Advanced Curriculum & Extended Learning: “The Vehicle”
Provides the depth and complexity needed to ensure meaningful academic growth
Our school offerings include: Differentiated classroom instruction and a variety of in-class and small group opportunities for application of skills through enrichment, acceleration, extension, and compacting of grade level curriculum. Classroom teachers collaborate and plan to meet the needs of gifted and talented students with the support school's Gifted and Talented Advocate.
Differentiated Learning Pathways: “The Roadmap”
Provides an education at the appropriate level of readiness and challenge
Our school offerings include: Teachers strive to know Gifted and Talented students by their name, strengths and needs in order to determine how to best instruct at their "just right" level. Data about each student is gathered through formative and summative assessments, observation of student assignments, and regular interaction with peers and adults in structured and unstructured school settings. Teachers utilize this combined data set in order to determine what level of readiness and challenge is best suited for their learners, and design content and assignments that match.
Individualized Opportunities & Enrichment: “The Customized Options”
Actively engages and motivates through interests and meaningful learning opportunities
Our school offerings include: Gifted and Talented students and their parents complete an annual interest and input form in the fall that is utilized to share the students' interests and hobbies. This, along with the aforementioned data set about the student, is utilized to create an Advanced Learning Plan (ALP). ALPs include goals around academic areas of strength and social emotional areas of need. All stakeholders, (the student, parents, classroom teacher, and GT Advocate) participate in the creation of and reflection around these important goals throughout the school year. This process allows students to take the lead in creating and reaching meaningful goals for the school year, and guides teachers in creating learning opportunities tailored to the each GT learner.
Social-Emotional Learning: “The Destination”
Focuses on developing the whole child by balancing empowerment and accountability
Our school offerings include: Classroom teachers collaborate with our GT Advocate, Mrs. Murphy, to differentiate SEL instruction specific to the needs of each student. In addition to weekly whole class SEL lessons, Gifted and Talented learners may partake in guidance to understand how they might think and perceive the world differently, and they learn strategies to guide them in their interactions with others. GT students also receive executive functioning support as needed in areas such as organization, time management, multistep directions, handling distractions, goal setting strategies, and more.
