Gifted Support

Best Practices

  • Placement for students identified as gifted remains either in the general education setting only or receiving gifted support services in addition to current general education assignment, regardless of where the services are provided.

  • Placement is determined by the Gifted Multi-disciplinary Evaluation (GMDE) team and the Gifted Individualized Education Plan (GIEP) team determines the plan for how that placement will be supported through specially designed instruction.

  • Specially designed instructions can support enrichment only, acceleration only, or a combination of enrichment and acceleration of the current approved and assigned curriculum.


Considerations

  • While lesson level differentiation is still an option, when considering the rates of acquisition and retention demonstrated by students identified as gifted in his/her academic strength areas, differentiation at the unit level is often more appropriate.

  • Universal Design for Learning Guidelines apply for students identified as gifted, as well.

  • Without a regulatory definition for enrichment and acceleration, it is recommended to use the Gifted Guidelines as a source for understanding how these two services operate and interact.

  • Only the K-12 curricula that is approved by the LEA is subject to enrichment and/or acceleration for the purposes of providing gifted services (Centennial School District v. Commonwealth Department of Education).

Step 1: Determine Academic Strength Area

As part of the evaluation process and annual review GMDE and GIEP teams should be focusing their efforts on specially designed instruction that enriches or accelerates the standards in the student's academic strength area: math or literacy.

1). Remember, math is not just about operations. Consider the standards of mathematical process. In what other content areas might a student with strengths in math demonstrate high levels of mastery or advanced pace of learning in skills related to the math practice standards?

2). The same holds true for literacy. When considering an academic strength, it is not just about a single skill (i.e. decoding) but rather reading, writing, listening AND speaking. When do students identified as gifted use that strength in content areas other than ELA?


Step 2: Review how Enrichment can be defined in a Standards Aligned System.

This video explores the concept of enrichment and how it connects to general education and gifted education.


Step 3: Checklist for Adjusting Enrichment Level Tasks within a Unit

Determining your entry point when planning for differentiation can sometimes feel like a circular motion...one step forward and two steps back. In an attempt to make this as linear as possible, we have created a step by step process. As you work though it, you may find that you are missing pieces to complete your current step, which is why planning is paramount to success. To assist in this process, there are two sets of self-paced videos you can watch: one for elementary and one for secondary educators.


Checklist for Adjusting Enrichment Level Tasks within a Unit (u. 8-2020).pdf

Step 4: Review Instructional Resources

Before you consider any of these resources, please review the curricular materials recommended for students receiving general education instruction to determine how they may be adapted or modified to meet the academic strengths and learning needs of your students. For guidance on how to plan for enrichment start with Checklist for Adjusting Enrichment Level Tasks within a Unit.

Regulatory/Guidance Resources

FAQs during the Extended Closure