It wasn't overuse of the word "rigor,'' and "rigorous education,'' without explanation that bothered EarlyStories this time (it's a common complaint here) in a New York Times story about little gifted students. The story described how a new $28,000 a year pre-school is providing an alternative for the parents of young "gifted,'' New York City students who may have been denied admission to some of the most competitive schools on the planet. (Example; some 1,832 four-year-olds compete for 50 kindergarten spots at Hunter Elementary School.

What set EarlyStories off this time was a quote from Gabriella Rowe, the director of the Mandell School, a preschool on Manhattan's Upper West Side. "Some of the most rigorous independent schools spend the first years of an elementary education catching students up, and the gifted kids sit around and wait a while,” Rowe told the Times.

EarlyStories could not help wondering how schools that charge close to $30,000 a year are spending so much time "catching students up,'' and was imagining a bunch of bright kids sitting around and waiting. Waiting for what?

What should little students come into these schools prepared to do? What are these schools teaching in the early years that requires so much extensive preparation and catch-up? Should their pre-school educations (or lack of them) be blamed?

The article reminded EarlyStories once again of the need for the term "gifted,'' to be better defined and explained to the public in stories. The Times noted that an entrance exam makes the determination at Hunter and city public schools (although it did not describe what is on such tests)

The Speyer Legacy School "also considers reports from preschool teachers, and has applicants participate in a sample class to identify children who are advanced in vocabulary, spatial reasoning, mathematical ability and creative expression,'' the story explained.

That detail was useful. Journalist often write about gifted program and tend to focus on the competition to get into them. How do they differ (the Times story does note that in public schools teachers are trained in gifted education and "usually add more complex themes and content.''

What does gifted training consist of in education schools? What research exists to show what happens to those who have received a gifted education -- such as their college and career choices? What kind of difference does such an education make in their life, ultimately? Are gifted teachers gifted themselves?

And what about very talented young students who don't test into gifted programs or have opportunities to attend pricey programs like Speyer Legacy? Are they more likely to get restless in school and drop out later on? Do public schools ultimately afford them the opportunities they need to excel? Is anyone tracking this?

Stories about gifted education bring up a host of equity issues at a time when many public school systems that are scrambling to make sure all students meet the requirements of the No Child Left Behind law. There are many important questions to ask and feature -- even more important than the mission of one new school of 26 students that is sure to be in far more demand now that its mission has been published.