Link to LTPS Gifted & Talented Services Mission Statement The Lawrence Township Public School’s mission statement is to provide extraordinary learning for all students. Thus, the Board of Education is committed to providing each student with a challenging and rigorous academic program. We believe that there are gifted students who possess or demonstrate high levels of abilities, or the potential to achieve, in intellectual, creative, and/or artistic areas.
We are committed to the belief that gifted students are individuals with potential who require guidance in discovering, developing, and realizing their potentials as individuals and as members of society. Under this philosophy, it is our responsibility to provide diverse, appropriate, and ongoing learning experiences and environments that incorporate academic, psychological, and social needs of students.
Further, it is the responsibility of the entire staff to provide gifted students with educational alternatives that teach, challenge, and expand their knowledge, while simultaneously stressing the development of independent and self-directed learners who continuously generate questions, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate information and ideas.
Lawrence Township Public Schools Definition of Giftedness The Board of Education has modified the State of New Jersey definition of giftedness. Gifted students are defined as those students who possess or demonstrate high levels of ability, in one or more content areas, when compared to their chronological peers in the local district and who require modification of their educational program if they are to achieve in accordance with their capabilities.
Underrepresented Populations and Giftedness The Board of Education is committed to developing the gifts and talents in all students, including those of underrepresented populations typically identified as students with special needs as well as those who are culturally, linguistically, and ethnically diverse. Therefore, a variety of assessment tools may be used to ensure an equitable identification of underrepresented populations as gifted students and those with high potential. These assessment tools may include and are not limited to: teacher recommendations, behavior checklists, portfolios, student interviews, performance assessments, parent inventories and nominations, standardized test scores, growth assessments, Renzulli scale analyses, writing samples, formal assessments, benchmark assessments, anecdotal notes and observations, and verbal and nonverbal assessments. Briggs & Reis (2003) suggest that when identification and services are expanded to target and increase the number of underrepresented populations in gifted programs, specific program supports must be provided to educators who are involved in the identification of and the provision of service for these underrepresented populations.
The Board of Education is committed to providing ongoing professional training to assist staff in developing a deep cultural awareness and nominating, identifying, and providing services for these students. We are also committed to providing increased support for students through sustained interactions with families and the community.
Goals of the Gifted and Talented Program From the very first Task Force meeting held in June 2006, Task Force members stressed the need to provide a continuum of services for the both the truly gifted students (top 2-3% of the student population) and the high-achieving students. To that extent, Lawrence Township Public Schools recommend that programs, services, and experiences for gifted students in our district will address the specific learning needs of gifted students by: (1) Providing a variety of appropriate types and levels of acceleration, curriculum compacting and enrichment in grades K-12 that are based on the students’ needs; (2) Providing students with learning experiences at an appropriate level of challenge based on pre-assessment data; (3) Designing, developing and implementing high quality curriculum that is supported by research-based models appropriate for gifted students; (4) Ensuring that the curriculum for gifted students is aligned with and extends the general classroom curriculum; and (5) Assessing and evaluating annually the effectiveness of the gifted and talented program at addressing students’ needs.
The district realizes that children’s gifts and talents may develop at different rates; therefore, all students will be re-evaluated for eligibility to receive gifted and talented services each year.