Gifted Program Action Plans A committee of parents, teachers, and administrators met throughout last year to study our gifted program. After a great deal of study, evaluation, discussion, and planning, they developed an action plan to improve our gifted program. This plan was adopted by the school board and is now being implemented. This newsletter will try to give you an overview of the plan and what it means for Connections as well as the student population in general. This will be another avenue to seek to explain our plan for you as parents. As always, if you have additional questions, please feel free to contact the gifted teachers or administrators. New Mission for District 107 Gifted Program The mission of the District 107 Gifted Program is to assure the continuous academic, social, and emotional growth of students Pre-K through 8 who possess distinct talents and gifts by providing curriculum differentiation in and out of the classroom.
Overview of First Steps of Action Plans
1. Identification of students Create a matrix to identify PreK-8 students gifted in the areas of ability, creativity, and task commitment using both qualitative and quantitative measures. The committee wanted to make sure that we had a clear set of criteria for selecting students for the gifted program that included test results, teacher observations, and parent evaluations. This has been developed and is beginning to be used.
2. Grade 5-8 Program Organize gifted students at each grade level and design appropriately balanced push-in and pull-out services based upon individual needs and developmental level at grades 5-8 so that achievement is maximized. The needs of gifted students in mathematics will continue to be met through the accelerated math class, which will utilize a differentiated curriculum as needed. Students will be assigned, depending upon student needs, to a particular science, social studies class and to above level language arts classes. The gifted teacher will meet regularly with the above level language arts teachers and the science and social studies teachers as time permits, to co-plan curriculum, thus assuring that differentiation for student needs will occur. He will also co-teach with the accelerated language arts teachers for at least three days per week for one period each day. The Connections classes will meet for concentrated units of study as a pull-out of the above level language arts classes. Twice per year this class will meet five days per week for three weeks of the double period language arts class. The curriculum will be directly related to the classroom and grades for this period will be provided by the gifted teacher.
3. Curriculum Differentiation Differentiate the district curriculum so that it promotes continuous academic, social, and emotional growth for the students who possess distinct talents and gifts. The goal of the activity is to assure that students are challenged appropriately in all of their classes and not simply in a pull-out program. Curriculum committees will revise the district curriculum to include activities, materials and strategies to help manage a classroom of diverse needs. The gifted teacher will supply resources and strategies to implement this goal. Systems for tracking progress will also be developed. Other Steps to Be Addressed The committee has also established action steps in the areas of staff development, partnerships, communication, physical space, and program evaluation. You will continue to hear more about these areas as the year progresses. Parent Information Meeting Held A parent information meeting for Connections was held on August 27, 2003, at 7:00PM at the elementary school. The purpose of this meeting was to begin discussion of the action plan items and program changes highlighted in this newsletter. A new brochure describing the district gifted program was distributed and is available in the school offices. We will offer additional activities for parents at school to keep you informed as the program develops. Thanks for reading! Larry Neumann, Gifted Teacher, Grades 5-8
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