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Meet our Advanced Learning and Gifted Education (ALGE) Department:
Meet our Advanced Learning and Gifted Education (ALGE) Department:
Amanda Gerken
Amanda Gerken
ALGE Coordinator
Secondary ALGE Specialist
9-12 ALGE Lead - HHS
Melanie Gray
Melanie Gray
Elementary ALGE Specialist
Kimberly Vegter
Kimberly Vegter
6-8 ALGE Lead - Grandview
Courtney Osteen
Courtney Osteen
6-8 ALGE Lead - Northview
Rhoda Maynard-Yoder
Rhoda Maynard-Yoder
9-12 ALGE Lead - HCAM
HCS Advanced Learning and Gifted Education Department
HCS Advanced Learning and Gifted Education Department
Our AIG Program
Our AIG Program
Hickory City Schools offers a wide variety of options for our gifted learners. From enrichment groups in the elementary school to advanced classes in the middle school to college classes in the high school, HPS has many opportunities to meet the needs of our gifted learners and help them grow into thriving young adults.
Our Vision
Our Vision
We envision a vibrant educational environment where gifted students are valued, supported, and inspired to become thoughtful leaders, original thinkers, and lifelong learners. Through equitable access to enriched learning experiences, we strive to develop the unique talents of all gifted students and prepare them to excel across a wide range of landscapes.
Our Mission
Our Mission
Our mission is to nurture and challenge gifted learners from kindergarten through twelfth grade by providing a differentiated, welcoming, and rigorous educational experience that promotes intellectual exploration, creative problem-solving, and emotional growth. We are committed to empowering students to achieve their highest potential and make meaningful contributions to a dynamic, multifaceted world.
Defining a Gifted Student
Defining a Gifted Student
North Carolina defines AIG students in Article 9B (N.C.G.S. § 115C-150.5)
Academically or intellectually gifted (AIG) students perform or show the potential to perform at substantially high levels of accomplishment when compared with others of their age, experiences or environment. Academically or intellectually gifted students exhibit high performance capability in intellectual areas, specific academic fields, or in both the intellectual areas and specific academic fields. Academically or intellectually gifted students require differentiated educational services beyond those ordinarily provided by the regular educational program. Outstanding abilities are present in students from all cultural groups, across all economic strata, and in all areas of human endeavor.
AIG Program Standards
AIG Program Standards
“The General Assembly believes that public schools should challenge all students to aim for academic excellence” (Article 9B). The State Board of Education’s (SBE) mission is that “every public school student will graduate from high school, globally competitive for work and post-secondary education and prepared for life in the 21st Century.” Therefore, quality and comprehensive AIG programs are essential in supporting these goals and the needs of gifted learners across North Carolina.
AIG programs in North Carolina are embedded within and responsive to the local context of an LEA and, as a result, give rise to differences among programs across the state. Therefore, the AIG Program Standards are critical in providing a statewide framework for quality programming, while still honoring local flexibility. In an effort to strengthen gifted education in North Carolina, these AIG Program Standards represent the SBE’s and DPI’s commitment to ensure that the academic, intellectual, social, and emotional needs of AIG students are being met.
Local AIG Plan
Local AIG Plan
Based on the AIG Program Standards, each district creates the local AIG Plan. This comprehensive document contains the information about how Hickory Public Schools will address and meet each program standard for elementary, middle, and high school students. The 2022 - 2025 AIG Plan has been approved by the Hickory Public Schools School Board as well as the NC State Board of Education. The plan contains information on identification, curriculum differentiation, personnel and professional development, programming, community partnerships, and program accountability.
Articles to Note:
Articles to Note:
Call to Action Brief - NCDPI Office of Advanced Learning and Gifted Education - 2019, Revised 2024
Call to Action Guidebook - NCDPI Office of Advanced Learning and Gifted Education - February 2021
Call to Action Guidebook 2.0 - NCDPI Office of Advanced Learning and Gifted Education - February 2024
Call to Action - Multilingual Learners - NCDPI Office of Advanced Learning and Gifted Education - October 2023
Call to Action - Twice Exceptional Learners - NCDPI Office of Advanced Learning and Gifted Education - October 2023
Integrating Academically or Intellectually Gifted Services in a Multi-Tiered System of Support - NCDPI Office of Advanced Learning and Gifted Education - October 2024
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