The Cluster Grouping Handbook: How to Challenge Gifted Students and Improve Achievement for All

Abstract

In this model, as the authors point out, gifted children do not get left behind, even within "the current politics of education," when the "focus of most educators is on the learning needs of students who score below grade-level standards" (p. 1). The authors know what they are talking about, and they have written a well-thought-out, useful handbook that will help any school system successfully implement a unique, realistic school-wide system of cluster grouping that will challenge gifted students and improve achievement for all, exactly as the subtitle says.

Winebrenner, S., & Brulles, D. (2008). The Cluster Grouping Handbook: How to Challenge Gifted Students and Improve Achievement for All. Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit (212 pp., $34.95 paper, ISBN-13: 978-1-57542-279-4)

For gifted children themselves the point of gifted theory is not theoretical; it is that theory changes practices they experience. We should put in this light the subtitle of The Cluster Grouping Handbook, by Susan Winebrenner and Dina Brulles: How to Challenge Gifted Students and Improve Achievement for All. This subtitle, like every page and paragraph in this book, pursues the book's purpose with a near-mathematical precision, for that is exactly what this book is. The Cluster Grouping Handbook does not merely discuss the cluster grouping concept; instead, it systematically explains how to implement cluster grouping in real school systems, and it includes a CD of reproducible, professional forms and letters to implement each stage of that process. The purpose of The Cluster Grouping Handbook is to help school systems meet the needs of gifted children as a part of a comprehensive, school-wide strategy for meeting the needs of all children. In this model, as the authors point out, gifted children do not get left behind, even within "the current politics of education," when the "focus of most educators is on the learning needs of students who score below grade-level standards" (p. 1).

At first glance one might doubt whether the book, which is 212 pages in length and less than a half-inch thick, could fulfill its large purpose, but the brevity is deceptive; this succinct book is a strong, comprehensive resource for any gifted teacher or administrator who wants to make schoolwide cluster grouping a reality. The design philosophy of this book itself is that less is more, and the trick is not done with mirrors; it is done with quality, based on confidence borne of deep professional experience. The book has been planned, organized, honed, and perfected, and you look in vain for a wasted page, wasted paragraph, irrelevant graphic, or even a wasted word.

In the space of a short review it is difficult to communicate the scope of this book. It is divided into three parts that show that the book is by and for serious practitioners. Part 1 is devoted to launching the implementation of the Schoolwide Cluster Grouping Model (SCGM), including initial definitions, planning and introducing the program, identifying students, and staffing. Part 2 is the SCGM in action, with a focus on working with students; there is a chapter on compacting and differentiation when students have already mastered material and a separate chapter on compacting and differentiation when content is new to students. Part 3 is devoted to maintaining the program after it is in place; this includes professional development for all staff and evaluating the effectiveness of the cluster grouping program. The Cluster Grouping Handbook is not a university dream imposed on school systems; it is a program developed from within the real school context; the authors have been there and done that, and it shows.

This is a book for both teachers and administrators and for both gifted veterans and those new to the field. It is written in a clear style that, though always professional, is readable and filled with commonsense recommendations and activities. It gets to the point and stays there. The book is designed to be usable and practical. It even contains an excellent PowerPoint faculty development presentation that can be used to orient administrators and teachers. The well- written text of the book is presented in two readable columns with bold headlines and excellent sidebars that emphasize crucial points. These sidebars contain practical tips and also help keep the needs of students in rigid focus; they fall into several categories such as this Supervisor Spotlight:

CLD and ELL students identified as gifted based on local identification practices are placed in the gifted cluster regardless of their achievement. This placement removes barriers that have historically kept these students from receiving gifted-education services. These students will make much faster academic progress when they are in a gifted-cluster classroom, (p. 48)

The precision and confidence of The Cluster Grouping Handbook are functions of the experience and disciplined mission of its authors. Although they clearly care about all children, Winebrenner and Brulles both have extensive experience as classroom teachers and as administrators of programs for gifted children, and they bring to this book a no-nonsense, child-focused expertise that brushes aside clichés and tepid strategies to maximize program strength. They understand school systems, administrations, classroom teachers, and students - all from personal experience. Importantly, they share an unequivocal determination that gifted programs be inclusive; school systems looking to ensure minority representation will find valuable guidelines.

School systems that want to do the right thing for their gifted students but face political and economic challenges or challenges of institutional structure should look at this program. The authors know what they are talking about, and they have written a well-thought-out, useful handbook that will help any school system successfully implement a unique, realistic school-wide system of cluster grouping that will challenge gifted students and improve achievement for all, exactly as the subtitle says.