By Keighla Schmidt, Staff Writer

School may be out for the summer, but peek into the chemistry lab at Eagle Ridge Junior High School and a second glance may be needed.

Six students wearing light-blue latex gloves and equipped with scalpels, knives and tweezers are peering at formaldehyde-filled starfish.

They’re enrolled in the Burnsville-Eagan-Savage School District’s Gifted and Talented Institute (GTI) and are taking the class, “Wade Into Wetlands and Under the Sea.”

Some were more eager to dig into the invertebrate than others, but each was there to learn.

Evan Ford, a 10-year-old from Lakeville, is taking the class for the second year in a row.

“I really liked it the first time,” Ford said. Cutting into learning: During a
summer gifted and talented class, Evan
Ford gets an up-close look at starfish.

Guiding the class is Hidden Valley Elementary School Science Specialist Pat Mosey, who said enrolling in GTI is a way for gifted students to get some one-on-one time and make learning fun.

“It’s a small class and we have a longer time together than I do in a typical classroom setting,” she said. “I try to keep them excited about it. It should be fun.”

Mosey’s class focused on learning about comparing fresh water and ocean water and what lives there.

GTI classes, however, range from cooking to music to cultural lessons. “The Gifted and Talented Institute enhances student’s gifts and talents by: contemplating and enriching school curriculum; challenging learners through a variety of courses; inspiring learners through a highly-skilled faculty; creating a partnership among school districts,” according to the GTI brochure.

Nine-year-old Annie Ashley will transfer from a Lakeville elementary school to the Gifted and Talented magnet school at Harriet Bishop Elementary School this fall.

The Wetlands class is the third Ashley has taken this summer.

“I would rather be outside,” said. “But I am learning things.”

Mosey is eager to accommodate Ashley’s desire to swap the stuffy indoor classroom for a stint outside. Curiosity: The curious minds of
(from left) David Ashley, Case
Pollack and Evan Ford investigate
the weight of a dried starfish. The
three made use of free time
during their summer class to do
the scientific research.

“Some kids never get out into their own backyard,” Mosey said. “I want to get kids outside and enjoy nature.”

To remedy that, Sunset Pond in Burnsville and McColl Pond in Savage will double as learning spaces during the two-week GTI course.

While Ashley’s favorite subject in school is reading, the chance to look at life in the water keeps her interested in this class.

“Sometimes science is about studying animals and I like animals,” she said.

Ford said the animal component is what reeled him in for the second year.

“It would be hard to say what I liked best, but I really liked dissecting the shark last year,” Ford said. “There are so many different parts.”

Slicing deeper into learning is something GTI classes aim to do.

“There are some things that we cover that are not in the state’s required curriculum (during the school year) that we get to do more in-depth studies of things kids want to know,” Mosey said. “I have two weeks and three hours a day with these guys.”

With the additional time, Mosey said she can loosen her teacher reigns and let the students guide the lesson plan. Seeing starfish: Alex Moon works in latex gloves with
a scalpel to peer into the insides of an ocean
creature during “Wading Into Wetlands and Under
the Sea,” a Gifted and Talented Institute class.

“I tell them if they’re really into something we can spend more time learning about it, but if they’re bored we’ll move on,” she said. “One minute they can be looking at bugs in the water and the next, they could be swimming in the water.”

Ford likes that aspect of the gifted classes.

“You can go at the speed you want to go,” he said. “If some people are going too slow for you, (in school) that can be hard. But that doesn’t happen here because there are only six of us, and we’re all keeping up.”

Mosey admitted some of the material may be over the heads of the younger set, as the class is geared for third- through sixth-graders, but it challenges them.

“You’ve got gifted kids here who can expand,” she said.

The student-led pace was evident the second day of class. Some were working on traditional-classroom work, like worksheets, while others were investigating the weight of starfish and sea turtle skulls. Meanwhile, another group was intently looking over a macroinvertebrate chart.

GTI classes are open to many south-of-the river communities. For more information, go to www.giftedtalented.org.

Keighla Schmidt can be reached at kschmidt@swpub.com.