Clint Williams, Principal / Bethany Christopher, Assistant Principal / Kristen Roberts, Assistant Principal / Jaymie McAfee, Counselor / Melissa Brown Counselor
Sandy Roe, ExCEL-GT/AP Director
Brittney Bass, ExCEL-GT Specialist
2nd Grade Whole Group Enrichment &
3rd and 4th Grade ExCEL-GT Send-Out
G/T identified students in 3rd and 4th grades are identified into the ExCEL (GT) send-out classes. ExCEL students are scheduled to meet 150 minutes per week with their ExCEL peers and the building ExCEL-GT Specialist. ExCEL identified students receive instructional services different from those normally provided in the general classroom. The ExCEL program curriculum is a combination of extension (experiences that supplement the general curriculum), acceleration (activities that allow students to progress at a rate faster than average), enrichment (topics that are not covered in the general classroom), and guidance/affective needs (planned activities that promote understanding of one's self and one's relationship to others).
Our 2nd-grade students are seen for whole group enrichment during their second-grade year. The ExCEL-GT Specialist visits each 2nd-grade classroom twice per month for science enrichment and critical thinking lessons. For the remaining two weeks in the month, students are engaged in enrichment activities in literacy and math with their general classroom teacher.
ExCEL GT has built-in two forty-minute spots each weekend for 2nd-grade FLEX groups. This group is made up of high-achieving 2nd-grade students who have not been GT-identified. This group will rotate based on test scores and teacher recommendations. The curriculum for this group for 20023-2024 will be a unit on Chocolate, Science of Flight, and a Project Lead the Way unit on Pre-Coding.
ExCEL-GT identification is an ongoing process. Referral requests can be taken at different times throughout the school year. The ExCEL-GT program also has two set times per year that referrals are requested. Beebe school district formally identifies students for ExCEL-GT placement at the end of their 2nd grade school year. The GT Placement Committee meets to determine (based on data) the best educational placement for students who have been referred (blind placement process). All stakeholders are notified of any changes to their child's educational placement for their 3rd grade school year.
Third-grade GT students will work on these units of study: Caves, Genius Hour (Independent Study) and/or a study of the Brain, Hands-on-Equations, and Coding, Project Lead the Way Unit - Save the Tiger
Fourth-grade GT students are working on these units of study: Infection Detection (A Project Lead the Way Unit), Genius Hour (Independent Study), Mini Golf (Geometry), Hands-on Equations/Coding
Field Trips: 3rd-grade ExCEL-GT will travel to Blanchard Springs Caverns
4th-grade ExCEL-GT will travel to Hots Springs to the Mid-America Science Museum
These programming options follow the Gifted and Talented Rules and Regulations: Program Approval Standards by the Arkansas Department of Education.
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