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Benefits of Gifted Education

- Challenges children to reach their potential

- Promotes academic rigor

- Helps develop and maintain an interest in school

- Improves creativity and problem solving abilities

- Broadens experiences and horizons

- Creates a positive atmosphere for learning

- Provides appropriate pacing

- Allows for association with children of similar interests and abilities

- Expands and focuses goal-setting and career expectations

- Encourages active participation in class

- Provides a context for application of classroom learning to real life problem solving

- Scholarships to summer programs for participating students

Goals

- To provide each identified gifted student with an appropriate program commensurate with his/her potential

- To challenge students to operate at higher cognitive levels

- To focus on abstract concepts and advanced thought in each discipline

- To develop and demonstrate skills in methods of inquiry and research

- To provide opportunities for students to clarify their own goals and to pursue their own academic interests

- To develop independent, intuitive, discriminating, and creative learning processes

- To integrate all elements of the academic disciplines and curricula for the gifted student in such a manner that the student will recognize these interrelationships

General Needs of the Gifted and Talented

- Time and opportunity to learn more than is offered in the standard curriculum

- Training and practice in planning, completing, and evaluating  personal independent projects

- Time and opportunity to share ideas and projects with others of similar ability or interest

- Help in understanding the physical intensity that often accompanies their emotions, learning styles, and interests

- Opportunities to ask questions: questions with answers, and questions with no answers--only viewpoints

Program Description

KINDERGARTEN
- Whole class enrichment lessons

GRADES 1-2
- Weekly pull-out lessons:  logic, problem solving, research, creative writing

GRADES 3-5
- Weekly pull-out classes: thematic units with an integrated curriculum emphasizing higher level thinking skills, creativity, problem solving, and opportunities for advanced learning and independent study

- 2-4 full-day seminars per grade per year, enhancing the thematic units

- Weekly Math Olympics pull-out classes

GRADE 6
- Prescott Mile High Middle School - Honors Math and English

- Granite Mountain Middle School - Gifted enrichment classes

GRADES 7-8
- Honors English
- Pre algebra and algebra

GRADES 9-12
- Honors classes, advanced placement classes, dual credit high school/college classes, academic competitions

Screening Procedure

- Students must score at least 97% on a state adopted gifted measurement to qualify for the program.

- Grades 1-2 Teacher referral and achievement tests. Students are not officially identified as gifted at this age.

- Grades 3-8 Referral for assessment by classroom teachers, parents, or students.

- Grades 9-12 Academic subject test score and teacher referral.

Placement Assessments

- Cognitive Abilities Test, Assessment Matrices

- Students who do not qualify may be reassessed after a minimum of one year. Students moving into the district may qualify with scores from state adopted assessments taken within the previous two years.

Characteristics of Gifted Children

- Excellent memory

- Persistent, goal directed behavior

- Verbal proficiency; large vocabulary, breadth of information in advanced areas

- Questioning attitude; intellectual curiosity, consistency, logic

- Ability to abstract, conceptualize, analyze, synthesize, problem solve

- Evaluates self and others, including adults; critical thinking

- Sensitive, intuitive, empathetic; tends to take on grown-up concerns

- Diversity of interests; many hobbies and activities

- High energy; alert, eager for new challenges

- >Independent; preference for individualized work, self-reliant

- Rapid learning; easy recall of factual information

- Zany sense of humor