About Gifted Education

The approach taken at Sierra to meet the unique needs of our gifted population is the mindset, "it takes a village to raise a child".  Administration, counselors and our outstanding teachers work to differentiate instruction and address social-emotional growth for each student.  Sierra offers a dynamic approach to challenge and motivate each student in their own unique areas of strength.  Advanced courses are designed to address the needs of high ability middle school students in four core areas, Language Arts, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies. Placement decisions are made in collaboration with elementary feeder staff using a body of evidence to support an appropriate and positive outcome transitioning from elementary to middle school.

In addition to advanced courses, student needs may be addressed through a variety of instructional and social-emotional practices:

• Affective guidance

• Differentiated curriculum, instruction & assessment

• Goal Setting (Advanced Learning Plan Development)

• College and Post-Secondary Planning in conjunction with ALP Goal(s)

• Access to Enrichment Opportunities

• Flexible Pacing and Grouping

• Curriculum Compacting

• Acceleration

• We strive to develop community and unity among our GT student population - socially supporting and encouraging one another through regular group meetings!

What can you as a parent do to be involved and support your student’s growth?

Partner with your student and log into Naviance to learn about the ALP (Advanced Learning Plan) goals set in August and September.  Goal setting provides direction for our students as they move through their middle school careers and beyond.  We want our families to be a part of the conversation around goal setting and we want your input on how we can challenge your students in their own unique areas.

Our school has a new Gifted and Talented Referral Form/Parent Survey/Student Survey. All three documents are combined into one form.

Should you have any questions regarding the Gifted & Talented program at Sierra Middle School, please contact Tamra Maupin.                                

At Sierra, our GT facilitator is here to support the educational needs for our most advanced learners.

GT Facilitator