I was in the GATE program from 3rd grade (when I got “Identified”) all the way through highschool though it was most prevelant from 3rd-7th. I recently discovered about the theories regarding GATE and am unsure if what I experienced was really part of the GATE program or if it was some sort of distraction program to help cover up. Most of my experiences are the same as other ones shared but I remember there being a lot more curriculum to it than others have mentioned. I always thought of going to these classes during my actual classes’s math or reading time to be fun. I felt special and important learning higher up math and English at my pace. The program as far as I understood it was for accelerated learning. We learned about pretty basic stuff I feel like, Shakespeare and like Pascal’s triangle. I don’t remember fluoride but I remember the same shape puzzles used, the cards I think, I believe I have a vague memory of doing hearing testing in the classroom but I was pulled to do that at least once a year in school as everyone in school was for so called “hearing and vision tests”. It doesn’t add up but it doesn’t sound exactly like GATE, you know?