The Glen Rock Board of Education's Gifted and Talented Program is committed to providing its students with an educational program that will enable them to achieve in accordance with their capabilities. Our program includes Enrichment and Acceleration for identified exceptional students as well as Honors, Dual Enrollment and Advanced Placement courses in High School.
The following program options are available to students who have been identified and placed into our Gifted and Talented Program.
Our weekly pull-out enrichment classes are designed to focus on higher-order thinking skills infused in problem-based learning, research projects, engineering and design tasks, experiments, analogies, and logic puzzles. The program is highly student-driven and student-led.
Acceleration is a way to accommodate the high abilities and individual needs of gifted students in grades 4-12. It enables students to progress through the curriculum at a more rapid rate than is normally planned.
In Glen Rock, an identified student may accelerate to the next grade for math.
Based on the board policy, the acceleration identification process will be completed by June 30th for advancement the following academic year.
The Glen Rock Board of Education's Gifted and Talented (G & T) Program is committed to providing its students with an educational program that will enable them to achieve in accordance with their capabilities. The district’s program includes Acceleration and Enrichment for identified exceptional students as well as Honors, Dual Enrollment and Advanced Placement courses in High School. The program options outlined below are available to students who have been identified and placed into our Gifted and Talented Program:
Enrichment Program: Enrichment is a weekly pull-out class designed to focus on higher-order thinking skills infused in problem-based learning, research projects, engineering and design tasks, experiments, analogies, and logic puzzles. The program is highly student-driven and student-led. Students who are identified as exceptionally able when compared to their chronological peers within the district will be considered for participation in the Gifted and Talented Program. Multiple criteria such as grade benchmarks, teacher rating scales, state testing scores and cognitive testing scores are used to identify students for the program and provide greater insight into the potential of individual students.
Acceleration: Acceleration is an extensive, deeper study at the next grade level for students in Grades 4 to 12. Students may accelerate to the next grade for one or more subjects. Full acceleration or subject acceleration of more than one grade must have the approval of the school’s GEC and/or content specific Acceleration Committee, who shall consider the student’s academic, social and emotional development, and the approval of the Superintendent or designee.
Students may participate in one or both options (Enrichment and/or Acceleration). The K-12 content supervisor will oversee acceleration in their corresponding subject. Eighth grade students opting to accelerate to a ninth grade course will not have that grade posted on their high school transcript. High school transcripts will note that required courses not listed were completed in grade 8.
Acceleration Procedures
Grades 4 to 6
Students in grades four through six will be identified for Acceleration by the following process:
1. Referral for assessment:
Teacher or parent referral. The teacher or parent will complete the Advancement Referral Form. Teacher referrals shall be completed by more than one teacher in order to provide broader input;
2. End-of-Year Assessment: Administered by the K-12 content supervisor.
The end-of-year assessment is aligned to the New Jersey State Learning Standards for the next grade level.
3. The Acceleration Committee will convene to review relevant data and the end-of- year assessment.
The Acceleration Committee may include the following staff members: Elementary principal, K-12 content supervisor, K-5 content coach, Classroom teacher, G&T teachers, Counselor, and/or Assistant Superintendent.
Grades 7 to 12
Students in grades seven through twelve who wish to accelerate in their coursework will follow the following procedures:
1. A student completes a form to apply for course acceleration.
2. Student’s application and course grades will be reviewed by the K-12 content supervisor, Director of Student Personnel Services, and the building principal.
3. For summer courses, students must complete the application by June 1.
4. For summer courses, a student must enroll in, and successfully complete, a course through New Jersey Virtual School. All responsibilities, including enrollment and financial obligations, will be assumed by the student’s parent or guardian.
5. At the conclusion of the course, the student must submit their grades to the counseling office for schedule adjustments.
Pupils who are identified as exceptionally able students when compared to their chronological peers within the district will be considered for participation in the Gifted and Talented Program. Multiple criteria are used to identify students for the program and provide greater insight into the potential of individual students.
Eligibility criteria and the offered program options are aligned with Board Policy 2462 and its supporting regulations.
A parent or teacher may initiate a referral; the form is available from each elementary principal, the Middle School Guidance Office, and on the District Gifted and Talented website. Students new to the district must follow this same process. Forms are to be returned to the building principal or their designee.
Phase 1: Pre-screening by the classroom teacher, gifted and talented teacher, and principal or their designee will be based on a student's classroom performance.
Phase 2: The school-based Gifted and Talented Education Committee (GEC), which is chaired by the building principal or their designee, will convene in December, and May, to review recommended candidates. The GEC will review the parent or teacher referral form, rating scales assessed by teachers with knowledge of the student, state and district standardized test scores, student works, and benchmark assessments. All data will be reviewed and rated by the school GEC using a matrix. The rating score on the matrix determines whether or not the student continues to Phase 3. Phase 3 consists of a standardized test. If testing is to occur, parental consent will be obtained before testing begins.
Phase 3: A standardized test is administered and an identification matrix is completed. A student who meets the required score on the matrix will be recommended for participation in G & T. Parents will be notified by the building principal with the results of the evaluation.
Students who have been identified as Gifted and Talented may continue their academic acceleration throughout Middle School and High School. While there are no designated pull-out programs at the high school level, students have access to various rigorous academic pathways tailored to their abilities and interests.
The High School offers an extensive selection of Honors, Dual Enrollment, and Advanced Placement (AP) courses, allowing students to engage in advanced coursework that challenges them at a higher level. Dual Enrollment opportunities enable students to earn both high school and college credits simultaneously, providing an early start on post-secondary education. Additionally, students may pursue independent study, mentorships, or internships to further explore areas of passion and expertise.
Additional information may be obtained from the Guidance Department.