This handbook is a practical guide for starting your own gifted program. The author gives tips on Designing and implementing curriculum for pre-K through middle school, identifying and selecting the best teachers, creating the vital support networks among parents, school, and community, assessing the program’s impact on children, parents, and teachers and developing special programming for the disadvantaged gifted students.
This guidebook offers an innovative, field-tested approach to programming for gifted children. The "Levels of Service" approach to programming is a research-supported, common-sense technique to gifted education program development. This how-to manual for building an effective gifted program offers a four-level approach to gifted education services. Each level is thoroughly discussed, specific services are suggested, real-world examples are provided, and additional areas of development are discussed.
Written by Susan K. Johnsen, Ph.D., this publication will provide directors and coordinators of programs for gifted and talented students with a specific step-by-step plan for developing an identification procedure in a school or school district. While the sections of this publication are laid out sequentially according to the steps, identification is an ongoing process. The goal of identification is to ensure that every gifted and talented student who needs a program that is different from the general education curriculum receives one that is matched to his or her specific characteristics.
The book focus on differentiating instruction for gifted learners. Sections include: characteristics and needs of gifted learners, instructional planning and evaluation, strategies for best practices, supporting and enhancing gifted programs. The book also contains lists of up-to-date books, teaching materials, websites and other resources. Contributing authors include: Carolyn M. Callahan, Sandra Kaplan, Sally Reis, Julia Link Roberts and Joyce VanTassel-Baska.
With Drs. Ruby Pane and Paul Slocumb, former president of Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented (TAGT) and an educator for 30 years, explain how standard identification tools are not the best way to identify gifted children in poverty. The authors have created new instruments that take poverty into account, which provide schools a method for achieving equity in gifted programs.
Developed through a joint effort between Prufrock Press, Inc. and the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC), this book acts as the reference for anyone involved in gifted and talented staff development. Facilitators for gifted programs must be able to plan, implement and evaluate staff-development experiences for a variety of school personnel and support role groups.
Author Michael S. Matthews, Ph.D. introduces educators to the complexities and challenges of providing appropriate educational experiences for gifted English Language Learners. This unique, comprehensive book guides educators toward identifying gifted students in this population, including a look at nonverbal and Spanish-language testing, and gives advice for integrating these students into any gifted program.
This article looks at who 'underachievers' historically are and what one urban school district is doing to help young people break the cycle of underachievement.
Posted by the Council for Exceptional Children, this article provides a listing of sample practices for gifted programs.
This document delineates both requisite and exemplary standards for gifted education programming, and depicts pre-collegiate gifted programming standards for gifted education, representing a range of minimal, or requisite, and exemplary, or visionary, levels of performance. These standards may serve as benchmarks for measuring programming effectiveness; criteria for program evaluation; guidelines for program development; and recommendations for minimal requirements for high-quality gifted education programming.
The Madison Elementary School District offers a variety of programs throughout the district to meet the needs of gifted students. The REACH (Rigorous, Enriched, Accelerated Curriculum) Center for highly gifted students is a school within a school. The PACE (Program for Advanced and Challenging Environment) serves students in grades K-2. The AEP (Academic Enrichment Program) serves students in grades 3-8.
The Paradise Valley Unified School District (PVUSD) is expanding the Self-Contained Gifted Program, beginning in the 2010-11 school year, to a second site at Desert Cove Elementary School, contingent on demand. This expanded program will offer three multi-age self-contained gifted classes at Desert Cove: grades 1/ 2, 3 / 4 and 5 / 6. Students in this program generally work two or more years beyond grade level with intellectual peers.
This program is for qualified students in the elementary and middle school levels who have potential for high achievement. Students attend full time, five days a week at a school that accommodates the feeder pattern of the home school. Students are given their own instructional program taught under the supervision of teachers certified or endorsed in gifted education.
Aurora Public Schools offers a free support and enrichment program for homeschool students (K-12) called The Options Schools program, which is designed to support parents. Parents remain the primary instructional provider, with the school supplementing their efforts. Families participating in the program get limited instruction and educational materials at no cost. This is possible because, as a public school, Options receives a portion of the PPOR (Per Pupil Operating Revenue) distributed at the state level for each enrolled student. This money is used to pay salaries, for curriculum and other costs associated with running the program.
The Hemet Unified School District participates in the California Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) program. In an effort to inlcude non-English speaking students and/or students with learning disabilities, this GATE program first identifies students as being potentially gifted and talented at the end of second grade. Differentiation of the core curriculum to provide advanced learning opportunities, in an environment that encourages students to become stakeholders in their own education, is the foundation of the Hemet GATE plan.
LAUSD was one of two districts in California to develop an extensive educational program for gifted in 1951. Legislation (AB2313) made it necessary to restructure the existing local school programs to meet the differentiated instructional needs of gifted/talented students. This program offers the following opportunities: Regular community schools that include a cluster program for gifted students, Schools for Advanced Studies, Magnets for gifted and highly gifted students (San Jose Elementary, Welby Way & Multnomah Elementary), Conservatory of Fine Arts, Honors and Advanced Placement classes (middle and senior high schools).
The Old Adobe GATE program serves highly able 4th-5th-6th grade students from all five schools in the Old Adobe district. GATE students are clustered within regular classrooms and are served with differentiated curriculum instruction in subject areas where their abilities exceed the California State Standards. The GATE Enrichment Program offers a technology-based curriculum designed to provide greater depth, breadth and complexity than is usually available in the regular classroom setting. The GATE Enrichment program serves students for a trimester during the year.
In elementary and middle school, the program model for GATE is differentiation within the mainstream classroom. Teachers enrich and extend the core curriculum for gifted students, giving them the opportunity to understand the curriculum in greater depth and complexity. Advanced math courses are available for the first time in 7th grade and continue through 12th grade. In high school, gifted students are able to take advanced, honors, and advanced placement courses in a wide variety of subjects.
The Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) program supports unique opportunities for high-achieving and underachieving pupils who are identified as gifted and talented.
This school district has been identified as allowing acceleration for profoundly gifted students.
Each school in the Boulder Valley School District provides opportunities for advanced students to excel. This list suggests some of the ways in which schools serve gifted students: Advanced Learning Plans (ALPs) or Learning Contracts; schools of choice; differentiated curriculum and instruction;
cluster grouping; acceleration by subject or grade;
curriculum compacting; summer and Saturday programs; mentorships and internships; multi-age grouping; independent studies; and, enrichment and competitions.
The Denver Public Schools Highly Gifted Program provides an educational option for identified students whose exceptional intellectual ability and acadmic potential, with related social/emotional needs, exceed those addressed in a regular classroom. It provides a full-day school experience and is designed for students who have academic needs beyond their grade level and need the support and challenge provided by a peer group with similar interests and abilities. Highly Gifted Programs are offered at 7 elementary and 1 middle school. Each school differs in how it serves students. Contact the school that serves your home address (or that you are most interested in) to meet with the principal, tour the site, and watch a class in session.
Jefferson County Public Schools has various programs for gifted students, including early entrance to kindergarten and gifted center schools.
The Brandywine School District is committed to providing quality programming and opportunities for students identified as gifted and/or talented, and for students whose rate and level of learning is above the average. Services include enrichment opportunities for students at all schools, and the full-time Academically Gifted Program for elementary students.
Polk County Gifted Education services are available to all qualifying gifted students in Polk County, Florida. The Gifted Education Program focuses on identifying and serving students who are intellectually gifted. Program specifics and online resources are available on the website. Resource models are outlined according to the general range of grades (K-5, 6-8 & high school). The GT program challenges students according to their ability through academic acceleration, academic enrichment, and differentiated curriculum. Students in the gifted program are supported by regular education teachers as well as teachers of gifted, who collaborate according to the student's Education Plan.
Forsyth County offers gifted-friendly programming such as the Highly Academically Gifted Program (HAG) where the most gifted students can attend a separate school. Guilford County has an Advanced Learner (AL) Program that provides 3 leves of services - Moderate Need, Strong Need, and Very Strong Need. The VSN program is available to students grades 4-8.
Houston Independent School District (HISD) serves gifted/talented students in a learning continuum provided through two district-wide program options: Vanguard, a Magnet program that serves students in grades K-12; and, Vanguard Neighborhood Program which serves students in grades K-12.
The Boise School District provides services to gifted children that respond to their unique social, emotional and cognitive needs.
Meridian School District, located in Meridian, Idaho, offers a variety of magnet schools at the elementary, middle and high school levels.
District 25 GATE program is available for children who exhibit exceptionally strong intellectual abilities and demonstrate the potential for performing significantly beyond the standard curriculum may be identified for this program. The District 25 Gifted Program will support these students in maximizing their potential and translating potential into performance. Students who participate in the Odyssey pull-out program in grades 2-5 attend small group classes taught by the gifted specialist in their school for about two hours per week.
Community Consolidated School District 15 provides programs for gifted and talented students from Grades 3–8. Elementary students attend self-contained, multi-grade classrooms where all subject areas are addressed. Middle school students have differentiated curricula for language arts, social sciences, and mathematics.
School City of Mishawaka offers High Ability programs for elementary, middle and high school students. The staff of School City of Mishawaka,
in partnership with parents and the community,
recognizes there are students who exhibit or show
potential for exceptionally high academic performance. These high ability learners require differentiated, accelerated, and inspiring learning experiences. This school district will identify these students, offer social and emotional support, and challenge them with educational choices that lead to the pursuit of excellence.
Through out the school year, programs will be offered to students, parents, and families. The Des Moines Public Schools is committed to serving all gifted and talented students. Scholarships are available for programming offered during the summer. Programs include: Central Academy for highly gifted and talented students for 8-12 grades; enrichment summer school for K-9 gifted students; accelerated summer math classes are offered to invited fifth graders transitioning to sixth grade; and, an Outdoor Adventure Camp for middle school students the third week in July.
The gifted and talented selection process requires informal documentation and standardized assessments as appropriate. Kids in grades K-3 are informally selected for the primary talent pool. Students in grades 4-12 are formally identified for gifted and talented services.
This school district has been identified as allowing acceleration for profoundly gifted students.
The Academically Talented & Gifted Program in the Utica Community Schools in Michigan serves fourth through sixth grade students from 28 elementary schools. Utica Community Schools is committed to interfacing gifted and talented needs with the School Improvement Process.
This school district has been identified as allowing acceleration for profoundly gifted students.
Gifted Services seeks to identify these learners and provide services to maximize their potential by providing educational challenge appropriate to their needs. This school district has been identified as offering several grade and subject acceleration options. One option is multi-grade enrollment letting students take higher than grade-level classes on a course-by-course basis. Another option is the Lighthouse program, which is geared for students ages 7-18 and is centered around problem-based learning. Students progress at their own rate and can skip accordingly.
The Center for Creative Learning (Grades K-5), Academic Stretch (Grades 6-8), and the Secondary Gifted Program (9-12) comprise the Rockwood School District's program for academically gifted students. All students involved in the program meet criteria set forth by the school district and approved by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
The St. Louis Regional Program for Exceptionally Gifted Students (PEGS) is a full time public gifted program in the St. Louis metropolitan area (Pattonville School District) featuring acceleration and enrichment for students grades 1-12 (or equivalent ages) with two separately administered and funded branches--a South Campus housed in the Lindbergh school district and a North Campus located in the Pattonville school district.
Stevensville School District #2 is the public coeducational school district for grades K-12 in Stevensville, Montana. This district has an extensive K-12 gifted and talented program called "Extended Studies."
The Clark County School District provides Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) programming to eligible students who score at or above the 98th percentile on qualifying tests. The Highly Gifted K-12 Program is also available to identified students, providing individualized programming.
The mission of the Washoe County School District is to provide our gifted and talented students differentiated instruction that is commensurate with their exceptional abilities through a spectrum of curricular and instructional gifted services and opportunities. The District will provide programs for gifted and talented students to work together under the guidance of trained teachers in an atmosphere that is intellectually and academically rigorous, fosters creativity, and provides emotional support.
Albuquerque Public Schools (APS) provides a continuum of services for more than 4,000 gifted students. Under New Mexico State Department of Education regulations, gifted students are identified and served under a special education model. Students must meet state requirements to be eligible for gifted programs. This school district has been identified as allowing acceleration for profoundly gifted students.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg school district is made up of 154 schools (K-12) in the Charlotte area. A number of gifted options are offered throughout the CMS system, including an International Baccalaureate program and an Advanced Placement program.
This school district has been identified as allowing acceleration for profoundly gifted students.
Dublin City Schools believes that the potential of each student must be developed to the fullest extent possible. A significant number of children in Dublin schools are identified as gifted and talented by Ohio Department of Education criteria and have unique learning needs. Special programming specifically designed for the cognitive, academic, creative, and artistic abilities of gifted and talented children will enable them to reach their maximum potential.
Most gifted students in Oakwood are served through differentiation provided within the general education program. The Oakwood Gifted Program assesses students for giftedness, provides professional development for educators and resources for parents, and provides additional services for those gifted students who require more extensive enrichment/extension. This school district has been identified as allowing acceleration for profoundly gifted students.
This school district has been identified as allowing for the acceleration for profoundly gifted students.
The Willoughby-Eastlake Schools want to provide appropriate educational alternatives and challenges that will allow children who are high-ability learners to develop into creative, intelligent, capable, productive, and compassionate human beings. The gifted and talented Zenith enrichment programs are focused on building each child's strengths to encourage his/her potential for lifelong learning.
This school district been identified as allowing acceleration for profoundly gifted students.
This school district has been identified as allowing both grade and subject acceleration for profoundly gifted students.
In the Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District, the mission of Advanced Academic Services is to design a quality education for all students and support the unique needs of gifted learners. The district offers multi-faceted options of advanced level services designated to capture the imagination of students and to motivate them to participate in the most challenging options possible.
Clear Creek ISD's program for gifted and talented students is designed to serve those who perform or show potential for performing at a remarkably high level of accomplishment when compared to others of the same age, experience or environment.
This GT program is charged with identifying academically gifted students and providing for the special needs of these students. Gifted students tend to learn at a remarkably rapid rate, to be extremely sensitive and intense. The characteristics of gifted students create special needs which the Fort Bend ISD/GT Program is designed to meet.
Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) is committed to providing challenging learning experiences for all learners that build on individual strengths and optimize academic potential. In order to meet the needs and develop the potential of advanced learners, FCPS provides a continuum of advanced academic services. Two of the schools within this district have allowed acceleration of profoundly gifted students - Haycock Elementary and Longfellow Middle School.
Bellevue School District’s Gifted Programs expand Bellevue’s rigorous curriculum to serve students of exceptionally high intellectual ability. Three programs are designed to enrich and challenge the thinking of students with a greater capacity and need for learning: an enrichment pull-out program for grades 2-5; PRISM, a full-time program for grades 2-5; and, the Gifted High School Program (GHSP) for grades 9-12.
The Quest Program for Highly Capable Students Grades 1-9 is designed to meet the learning styles and needs of those students who have been assessed to have superior intellectual, academic, and creative abilities. Admission is determined by their assessment and identification procedures.
The Spokane Public Schools elementary and middle school Odyssey Program is a full-day, every day gifted magnet program at Libby Center for fifth through eighth grade students. Students who qualify for the district's Tessera Program also qualify for Odyssey and may apply for enrollment in the Odyssey program as fifth, sixth, seventh, or eighth graders. Tessera is a one day per week program at Libby Center for highly capable students in grades 3-6 who represent the top 3 percent of their norm group. Students are selected on the basis of academic, intellectual, and creative ability.
Described as "A Program for Highly Capable Learners," the Challenge Program is designed to meet the unique learning needs of students with demonstrated intellectual ability and/or potential in terms of cognitive capacity, academic achievement, and/or exceptional creativity. Located in three elementary and three middle schools, VANSD offers part of its public education classes (K-8 grades) wtih accelerated curriculum.
The Appleton Area School District is committed to providing a continuum of services to students identified as talented and gifted. Providing instruction that will challenge, support, and inspire these students results in expanding their potential through intellectual, social, and emotional growth. Some schools in this district allow subject acceleration in mathematics for profoundly gifted students.