[Reprinted here with permission]
Daniel McGinn's article about students caught in the middle is based on a false premise - namely, that most of the resources go to students at the bottom and the top. In Massachusetts, no resources go to students at the top until high school - and that's nine years too late for many many gifted children who have already tuned out or dropped out.

Two years ago, Massachusetts spent $0 on gifted education, putting the Commonwealth in last place in the country in support of talented students. This year, $500,000 has been allocated - a step in the right direction but still a drop in the bucket compared with Florida, which spends upward of $400 million annually to support gifted children.

Talented children will not do "just fine" on their own. They need an appropriate education like every other child, and I look forward to the day when I can say that our state - and the media outlets responsible for reporting about education in this state - decide to take talent seriously.

Gillian Overholser /// Lexington
The writer is the program manager of Beyond Proficiency