Gifted and Talented Student Identification Procedures Grades 4 - 12

According to 704 KAR 3:285. Programs for the gifted and talented, a gifted and/or talented child is defined as one who is identified as possessing demonstrated or potential ability to perform at an exceptionally high level in one or more of the following areas:

• general intellectual ability

• specific academic aptitude

• creative or divergent thinking

• psychosocial or leadership ability

• visual or performing arts

Screening

Students may be formally identified as Gifted or Talented (GT) in the fourth grade. Students who show evidence of giftedness any time during the school year or subsequent grade levels may also be considered. Screening for gifted and talented students includes all five categories of giftedness (general intellectual ability, specific academic aptitude, creative or divergent thinking, leadership, and the visual or performing arts). The Beechwood Independent Schools screen the entire school population on a continuous basis for likely candidates for services using both informal and available formal, normed, standardized measures, including measures of nonverbal ability, in all areas.

Eligibility

In accordance with 704 KAR 3:285, Beechwood Independent Schools requires at least three of the following evidence options for formal GT identification for a student in grades 4 – 12:

A collection of evidence from portfolios demonstrating student performance

• Checklist inventories of behaviors specific to underachieving or disadvantaged gifted learners

• Continuous progress data

• Anecdotal records

• Peer nominations

• Formal testing data specific to gifted categories

• Parent interview or questionnaire

• Gifted Selection Committee recommendation for those entering the fourth grade

• Self-nomination

• Student awards or critiques of performance or products specific to gifted categories

• Other valid and reliable documentation

School personnel shall take into consideration environmental, cultural, and disabling conditions which may mask a child's true abilities that lead to exclusion of otherwise eligible students.

My Student Has Been Formally Identified. What happens next?

Each formally identified student is offered these assurances through regulation 704 KAR 3:285. Among these assurances are a Gifted Student Service Plan (GSSP) that is updated annually and two Gifted Student Progress Reports per year.

The GSSP can include these options as outlined in the Beechwood GT Handbook developed in 2017.

Acceleration by Grade: Student skips to the next grade level for the entire day.

Acceleration by Subject/Content: Student works on or moves to the next grade level in a subject area.

Advanced Placement or Honors: Courses that emphasize higher levels of content (honors) or college level content (AP).

Cluster Group: A group usually consisting of four (4) or more identified students placed in a heterogeneous classroom or other instructional setting with a teacher trained in the appropriate instruction of special needs students, specifically gifted and talented, for the purpose of receiving a differentiated educational experience matched to the student's needs, interests, and ability.

Collaboration: Instruction in a regular classroom to a cluster group of identified gifted students by a specialist in conjunction with the regular classroom teacher.

Consultation: G/T teacher provides classroom teacher with instructional information and/or materials to meet the needs of G/T students.

Differentiation: Curriculum opportunities are matched with student needs, interests, and abilities. (Individual or Cluster Group.)

Distance Learning: Educational opportunities are offered through computer technology, satellite transmission, etc.

Dual Credit Courses: High school students earn credit towards high school diploma and a postsecondary degree.

Enrichment Services: Differentiated activities that supplement the classroom instruction (not extracurricular).

Independent Study: A self-directed course or study of a selected topic for students under the supervision of a teacher or the auspices of a university.

Mentorship: Specialized study with an adult member in the community under the direction of a teacher.

Resource services/Pull-out: Part-time grouping of identified gifted and talented students based on students’ interests, needs and abilities and designed for accelerated content, special interest groups, process skills development or various combinations of all.

Seminars: Discussion-based session on specific topic focusing on advanced content.

Special Counseling: Counseling assistance planned in coordination with the gifted teacher and provided by a counselor familiar with the characteristics and social-emotional needs of gifted and talented students.

Travel Study: Academic based travel which may result in high school or university credit.

Gifted Student Progress Reports

These reports are created by a student's teachers in relation to the Gifted Student Service Plan. These are made available to a student's parents twice per year, typically in December and May. Scores of Exceeding, Meeting, and Not Meeting should be accompanied with anecdotal notes.

Both the Gifted Student Service Plan and the Gifted Student Progress Report can be accessed by parents in Infinite Campus under Documents. Students and/or parents seeking changes to the GSSP should contact Mrs. Neace.