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2026-2027 GIFTED SERVICES UPDATE:
Screening, identification, and placement for potential TAG students
is currently underway.
Please be patient as this process will take several weeks to complete.
Students with gifts and talents have unique learning needs and characteristics, including their prior knowledge, readiness to learn, interests and motivation, learning preferences, and ways of expressing themselves ✨.
Because of these differences, learning opportunities for gifted students are designed to meet individual needs and include a range of differentiated curriculum, instructional approaches, and resources 📚.
While all students benefit from enriched learning, gifted learners receive additional support and challenge through a variety of programs from the primary grades through high school. These services are ongoing, coordinated, and designed to support gifted students academically and socially.
From curriculum differentiation in the early grades to elementary gifted pull-out programs and high school Advanced Placement classes, the district provides a wide range of opportunities to meet the needs of gifted learners.
The Continuum of Services includes, but is not limited to:
Academic and Creative Competitions
Enrichment Clusters
Flexible Grouping
Gifted and Talented Art Program
Academic Gifted and Talented Pull-Out Program
Differentiated Curriculum & Instruction in the General Education Classroom
Acceleration by Grade
Acceleration by Subject
Integrated Academic Summer Enrichment Program
Saturday Academy
STEM Academy
Career Academy
Visual and Performing Arts Academy
Our programming is designed to maximize students’ exceptional abilities while supporting their personal and social growth 🌱. Flexible programming encourages students to ask questions, take intellectual risks, think critically, and reflect on their strengths 🧠. By promoting choice, active engagement, and reflection, these services help students develop their talents, reach their potential, and take ownership of their learning journey 🚀.
⏳Identification Over Time
⏳Gifted identification is not just a moment in time;
it is fluid and continuous throughout the school years.
Gifted services begin in grades K-2, where classroom teachers informally observe and support students through differentiated instruction designed to engage, challenge, and nurture their intellectual growth. Participation in these early programs is not required for—and does not guarantee—eligibility for gifted services in later grades.
At the end of 2nd grade, a formal universal screening identifies students for Academic Gifted Services in grades 3-5. Similarly, participation in grades 3-5 programs does not guarantee placement in gifted services in middle or high school.
At the end of 5th grade and again at the end of middle school, formal screenings help identify students for advanced learning opportunities in the upper grades, ensuring every student has the chance to be challenged at the right level.
At Clifton Public Schools, we are committed to fair and thorough procedures to identify and support all students who may benefit from gifted services. Giftedness and talent can be found across all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups, nationalities, and genders, including among students with disabilities 🌍🤝.
Identifying students who may benefit from differentiated services is a careful, multi-step process. It begins with universal screening and includes multiple measures of aptitude and achievement 📊. A formal evaluation is then used to determine placement in gifted services, helping match each student’s needs, abilities, and strengths with programming that provides an appropriate level of challenge and support 🎯.
We focus on nurturing students’ intellectual, emotional, and social growth rather than labeling children as “gifted.” Our goal is to provide opportunities that encourage gifted behaviors, potential, initiative, and independent thinking 🚀.
Through differentiated and challenging learning experiences, we strive to help all students reach their highest level of performance, develop their strengths, and make meaningful contributions to their communities and an ever-changing global society 🌏✨.