Our teachers use the compactor to strategically plan for differentiation for our students based on their strengths demonstrated on pre-assessments.  This compactor is for Grade 5 for a student who showed mastery of much of the content and just needed instruction on two topics. 

This artifact includes the pre-assessment, learning contract, and student work to demonstrate how we utilize pre-assessment data to strategically differentiate for students who have already mastered lesson/unit content.  

This agenda is an excerpt from the ongoing agenda kept between the Ingenuity Coordinator, teachers, and Administration. It includes the data and plan to demonstrate how we utilize pre-assessment data to strategically differentiate for students who have already mastered lesson content.  These are all gifted students but many different strengths and weaknesses based on the mid-year diagnostic.

This artifact includes the data used to plan for small-group to demonstrate how we utilize pre-assessment data to strategically differentiate for students who have already mastered lesson content.  All students listed showed mastery of current content in the iReady diagnostic yet only a couple did well on the diagnostic. They still participated in small group instruction but had separate plans for classwork.

Our ELA teachers in grades K-3 complete Targeted Assistance Plans (TAP) to target small-group instruction based on DIBELS testing. Our Literacy Lead has teachers break students into TAP 1,2,3, and 4. The TAP 4 students are above-grade level. 

Our GAL identified students receive ILPs which stipulate they are entitled to regular pre-assessment and differentiation as a result which you can see on pg. 2.  We follow these plans and allow for students to work on their associated goals when they test out of the material being taught.

There were many students above-grade level in this teacher's two classes. They were pre-assessed using end-of-module tests but no student passed. This determined that students should still receive differentiation and more challenge within small group time but not miss whole-group math instruction for alternate activities. 

All students receive annual student learning plans that use pre-assessment data to differentiate instruction based on the needs and strengths of the students.  In this case, our students (describe what is seen in the SLP).

Our schools utilizes the centrally created GAL Video lessons for students in PreK-5.  These lessons feature gifted curricula such as Jacob's Ladder, M2/M3, and William and Mary Science Units.  These opportunities extend beyond what the general curriculum can offer.

Our school utilizes the GAL overlays to the general reading and math curriculum to provide advanced differentiation opportunities beyond the curriculum for each lesson.

This lesson was implemented to provide more abstract, critical thinking opportunities (rather than Eureka lesson) to students studying  volume. The lesson utilizes the 3-Act Task Method where students do not get the whole picture to start and must make predictions to solve the given problem.

NorthBay Education is a weeklong, enriching experience for our students. 6th grade students receive a hands-on educational experience through carefully planned integrated and  accelerated instruction as well as built in SEL activities. While there is a cost for students, there are scholarships for those who cannot afford to attend. Note slides 1,2,6,7, and the added 17 for a screen shot of our spreadsheet.

Students are tasked with  choosing a scientific element from the periodic table and creating a superhero based on the unique  properties of that element. The characteristics, appearance, and  backstory must all be based on the properties.

Our science teachers use both in-class labs and computerized simulations for a more in-depth examination of content. In this document you will find student work completed in 2 different computerized labs. Simulation links are highlighted. Students investigate the topic and analyze data in a lab report.

Grades 4-8 participate in this program each year. Students must use creative problem solving strategies to solve difficult problems. Teachers work with students to persevere through difficult problems, use new learned strategies, and compete against themselves to improve. GAL students in grades 4 and 5 and all Honors and Ingenuity students participate in the 5 contests, as well as weekly practice. Individual and Team prizes are awarded. 

Students in 6th grade Ingenuity learn about transformations. To make it more challenging and engaging, students chose their own design to transform.  Student work, assignment and rubric are attached.

Students in 8th grade honors ELA, took what learned in their first unit to complete a culminating project. Their research team had to create a presentation about global, national, and local change agents and the conditions that caused or allowed changing in their pathway. Attached are directions and student pictures of presentations.

Our school follow's the district's acceleration policy, which clearly outlines how students qualify for grade acceleration and early entrance to school.

This series of PPT slides that highlights each of the acceleration opportunities that we utilize here at RPEMS. The descriptions are from Davidson Institute's list of acceleration strategies.

Parents must make an official request through the district office for Gifted and Advanced Learners. They are then tested using the CogAT and observed for readiness. Once testing is complete, results are sent to the family and our school for the final decision.  Students who grade accelerate are supported by the GAL Lead, their teachers, and the ILP as they transition.

At times, students can single-subject advance within school if it is offered. Once a student exceeds what is offered in-person, they must work online. This is a student's documentation of higher-level math through CTY.

Roland Park offers an accelerated math pathway. After 6th grade, students that show readiness may take Ingenuity Algebra 1 in 7th grade and Geometry in 8th grade. While some counties already do this. We are the first and only school in our district to have a full cohort with in-person instruction. 

Small group instruction is built into the elementary schedule. This helps teachers to target instruction for all levels. This particular teacher is using accelerated standards and higher-order thinking activities for his gifted and advanced learners. 

The Apex/Edmentum Platform is used with our middle school students (and at times gifted 5th) to provide learning opportunities not typically offered in a classroom.  They can dive deeper into an area of interest or accelerate to the next level. 

These classrooms are used in grades 2-8 to provide students with higher-level work. They are run by the GAL Lead in collaboration with content and grade level teams. 

Often times, our gifted 8th graders "test out" of lessons for ELA by mid-year. This gives them time to choose a topic of interest to further investigate. They set a SMART goal and work through at their own pace. Attached you will see some examples of their accomplishments.

Students can now receive English 1 High School credit as 8th graders. They must pass the class and the MCAP exam for credit. Attached is the class syllabus.

Every identified GAL student receives an ILP which centers on an interest based learning opportunity that utilizes research and results in the creation of an original product.  Included are copies of interest surveys and projects from 4th graders.  Their biggest struggle was narrowing down a broad topic to focus on. 

Our middle school students engage in National History Day projects where they engage in both primary and secondary research as it aligns to the annual theme in order to create an original product to synthesize their findings.

Our students participate in the science fair in order to develop their own research question, methodology, and report of their findings in order to compete with their peers.  This process requires significant problem-solving and research in order to be successful.

Our students regularly participate in projects that utilize pre-determined evaluation criteria, such as this example which shows the rubric by which students will measure success that was provided to participating students prior to beginning the project.

Seventh grade honors students  were tasked with ranking Roman leaders. They had to determine what makes a good leader and  synthesize what they had learned about different Roman leaders to decide if they were a good leader. 

Sixth grade honors students studying Ancient Civilizations were tasked with researching an ethnic group from Nigeria. They used their research to create a mask from that ethnic group and identify facts about the group for a gallery walk. 

Our advanced readers are given the opportunity to  extend the Wit & Wisdom ELA curriculum with a Module Challenge. Students are given choice of which novel they will read and choice of output to create original products with what they have learned. 

As a culminating project to their plate tectonics unit, students had to use what they had learned to create a structure that would withstand an earthquake. They had to build, test, and create a sales pitch for Shark Tank. 

Our 3rd grade students chose a person that interested them to learn more about. They spent time in the library researching facts about their person to create a slideshow presentation. They also needed to undertsand why the person was important and think of a question they would ask if the person. 

Per district GAL policy,  we cluster our identified students into classes.  We have a large number of identified students so we place a cluster in each of our 4 classes for elementary. In middle school, students are placed in honors or Ingenuity classes. Students in grade 6-8 are still added to this spreadsheet since sometimes our brightest students are not identified. Middle school teachers use this spreadsheet each year to determine if they have a student who should be tested/retested. Whether officially identified or not, our high achieving students will still receive instruction at their level.

Our K-5 classrooms are mixed ability with GAL clusters within. To help with instruction and management, the GAL lead pushed in several times per week to work with GAL students and other high achievers (not all GAL students were demonstrating high achievement). The activities were to extend what they were learning in class and promote more critical thinking about math problems.

Our teachers plan for small groups with support from content leads, including the GAL Lead. Small group instruction is carved into the elementary schedule. This articfact is from a 5th grade math classroom and includes a sampling of his small groups, their skills, and differentiation. This teacher teaches all 4 mixed ability math classes.

Our students regularly participate in independent study with their ILPs, particularly with their interest and strengths-based project goal.

Our librarian promotes  the Black Eyed Susan lists for both elementary and middle.  Students may choose to read 10 or more for prizes or team up for the  Battle of the Books competition. These are our top gifted readers competing against one another. Last year we had 7 elementary teams and sent one team to the regional competition. Students are allowed to spend time in the library when finished with other coursework to read and/or prepare.

Students often learn better from their peers. These two students had already mastered the content being taught and were allowed to create their own plans to teach their class.  This helped them to create their own meaning of the information.

Our middle school runs on a high school style schedule so that students have flexibility. We have many students with strengths who need to be in honors courses but may struggle in another area. This is an example  of a student who struggles in math so they are in a grade-level class but all other courses are honors. 

RPEMS partners with the Roland Park Annual Fund to fundraise for larger projects and enrichment. This artifact shows the commitment to our new STEM Lab and enrichment projects.

We regularly partner with community agencies such as Enoch Pratt Library (Baltimore City Public Libraries) to support students with learning opportunities beyond the typical school setting. At least once per year, a librarian joins us during the day and for  Literacy Nights to ensure all students have access to books. Our PTA and staff come together to provide unique learning experiences twice per year. There is a table dedicated to gifted learning behaviors each year.

In collaboration with Dr. Whitehead and Loyola University, The Backpack Journalism program (linked HERE) is "designed to shift the narrative to give students the power, tools, and training to tell their own stories- of their neighbors, communities, and themselves. Since collecting and reporting news tools have been democratized, we are putting the tools of the trade into the hands of students and empowering them to be a voice in their own communities." This program is open not only to GAL students but a diverse group of students who can benefit from this authentic learning. 

In 2023 we started an official partnership with Mathnasium and Eureki! Prior to 2023, we had an informal partnership as many of our RPEMS students attend Mathnasium for enrichment and acceleration. Included are artifacts from our community Math Night. 

The partnership between Loyola University and RPEMS has been invaluable. We have both graduate and undergraduate interns at all levels and contents.  This allows classroom teachers to provide more attention to small groups of learners. Several interns have chosen GAL students as their focus for small group observations. This is a benefit to both our students and the intern who will hopefully go on to differentiate in their own classrooms and understand that gifted students have unique needs. 

BioEYES is a week-long science program using Zebrafish to teach scientific principles. The program is provided through a grant in partnership with Johns Hopkins. Teachers are trained at their facility and materials are brought directly to our school. This advanced program is offered to our Ingenuity science students to deepen their understanding of genetics.

This extensive list of clubs offered throughout the year represents the importance of enriching activities to our community and staff. While most clubs are open to any student wanting to pursue an area of interest, note specifically the clubs that include our GAL students such as MATHCOUNTS, Science Olympiad, Chess Team, Robotics, Stock Market, and Project Lit.

This wonderful opportunity is offered to our rising 6th, 7th, and 8th grade Ingenuity students. They spend two weeks with peers from our school and three others completing STEM challenges. Included is the flyer for 7th and 8th and a copy of the email to rising 6th grade families. The weekly schedules are also included.  Over 100 of our students attended this summer!

In partnership with Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth (CTY) Baltimore City Schools has been able to offer advanced enrichment courses to enhance critical thinking, for FREE. The students and parents love it!