FAQs

This section of GT Night is for the questions we've been asked very frequently about our GT Program. These questions have all been answered either by students or staff in the GT Program. A question answered by a staff member will be in a BLUE font, and a question answered by a student will be in a GREEN font.

Q: What do you do in GT?

Student Answer: GT is a class with a moldable curriculum that is individual to every student and has a set curriculum for certain days. The students get to experiment with various hobbies and skills and topics that they would like to know more about.

Student Answer: By technical definition, a GT program is for students who perhaps learn differently in all or certain subjects. A very non-technical definition is a program to help students learn about life and themselves in a safe, supportive community.

Staff Answer: Our favorite question, which is always answered with our favorite answer: YES! We answer YES to this question because it’s easier to ask what we don’t do in GT. In the interest of not giving a vague answer to this, our Center is based on the Autonomous Learner Model by Dr. George Betts. Our curriculum is designed around student interests; our students only pursue learning what they’re interested in and want to complete as projects. Each class period begins with a lesson created by a student, called an “Opener.” It can be about ANY topic, as long as it is school-appropriate(ish) and safe. Other than that, all topics are available and on the table! We then use class time to work individually with our students on either their projects, helping them keep up with high school, or anything going on in their life; we try to support our students as best as we can.

Q: How does a high school GT program differ from elementary or middle school programs?

Student Answer: In high school, GT is only one of your 7 classes in a day.

Staff Answer: Here is a place where the GT Center teachers have experience in both worlds! We started teaching GT in middle school before we came to WRHS. In middle and elementary, schools do a massive variety of different things. Some schools have dedicated GT Centers, in which all the classes students take are at a "GT" level, and it changes all their teachers and their whole schedule. Others just have "pullout" situations where GT students do projects and work on their ALPs, and other schools do so many other things. In High School, our class is just a single class period of the day. GT students come to our class to do their projects and be in the same environment as each other, then they go off into other classes with all the other students in school. A lot of our GT students choose to take AP or Honors classes, so they often end up in classes with each other, but the only time they're strictly with other GT students is in the GT classroom.

Q: Is GT just one class period, or do we have it for the whole day?

Student Answer: GT is a single class you have in your schedule that you take as an Elective class. In the rest of your schedule, you're in classes with the rest of the kids in the school.

Staff Answer: GT is an elective. That means you have 6 other classes in addition to GT. We are a project based curriculum, which means that YOU choose your path. We want this class to be a place where you learn about and explore things you’ve always been interested in but never had the chance to study. OR you could have an area of interest that you can’t get enough of . . . turn that into a project. We want the projects to be part of YOU.

Q: How does GT Benefit my student?

Student Answer: Not only does GT teach students how to better themselves and what to expect out of life but it also provides a safe community.

Student Answer: GT allows your child to find a group of kids who have similar interests and thoughts.

Staff Answer: This is a bit of a funky question to answer, since, of course, we want to believe our class is extremely beneficial! However, in our own humble opinion, we believe we can help students find their voice in their education, and we help students learn how to advocate for their own needs and approach their teachers. We also like to "be there" for our students and make sure they know we will always listen to them; we often end up in long conversations that just start with simple check-in questions with our students. We try to help our students through whatever we can in their educational and non-educational lives.

Q: What do the GT Teachers do in the class?

Student Answer: The teachers teach just like the teachers in any other class, however instead of mathematics they teach valuable skills about life, for example, note taking.They also teach "Teenagering" for freshmen and sophomores that teaches you how to take initiative and plans, and "Adulting" for juniors and seniors, which helps introduce students to real life situations that would not normally be taught in schools.

Staff Answer: We actually don't call ourselves Teachers in our job descriptions. The term "Facilitator" is much more appropriate for us, since we often don't teach the classes as often as the students do. We try to help our students discover things for themselves and through themselves, and we just try to give them the structure and opportunities that get them there. So maybe 1-2 times a week we are actually in front of the classroom teaching, then the other days, we are just moving the structures along for the students and facilitating their project completion.

Q: What kinds of mental health supports are in the GT Center?

Staff Answer: Mental Health is a HUGE priority of our GT Center. For starters, the two GT Center teachers are ALWAYS available to talk to students, and often are used for a multitude of conversations. Many students use the GT teachers to help with classwork and adovcating for themselves in school, as well as help with executive functioning and organization. Beyond that, we have our GT Social-Emotional Counselor, Mr. Julio Ocaña in our classroom twice a week, and he is often loaded with check-ins with students throughout the day. Mr. Ocaña can help our students in conversations, and also has a wealth of information for our students and helps them get connected with the necessary resources students need.

Q: How do you get into GT?

Staff Answer: You need to be identified through a process. Students, parents, and teachers can ask for an evaluation. Once identified, you will be put on an Advanced Learning Plan, which allows entry into the GT Program. If you'd like more information about testing or application process, please see the "Information for GT Center Parents" section and contact our Resource Teacher, Connie Brown.

Q: What are projects and assignments like in GT?

Student Answer: Assignments are very loose in what you are expected to make them about. Normally, assignments are either openers or projects, with some others on specific things. In regards to openers, you are expected to have your opener ready on the date you signed up to present on. As for projects, you have 3 check in dates where you meet with either Ms. Lee or Mr. Holm about your project.

Student Answer: In GT your projects revolve around what you want them to be. As long as they are approved by Ms. Lee or Mr. Holm your project can be on most anything you would like to do it on.

Staff Answer: We have two main types of work in our program. First is projects. Every student has a project they brainstorm and create at the beginning of each semester. Our students are in charge of choosing a topic they're interested in, then alongside one of the GT teachers, they will break down the project into parts and choose check-in dates for those parts. They then choose their end date and what they want their end product to look like, and design their check-ins from there (This is known as Backwards Planning!)

The second type of work we have in GT is known as Openers. Openers occur at the beginning of every class period, and is a 10-15 minute lesson / activity that the students choose and lead. This can be anything from a video, to a discussion, to a movement-based activity, a performance, etc. The only rules are that it has to be safe and school-appropriate, but we get ALL KINDS of topics! The students are in charge of signing up for the day they present their opener, then being prepared on the day of their opener and leading the class. We are VERY flexible with the students on what this means for them, if we've got students who are not comfortable being in front of the class; we've done all kinds of alternate assignments, but usually most of our students eventually really want to present something to everyone that they love!

Q: Does GT help with after high school life?

Student Answer: GT can be helpful for college, as part of our Adulting program prepares Juniors and Seniors for college. Many Juniors and Seniors do one of their GT projects on looking for and applying to colleges.

Staff Answer: In junior and senior year, students are with Mr. Holm for "Adulting." This curriculum is based off the book actually called "Adulting" by Kelly Williams Brown, and is geared towards having conversations and imparting skills the students will need for the next steps of their lives. The students also get to help craft the curriculum by choosing from topics they want to learn about for their future (ex: Finances, Roommates, Getting a Lease / Mortgage, etc.) and we do these lessons throughout the year every week.

Q: What kind of credit is GT?

Student Answer: GT is an elective credit.

Staff Answer: GT is an elective. That means you have 6 other classes in addition to GT.

Q: What does a typical class period look like in GT?

Student Answer: A typical class period in GT starts with an opener, a student made activity revolving around most anything the students want to present on. After that we move on to normal class announcements, check-ins on projects, and activities for teenagering and adulting, 2 programs made to help and teach students.

Staff Answer: We begin each class period with a 10-15 minute student-created lesson called an "Opener" where they are able to teach about whatever they want as long as it is safe and school-appropriate. We then move into our announcements / activities for the day and either then move into doing work on student projects, or teach our lesson for the day, and meet with our students.

Q: What is the GT Room like?

Student Answer: The classroom environment is very informal and welcoming.

Staff Answer: It’s a place where we want you to think differently. The room is designed to look differently than any classroom you’ve ever walked into on purpose. People often say, “There’s a place for everyone in GT.”

Also, see the photos of our room below!

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