Finding the passion Finding the passion (April 16, 2004)

Teacher Lynn Gatehouse lights the education spark
by Teresa C. Brown

A Friday afternoon can often find Lynn Gatehouse, a teacher at Harvest Park Middle School, sitting among a group of students intent on building a Lego robotic project. Admittedly, she does not know much about robotics. But that is not the point.

She does know about children and, what is more, she is driven by a desire to help each child find his or her passion in life. It is that inspiration that pushes her to tackle ventures - like heading up the school robotics club - in which she is not an expert.

Gatehouse recalled being a creative child. "I loved to do artwork, to act and to dance," she said. But it was a teacher's foresight into her future that encouraged her.

"My dedication to talent development began when my third-grade art teacher recommended me for the prestigious Tam O'Shanter art classes, taught by Joseph C. Fitzpatrick at the Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh," she said, noting that artist Andy Warhol is an alumnus of the institute.

The notion of an adult seeing her ability and encouraging her reverberated with Gatehouse. "It meant so much to me that that art teacher recognized my talent and found a place for me to develop it."

Since that time, Gatehouse has been devoted to Gifted and Talented Education for children. At the middle school, she teaches a cluster class, 10-15 students who have been identified as gifted. She is a liaison to the school district GATE advisory committee and in addition to overseeing the school's spelling bee, she is the faculty advisor of the robotics club.

She gives credit for that club to her son Chris. Two years ago, when he was in sixth grade, he approached her about starting a robotics club, she said. "He envisioned it as a small group," she explained.

She agreed to be the faculty sponsor and they put an announcement on the school's television, HPTV. "The first meeting we had 25 kids," she said, adding that as many as 70 have been in the club.

With 35-40 kids attending the weekly meetings, she recognized the need for a professional, and she recruited Gary Mansfield, an employee at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Mansfield has guided the robotics club with his expertise for two years, Gatehouse said.

On a personal level, Gatehouse practices what she teaches. Last summer, along with fellow Harvest Park teacher Jennifer Denoncourt, she earned a master's degree, with an emphasis in GATE, from the University of Connecticut.

"It was very intense," Gatehouse said of the distance-learning graduate program. All of the courses were completed online, but the program required a month-long residence on campus during the summer for three years.

She, and Denoncourt, chose the program because no such program is offered in California, but it had unforeseen benefits. "Neither Jennifer nor I would have missed out on studying with teachers from all over the country and the world," she said.

Through her graduate studies, Gatehouse developed a pilot program, Independent Action Learning Plan, which she is launching at Harvest Park for 2004-05.

The goal is to give seventh- and eighth-grade students an opportunity to conduct independent research in an area of interest with the help of a mentor. "For me, gifted and talented education is not about labeling kids and categorizing them," she said. "We're looking at creative, outside-the-box kids, not just straight 'A' kids."

The program, which will be offered as an elective, holds special challenges for Gatehouse. She had to get approval from the school district board, and it had to pass district curriculum requirements. Now she will need to recruit mentors for the students who apply.

Gatehouse has a vision for the program, if it is successful. One day, she hopes it will be offered at all three middle schools. But she faces obstacles that may be out of her control.

"Gifted education is not mandated in our state," she explained, adding that the Pleasanton Unified School District does recognize its importance and applies for GATE funding.

Nevertheless, GATE is poorly funded, she said. "We get about $7.50 per student in the school. That's about $7,000 to run a program for over 200 kids."

Gatehouse's dedication and achievements recently caught the attention of the California Association for the Gifted (CAG), a nonprofit organization. The organization honored her, among 11 individuals selected statewide, with a service award. Gatehouse represented the Bay Area region.

"We would like to thank you for being one of those 'special' people who works diligently to achieve the highest goals," wrote CAG representative Margaret Sjostrand in a congratulatory letter.

"I'm very honored and in shock," Gatehouse said of the award.

While modestly accepting the accolades, true to the dedication that earned her the recognition, she said, "I'm more interested to give the focus to the needs of kids. If we can find out what each kid is best at, that might be a passion in their life."

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