Our Vision and Goals

Whitehall Elementary School’s

Talented and Gifted Program (TAG)

Strategically Focused – Our Vision and Goals for the 2020-2021 School Year

How do we “Educate Children Beyond Expectations” when they are already performing at exceptional levels?

Whitehall’s Talented and Gifted Program in the Regular Classroom (TRC) has met the challenge of taking our TAG students beyond expectation as evidenced by student achievement and overall academic success. It is the goal of our school to meet our students where they are and to take them over and above what they think they are capable of and/or imagine possible. Our students, passionately referred to as scholars, are the driving force of everything that we do. We are learning and growing together as a Whitehall Family because “WE Are Whitehall.” We are constantly examining best practices, improving curriculum delivery, engaging our scholars, implementing academic rigor across all content areas, building teacher capacity to improve teaching and learning of our gifted learners, and integrating community outreach (real-world connections).

How do we do it?

We will continue current customs while incorporating Whitehall’s Key Areas of Focus – Learning Culture, Rigorous Instruction, and Safety. We will be providing ongoing professional learning with a focus on Performance Based Tasks, giving students and teachers opportunities to expand the school walls beyond the traditional classroom setting. Scholars are to be engaged in levels 3 and 4 activities based on Webb’s Depth of Knowledge. We must provide a higher level of differentiated learning and instruction, activities and assessments that reflect different modalities of learning, interest and performance levels.

Current Strategies/Practices/Resources

Monitoring and Evaluation

  • TRC Monitoring Tool – used to examine Whitehall’s TAG TRC program, its practices, and overall effectiveness.

  • TAG Quarterly Monitoring Tool – used by teachers to monitor practices used during the quarter to engage and enrich our TAG students’ learning.

  • TAG Administrator’s Checklist – used by the Principal to evaluate whether or not the requirements of our programs are being fulfilled and to allocate resources, if and when there are deficiencies.

  • TAG Data Utilization Meetings - used to monitor TAG students growth throughout the year.

  • Data Utilization Meetings – used to conduct analysis of entire school trends and student outcomes, including TAG identified students

  • Teachers evaluate the effectiveness of lesson plans and differentiated units. Revisions are made, as needed.

  • Classroom approaches and practices require students to reflect on their own progress towards targets, and to engage in the direction of their own learning

Parent and Community Outreach

· Established a TAG Parent Committee (volunteers) – striving to improve communication among our TAG parents, serving as the liaison for TAG Parents, PTA representation, and more. (Meets monthly – prior to PTA meeting)

· Serve as active stakeholders - assisting with the creation and implementation of the TAG Strategic Plan and activities established for the TAG program

· Parent and Community involvement - continuously pursue involvement through meetings, Open Houses, and other activities where parents visit our school (i.e. Grandparents Day, Men Make a Difference, Reading Night, etc.)

· TAG Policy Information Access -- ensure parents are aware of, and have access to, the school’s policy on gifted and talented provision.

· Weekly notification on TAG activities - information provided regularly about TAG achievements and projects through Weekly Wire, TAG website, school newsletter, and TAG Bulletin Board

Professional Capacity/Development

· All TAG teachers have had training in gifted education through Prince George's County Public Schools. However, to enhance their craft, many teachers are involved in TAG specific professional organizations, continuing education courses, and independent article/book studies. This is strongly encouraged by school administrators and financially supported, when funding is available.

  • TAG teachers use higher-order thinking strategies, ability grouping and differentiation in all lessons.

  • ·We develop opportunities for TAG students to work in cross phase/age groups according to their aptitudes and interests.

  • Teachers focus on the development of effective pedagogy in order to personalize the learning of TAG students and to ensure progression within and across subjects.

  • Staff help students become aware of their gifted capabilities and preferred learning styles. This is done to assist students in pursuing excellence, mastering new knowledge and skills, and ultimately, seeking to become independent life-long learners.

TAG Professional Development is on-going for all of Whitehall Elementary Staff (even those currently not TAG teachers). This is done so that everyone will understand the needs and expectations for our TAG students. In September 2016, we introduced the PACE Model (P-Provocative, A – Ambiguous, C-Complex, E – Emotional). It was the first of such trainings provided by the Office of Academic Enrichment & Instruction. Additional training on this model and other TAG tools/techniques is forthcoming. We are eager to learn new and innovative ways to spark interest and a thirst for learning in our talented and gifted scholars.

While the Common Core is a rigorous curriculum; it does not fully meet the needs of TAG scholars. There is a Teacher TAG Committee that works together to investigate ways to infuse the curriculum with rich opportunities to go beyond the standards presented in Common Core both vertically and horizontally. The curriculum is extended to experiential learning with a focus on real world issues. We have established TAG Enrichment Clusters where students select an area of interest for learning (i.e. Foreign language, Chess, Debate, Cooking in Science, and more.) By reaching out to the community, we have been able to increase this year’s offering by nearly 50%. We hope to double our selection for SY2017-2018.


Instructional Data Goals:

Evidence of achievement should be based on a combination of academic data and performance task-based data. Achieving such high academic standards will transcend into other aspects of learning such as Science FAST and STEM Projects. We set high expectations for all Whitehall Scholars. However, the goals for TAG students are closer to 100% which is significantly higher than the general education population. Most of the assessment tools currently being used are new to our school system. Consequently, there is limited baseline data by which the current goals are being set. However, we are familiar with our students’ abilities and capacity. Therefore, goals set are ambitious, but attainable.




TAG Identification/Demographic Goals:

Demographics of the TAG population must reflect the make-up of the populations of boys and girls, Hispanics, African Americans, Asians and Caucasians that attend Whitehall Elementary School. Currently, there are fewer Hispanic students in our TAG program. We will investigate our program in order to ensure that all groups are being considered and if not, determine what factors may be impeding representation of such populations. We also recognize that early interventions for talents and gifts and combining academic, social, and cultural aspects into learning are important. Hence, we are examining our current practices in Kindergarten in order to equip our teachers with block time in their schedule to engage and better prepare our underrepresented students. Also, a new TAG screening protocol has been implemented this year to include not only the classroom teacher(s), but also Specialists, who have contact with the students. This will allow more opportunities for scholars undergoing the screening process because teachers may witness different things. Teacher Checklists will be carefully considered before submitting, especially for the underrepresented groups.

When do we do it?

Our gifted scholars are guaranteed an enriching academic experience daily. Our program will be monitored and evaluated quarterly by the administrator, teachers and other stakeholders (i.e. parents, students, etc.) Using this technique will help us to revamp or redirect resources based upon need.

Why do we do It?

We are preparing tomorrow’s leaders. We are training our students to be productive citizens in our ever-changing society. Equipping students with tools to think critically and to effectively implement solutions is essential. We are a family “Whitehall Family” and all of us will be successful. Our TAG scholars are role models; hence, when they do their best, others tend to follow in that same manner.

We are showing our student how to unleash their:

True understanding of their abilities and limitations

Adapting and appreciating the world in which we live

Growing beyond expectations - academically, physically and socially