What is Giftedness?
“Students with gifts and talents perform – or have the capability to perform – at higher levels compared to others of the same age, experience, and environment in one or more domains. They require modification(s) to their educational experience(s) to learn and realize their potential.
Student with gifts and talents:
- Come from all racial, ethnic, and cultural populations, as well as all economic strata.
- Require sufficient access to appropriate learning opportunities to realize their potential.
- Can have learning and processing disorders that require specialized intervention and accommodation.
- Need support and guidance to develop socially and emotionally as well as in their areas of talent.
- Require varied services based on their changing needs.”
– National Association for Gifted Children
Program Overview:
- Students in grades K-2 will have Talent Development learning opportunities facilitated by the Gifted and Talented specialist in their classrooms at least once per quarter.
- Students in grades 3-5 will be grouped with other advanced learners and have specialized instruction in Math and/or Reading taught by the Gifted and Talented specialist.
- All elementary students will receive differentiated instruction designed to challenge them in their areas of strength.
Identification Process:
- All second grade students will be formally screened for Gifted and Talented placement at the end of 2nd grade using the CogAT 7 (Cognitive Abilities Test)
- Students in grades 3-5 will be screened for placement if they are new to HOPE, or with parent/teacher recommendations.
- Students will be identified using local percentile rankings on ability tests (CogAT 7), achievement tests (FAST aReading and aMath), and using teacher or parent surveys as needed.
- Families of students that are formally identified will be notified by mail.
Instruction:
- Reading-Identified students in grades 3-5 will meet with the Gifted and Talented specialist for 30 minutes daily to participate in cross-curricular reading and writing units.
- Math– Identified students in grades 4 and 5 will receive core instruction from the Gifted and Talented specialist for 30-45 minutes daily. Content will be accelerated, covering a year and a half of material during the academic year, with the goal of students being ready to enter seventh grade level Math upon beginning Middle School.
Social-Emotional Support:
Gifted and talented students have unique social-emotional needs. To target social-emotional needs, gifted and talented students will have the opportunity to attend a once-weekly lunch with their peers to work on building healthy and supportive friendships.
Family Support and Involvement:
- Families will be invited to attend Family Nights to learn more about what it means to be gifted and how to best support our gifted youngsters at home. Dates to be determined.
- Families will be invited to attend celebrations of learning periodically throughout the year to share in the learning of their children. Dates and times to be determined.
Resources for Families:
Check out the links below for more information about what it means to be gifted, and how to support gifted children at home.
https://www.nagc.org/resources-publications/resources-parents
https://www.giftedguru.com/category/parenting/
https://www.sengifted.org/parenting
https://www.davidsongifted.org/prospective-families/gifted-traits-and-characteristics/
https://www.davidsongifted.org/prospective-families/social-emotional-resources/