Cabrillo is not the first school to try using gifted methods for all children or for younger children. An Encinitas charter school with the same philosophy was wildly popular among parents before it was shuttered for financial reasons. Different studies have shown that exposing children at all levels to methods and materials for gifted children can be fruitful, although each study tends to be highly specific, focused on a particular kind of method, said Margie Kitano, associate dean in the College of Education at San Diego State University. It ties into a building body of research that suggests that giftedness is not necessarily a fixed talent. It can be nurtured — or it can be cut short.
"It's really hard to say" whether the research backs what Cabrillo is doing, Kitano said. She added, "But one of the problems we have with so-called average learners is that we set our expectations too low."
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