insult them through a computer. No one wants to receive news like that, but every day someone does. It is sad to think that our society has degraded themselves to such behavior.
Taking action to stop it now would be better than waiting until it has escalated to an unmanageable point. We all know it is already difficult to try to stop teenagers from using their computers or phones; it is almost like trying to fight a lion while covered in tender, juicy steaks. To stop cyber bullying from continuing to happen, you would have to start at the source. The students. There are many that are open to listening about new things and although there may be some students who will find talking to them about this will be a waste of time, it is better to have tried than to have just ignored it. Also, although they may act as though they do not care, they will have the ideas instilled in their minds.
Another good way to make sure it does not continue into the next generation is by teaching students about the dangers of cyber bullying at a young age. If you begin to teach them about how dangerous cyber bullying can be at an impressionable age, it will help stop the rate of cyber bullying caused suicides. Many reasons why no one realizes when someone is about to take their life is because they are unaware of the signs. It is important to teach others about how to notice when someone is having such thoughts and try to reach out to them in their time of need. Think about it, you could change someone’s outlook on life.
Learning about what may cause suicidal thoughts may help you help someone else and notice the warning signs. Terminal illness or death of a friend or relative, loss of health, loss of home, separation, stress on family, divorce, loss of money, loss of self-esteem(Cyber bullying is MAJOR cause for this), drug or alcohol abuse, and depression. It is difficult to tell when someone is depressed, due to the fact that it can perceived as something else. For example, in teenagers it can be masked with acting out or hyperactivity. Many times, suicide is caused by feelings of shame, guilt, worthlessness, self-hatred, and thinking that no one cares. Again, cyber bullying can cause all of these feelings in a teenager.
In my research I learned about the many different signs that someone with these types of thoughts will exhibit. Some of the warning sides are if the teen talks about suicide or death in general, talks or acts hopeless or guilty. Talks about a “going away” of some sort, begin to pull away from their friends and family, have a difficult time concentrating or having clear thoughts, experience changes in their sleeping or eating habits, begin to give away their personal possessions, and lastly, if they begin to exhibit self-destructive behavior. Whenever possible, you have to look out for the warning signs and offer a helping hand to those in need. If you notice someone is exhibiting suicidal thoughts, you need to try to offer them help! Do not just sit there and hope for the best because this will not help anyone in any way. If you see someone who seems to have suicidal behavior, talk to them. Let them know that they are not alone and that you can help them, or at least offer them the resources they need.
If you know someone who is thinking about suicide, have them call the suicide hotline. There is always someone there, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to help them get through their problems. The number for the suicide hotline is 1-800-SUICIDE. You can also call 1-800-273-TALK. They will offer anyone who is thinking of suicide with the right tools to help stop them. Just by giving a phone number, you may be saving a life.