Parent Information Meeting

-NEW- GT Book Study
Program Guide (PDF file)
Parent Nomination & Consent Form (Word file)
Parent Observation Checklist (Word file)
Furlough Request Form (PDF file)
Exit Request Form (PDF file)
Timeline (PDF file)
Differentiating the Curriculum (PowerPoint)

“Gifted and Talented” student means a child or youth who performs at or shows the potential for performing at a remarkably high level of accomplishment when compared to others of the same age, experience, or environment and who exhibits high performance capability in an intellectual, creative, or artistic area, possesses an unusual capacity for leadership, or excels in a specific academic field.


Identification Process
Referral and Nomination
Teachers, counselors, parents, self, or other interested persons may nominate students. An orientation meeting will be held for interested parents and students. Nomination packets will be available at each campus office beginning March 1. Students may be nominated for the Gifted and Talented program during the month of March. Kindergarten students are nominated during the month of January. All students who are nominated are screened for eligibility. Written parental consent is obtained before any special testing or individual assessment is conducted as part of the identification process.

Screening & Assessment
District-wide screening will be conducted annually. Major assessments will be conducted in August, January, and May. The January assessment will focus on Kindergarten. Services for identified Kindergarten students begin March 1st of the same school year. The May assessment will address screening/assessment for any student nominated during the March nomination period or during the year, and students who enroll after the start of school. Students who are identified during the May assessment will begin services in August of the next school year.

Selection and Placement
The District Selection Committee which includes the district Gifted and Talented coordinator, Campus gifted facilitators, Campus regular education teachers, administrators, and other professional educators, make the final decision on student identification/placement into the program


District Selection Committee
Responsibilities of the District Selection Committee may include:

1. Determines students admitted to the Gifted and Talented program based on selection criteria.
2. Determines students exited from the Gifted and Talented program.
3. Determines students to be furloughed or placed on probation from the program.
4. Determines students who need to be reassessed.
5. Notifies parents and students in writing of admission and exit recommendations.
6. Reports students who enter and exit the program to the Learner Services Office.


Selection Criteria
Students must meet the minimum criteria set by the District Selection Committee in order to be selected for participation in the AISD Gifted and Talented program. Nominated students may be selected based on both quantitative and qualitative measures. Examples may include:

-Ability Test
-Achievement Test
-Creative Portfolio/Writing Assessment
-Teacher Checklist
-Parent Checklist

***Actual testing for identification at the elementary level should only occur once within kindergarten – second grade and once in third – fifth grade. Additional screening may occur during spring assessments in grades two and five for placement the following school year.

District wide aptitude offered for those students seeking nomination and do not have current data on file.

An Observation Checklist is used for teachers and parents to rate students on observed traits that are characteristic of gifted and talented students.
Portfolios are samples of student products grades K-5. Each year the Gifted and Talented office selects activities designed to stimulate open-ended and creative thinking. Grades 6-11, students respond to writing prompt and are scored holistically for purpose, organization, elaboration, depth and complexity.


Program Timeline & Procedures
August
AISD new and transfer students screened, assessed if needed. Placed if qualify.

November/December
Pre-screen all Kindergarten students for GT program.
Screen 2nd, 4th, 6th, using ITBS as indicator of GT potential.

January/February
Assessment and placement for Kindergarten students.

March
Aptitude testing available for GT consideration.
Identified Kindergarten students served in AIM program.
Nomination packets picked up at campus. (Grades 1-12)

April
Data collection, further screening/assessment

May
GT placements decisions


Furlough/Exit Procedure
A furlough may be granted at the request of the selection committee, student and/or parent. A student may be furloughed for a period of time deemed appropriate by the selection committee, but a furlough will last no longer than the current school year. At the end of the current school year, the student’s progress shall be reviewed and the student may re-enter the Gifted and Talented program, be removed from the program, or be placed on another furlough if deemed necessary by the committee.

Students identified as gifted and talented may be exited from the Gifted and Talented program according to the following guidelines. All students who exit the Gifted and Talented program, including those identified as gifted and talented, shall be re-screened in order to re-enter the program.


New Students/Transfers
During August, students who are new to AISD and have previously been identified for a gifted program in another district/state will be screened for placement in the AISD Gifted and Talented program. New students who have not previously been in a gifted program and who are enrolled in the AISD before the start of school will also be screened during the August screening and assessment. Students not previously in a gifted program or who attended a school where there was not a gifted and talented program available and enroll in the AISD after the start of school, will be screened during the spring assessment.


Elementary GT Program
A.I.M. – Grades K - 6
The AIM program provides a homogeneous grouping of identified elementary (K-6) gifted and talented students that is designed to maximize their potential through in-depth and complex exploration of interdisciplinary studies not included in the mainstream classroom. AIM is a pull-out program where students are clustered in a classroom with a gifted and talented specialist teacher. The AIM curriculum challenges students to develop and apply their talents through a variety of integrated, multidisciplinary learning activities and projects. AIM curriculum serves to integrate Language Arts/Social Studies and Science/Math through a rigorous, relevant, and enriched extension of the regular classroom. AIM classroom activities focus on logic, problem solving, higher order thinking skills, critical and creative thinking.

Kindergarten service begins in March of the year of identification. Students who qualify during spring assessment begin service the following school year.


Secondary GT Programs
GT HUMANITIES-GRADES 7-8
These courses are available at each middle school campus for identified gifted and talented students. Each course is a two period class which grants credit in both Social Studies and English/Language Arts.

Students will develop and utilize reading, writing and verbal skills as vehicles for exploring and reflecting on the political, social and economic issues that have shaped our society and defined our roles as citizens.

PHOENIX - GRADES 9-12
As a humanities-based course, Phoenix offers gifted and talented students in grade 9-12 a forum for furthering their writing analysis, and strong reading skills. In the company of peers with similarly complex and divergent levels of thinking, Phoenix students explore literature and its connection to critical ideas, historical influences, and current events.

Phoenix students are prepared for and encouraged to take the rigorous Advanced Placement (AP) exams in Language and Literature at the end of their junior and senior years, since the course incorporates AP standards and
terminology.

Online Resources for Parents & Teachers of Gifted Children
Hoagies’ Gifted Education Page
National Association for Gifted Children
Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented
Gifted Child Society
YAHOO Resources for Gifted Youth K-12
Texas Education Agency Division of Advanced Academics
The College of William and Mary Center for Gifted Education
Curriculum Design Online
Exemplars Standards-Based Performance Assessment & Instruction
Region X Service Center Gifted and Talented


Contact
Barbara Myer
Gifted and Talented Coordinator
612 E. Bethany Drive
Allen, TX 75002
972.727.0332

High Achiever vs. Gifted