Students exhibiting outstanding intellectual and creative ability are supported through the Hanover Public School District’s Gifted Programming. With assistance from our Gifted Support Teachers, school wide screenings are conducted several times a year. Referrals for screening may be initiated by educators, parents, or students themselves. 

A request to the building principal will begin the information gathering process, which includes the most recent performances of the student for the educational team. Students are required to have strong academic performance in the classroom. Student performances are then examined at the district level, the state level, and finally, at the national level in the areas of achievement and intellectual ability. A parent meeting will be held to further discuss the student’s strong academic and intellectual performance and to determine the best educational plan for continued academic growth.

Data that is compiled during school-wide screenings include:

• • Consistent report card grades in the Advanced range.

  • Consistent performances on district assessments in the top 10% at the district level.

  • PSSA performances in the top 10% at the state level.

  • High performances on standardized cognitive assessments.

Gifted Support Teachers:

Mrs. Amanda Morgret services the elementary buildings.  amorgret@hanoverpublic.org

Mrs.  Sara Myers services Hanover Middle School. smyers@hanoverpublic.org

Mr. David Harnish services Hanover High School. dharnish@hanoverpublic.org

Mrs. Tina Wetzel is our school Psychologist who administers assessments for students believed to be in need of gifted services. twetzel@hanoverpublic.org

Resources:

https://www.nagc.org/resources-publications/resources-parents

For Information regarding your child's gifted programming, please contact Dr. Susan Seiple sseiple@hanoverpublic.org

For Information regarding gifted screening and assessment, please contact the building principal or Mrs. Lisa Jackson, Director of Special Education, ljackson@hanoverpublic.org

Child Find for Gifted Education

Hanover Public School District is responsible for locating and identifying all students who may be gifted and in need of specially designed instruction. This process is called Child Find, and it applies to every student enrolled in our schools.

• Annual Notice: Each year, the district provides public notice about the availability of gifted education services and the procedures for identification.

• Screenings: Gifted Support Teachers conduct screenings during the school year to look for students who may need further evaluation. Parents, teachers, or students themselves may also request a screening at any time by contacting the building principal.

• Evaluation: If screening suggests a student may be gifted, a Gifted Multidisciplinary Evaluation is completed. 

• Parent Rights: Parents are notified before evaluations take place, must give consent, and receive a copy of the evaluation results. If a child is found eligible, a Gifted Individualized Education Plan (GIEP) is developed with parent input.

• Safeguards: Parents have the right to request an evaluation, participate in planning, and seek mediation or due process if they disagree with district decisions.
  
  

Hanover Public School District is committed to ensuring that all children with outstanding abilities are identified and provided with an appropriate educational program to help them reach their fullest potential.

The Hanover Public School District provides an annual notice of special education, gifted and protected handicapped services through Facebook and Twitter and out website and  last published this Annual Public Notice of Special Education and Gifted Services, Intermediate Unit 12 in March 2025, which references the Hanover Public School District and contains contact information for the reader. Hanover Public's  Special Education website also contains a notification of all services offered to students who reside within the boundaries of the school district. A link to the notification of services provided can be found here: https://sites.google.com/a/hanoverpublic.org/student-services/annual-public-notice . 

Hanover Public SD has a dedicated Gifted webpage which can be accessed through the following link https://sites.google.com/hanoverpublic.org/giftededucationparentinformati/home . Within this webpage is a link that can be followed to access a host of resources for students, parents, teachers and administrators. 

An annual Gifted Parent Advisory Committee is formed between district administrators/staff and parent representatives from each school within the district. Meetings are held on a continual basis throughout the course of the school year. This collaboration is designed to inform and update gifted work in the Hanover Public School District. An agenda is shared for each planned meeting. Parent representatives are given an opportunity to ask questions and share information back with their building based parent associates. Topics discussed during the course of the year are also linked with parent topics of interest/inquiry. Gifted awareness activities are evident in Back to School themed events that take place during the early stages of each school year. Gifted support staff assigned to each school take part in these after school events and parents can seek out information about gifted programming opportunities in each school.