Gifted Education

The mission of the gifted education department is to prepare intellectually gifted students to live responsible, productive, and meaningful lives by maximizing their unique potential.

Our goals are:

*to cultivate self direction and autonomy in students.

*to enable students to integrate the following process skills into their lives:

• Thinking Skills
• Creativity
• Information Literacy
• Success Skills
• Affective (Social and Emotional) Skills
• Communication Skills

*to foster a learning environment that values and enhances the unique characteristics of the intellectually gifted.

*to design a varied and flexible curriculum that is responsive to the needs, interests, and abilities of the intellectually gifted learner.

REFERRAL-TO-PLACEMENT PROCESS

Placement of gifted students is governed by specific policies pertaining to test scores and other criteria. Students must qualify at each step of the sequential referral process to be eligible for gifted services.

PHASE 1
The Referral Phase includes documentation of three of the following:

• group or individual achievement test 90th percentile minimum
• group or individual achievement test 90th percentile minimum
• published characteristics of giftedness measure score at or above the superior range
• published measure of creativity score at or above the superior range
• published measure of leadership score at or above the superior range

PHASE 2
If three criteria are documented, the Local Survey Committee recommends further assessment. During the Assessment Phase the Assessment Team collect, administers, and/or documents three of the following:
● a full scale score at or above the 90th percentile on a norm-referenced group measure of intelligence
● a score at or above the 90th percentile on a norm-referenced measure of characteristics of giftedness
● a score at or above the 90th percentile on a norm-referenced measure of characteristics of creativity
● a score at or above the 90th percentile on a norm-referenced measure of characteristics of leadership
● a score at or above the 90th percentile on a norm-referenced measure of cognitive abilities
● a score at or above the 90th percentile in select areas on a norm-referenced achievement test

At this time, if parental permission has not been obtained, district personnel shall obtain written parental permission for testing. A student who has satisfied the minimal acceptable criteria on any three of the above measures shall have an individually administered norm-referenced intelligence test administered to them. A score of 91st percentile or above must be obtained for eligibility. Properly certified district personnel may administer the test at no cost to parents.

Students who do not satisfy the criteria for placement in the gifted program may not be re-tested until the completion of one calendar year. A student who is referred for re-testing must complete all stages of the Gifted Identification Process. A student may be screened every year, but a student may only be tested twice in his/her school career at district's expense.

The assessment team report and recommendation profile are sent to the District Local Survey Committee for determining eligibility according to criteria set forth by the state guidelines. Once criteria are met and a written eligibility ruling has been made, the student is eligible to be placed in the Challenge program. The parent must give written consent to place the student in the program. No student is placed without a proper eligibility ruling and consent for placement.

Click Here for Gifted Policy

Service Projects

Challenge Family Fun Night

Parent Information Night

Scope and Sequence

Raising a Gifted Child: This document will give parents and teachers insight on gifted children.

Understanding Gifted: This document will inform you about:

• Policy
• Referral Process
• Characteristics
• Important Information
• Other websites to visit

Characteristics of Gifted Children

Characteristics and Possible Behaviors of Gifted Children

analogical thinking, visualization,
attribute listing, morphological analysis, synectics, intuitive thinking, spontaneous thinking, creative problem solving, and/or the creative process in an appropriate manner to develop a workable solution(s).

leader or member of a team.