An areawide parent advocacy group has been organized to help exceptional students in parochial and home schools get educational opportunities most often available to public school students.

Cape Area Citizen Advocates of Parochial School Gifted Students, or CAPS, was developed by president Carol Morrow and president-elect Aaron Horrell about a year ago. The two are hoping to sign up members who are interested in promoting new learning challenges to gifted students they say are not being adequately served by public school gifted programs.

Morrow said, "We want to be a base for information where parents, teachers and even kids can call us and find out about programs."

Morrow and Horrell said students who qualify can currently seek dual enrollment in public school systems so they can take advantage of gifted programs there. However, they said, many parochial schools don't have the personnel available to get information out to students and parents about options for the exceptional child.

Also, they said, many parents can't handle the time commitment necessary for dual enrollment. This causes many eligible students to miss out on accelerated or more challenging learning experiences.

"The door is open for the parochial school, but nobody from the public school comes to look for those parochial school kids, and the parochial school teachers don't promote it," said Morrow. "We're trying to prevent children from missing golden opportunities."

Morrow said gifted students should seek out some type of supplementary program even if they don't choose dual enrollment. There are many accelerated programs out there, she said, and CAPS will provide students and parents with the support they need to become involved in them.

Horrell said when gifted children are not challenged in the classroom, they can become bored or troublemakers, or they could develop low self-esteem. There are opportunities available to help gifted children excel, he said, and CAPS was created to match parochial and home school students with the learning experience that will tap their potential.

"If they have to sit there listening to mundane and repetitive information, they become a child at risk," he said. "The one thing we've found is that there are always kids in these schools who are ready to go farther, but they're being held back."

Horrell, a local artist, has donated a watercolor painting to CAPS to generate funds for the organization. Chances are being sold for the painting, which features a generic Missouri outdoor scene in soft pastels, at the cost of $1 each. Stev-Mark Gallery donated the frame for the painting, which is on display at The Castaways, 502 Broadway.

Hopefully, he said, people will become excited by the painting and the organization and become active members. After the membership grows and funding has been generated, specific placement services and programming can be implemented.

"We are trying to be a positive influence and hope parents of gifted students in local parochial schools will join us," Horrell said. "Identifying a gifted child may not be easy, but the rewards can be great."

FOR INFORMATION ON CAPS

Call Carol Morrow at (573) 243-4230, or Aaron Horrell at (573) 887-3540.

Parents interested in joining CAPS should write Carol Morrow at 2230 Shannon Court, Jackson, Mo. 63755.