By Keighla Schmidt, Staff Writer

The Burnsville-Eagan-Savage School Board approved the district’s third magnet initiative, a Gifted and Talented magnet school at Harriet Bishop Elementary School at its Nov. 6 meeting.

Slightly different than the original picture, the school will be a school-wide enrichment model for all students to receive varying levels of education as well as a school-within-a-school model for the exceptionally gifted children, Principal Rob Nelson explained.

“It needs to be a hybrid model … Some students may show high levels across the board,” Nelson said. “Others may have some special needs in certain subjects.”

All students in the Harriet Bishop attendance area will still attend the school and all other students will be screened.

There are about 70 to 80 seats available in the school for additional students.

“Space remaining for additional students will be allocated to students who have demonstrated a need for Gifted and Talented instruction as demonstrated through ability or achievement assessments,” according to a memo to the board from Assistant Superintendent Aldo Sicoli, who has been overseeing the magnet initiatives. 

While the magnet school was mandated by the state in an effort to balance racial demographics between District 191 and the Lakeville school district, race can not be considered when determining who will be in the school. What can be considered, however, is a free or reduced lunch qualification, Sicoli said.

According to the identification criteria chart the first tier of students qualifying for admittance qualify for free and reduced lunch from either district and will be placed in one of three groups depending on test scores.

For example, if an applying student from either the Burnsville-Eagan-Savage School District or the Lakeville School District has a score of 140 or higher on a CogAT test (cognitive abilities test) or NNAT test (Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test) and qualify for free and reduced lunch, they will automatically be placed in a cluster group at the magnet school.

From there, qualifications range from lower CogAT scores to peer or teacher recommendations to students not qualifying for free or reduced lunches.

After a barrage of questions and clarifications from the Board, answered by both Nelson and Gifted and Talented Coordinator Tia Clasen, the Board unanimously approved the school with Board Member Todd Johnson absent.

The school is set to open as a magnet school in September 2009.

For a full version of the story read the Nov. 15 edition of the Savage Pacer.

Keighla Schmidt can be reached at kschmidt@swpub.com