overview

N.J.A.C. 6A:8-3.1(a)5 ii requires district boards of education to provide appropriate K-12 educational services for gifted and talented students. As a district we use multiple measures to indentify our students. According to N.J.A.C. 6A:8-3., district boards of education must make provisions for an ongoing K-12 identification process for gifted and talented students that includes multiple measures. Some examples might include, but are not limited to, the following: achievement test scores; grades; student performance or products; intelligence testing; and parent, student, and/or teacher recommendation. Local school districts should ensure that the identification methodology is developmentally appropriate, nondiscriminatory, and related to the programs and services offered (e.g., using math achievement to identify students for a math program). In our district, teachers are asked to complete rating scales and forms, create student portfolios to demonstrate performance and/or product, observation from the gifted and talented coordinator takes place regulary, and grades are examined. 

All teachers are expected to meet the needs of our gifted learners through differentiation of instruction. Teachers are provided professional development and work closely with the gifted coordinator to help with curriculum, pacing, and differentiation of instruction. N.J.A.C. requires that district boards of education provide appropriate K-12 services for students identified as gifted and talented. This includes appropriate curricular and instructional modifications indicating content, process, products, and/or learning environments. The state does not require a particular program or model.  Program models might include, but are not limited to, pull-out programs, classroom-based differentiated instruction, acceleration, flexible pacing, compacted curricula, distance learning, advanced classes, or individualized programs.

In the spring of third grade, students are assessed for our gifted and talented programs in math, academic, and art at Joyce Kilmer.