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Rowland Unified School District - Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) Program
Rowland Unified School District - Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) Program
General Information About the Program
General Information About the Program
"Students beginning in the third grade, with parent permission may test for the GATE program. Upon further GATE committee review and teacher recommendation, students may qualify for district/site GATE programs. For further information, see your school principal for details regarding testing and the individual school GATE program." (Annual Parent Information Handbook)
Students who demonstrate creativity and special ability are referred to testing by the third grade for admission to the District’s Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) Program. At the elementary school level, GATE-identified students experience the basic curriculum with differentiated classroom instruction. Throughout the school year, both elementary and intermediate GATE students attend field trips and/or enrichment activities. At the intermediate level, GATE students are provided with differentiated instruction and high school level courses. In high school, GATE students enroll in the International Baccalaureate (IB) Programs, Advanced Placement (AP), and honors courses.
GATE Parent Advisory Committee
The GATE Parent Advisory Committee meets regularly to provide parents of GATE students with information about how gifted students learn and an overview of the differentiated instruction offered to gifted learners.
October 10, 2025 - January 16, 2026 - April 17, 2026
(9:00 am-10:00 am and 6:00 pm-7:00 pm)
All meetings will be in-person in P4 for the morning session and virtual/online via Zoom for the evening session
GATE Lead Teacher Meetings (only 2 Zoom meetings for 23-24)
September 16, 2025 ~ 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm ~ Zoom
January 20, 2026 ~ 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm ~ Zoom
Year-at-a-Glance
Year-at-a-Glance
August-September: Hold "GATE Parent Orientation Meeting"
October-December: Focus on knowing WHO your GATE students are at your site - becoming familiar with demographic information (how many girls vs. boys, how many are English Learners, are any "Twice-Exceptional" with special needs - and are these numbers equitable, and if not, is there anything the school site can do to help with that)
November: Mass 3rd Grade NNAT2 testing (November 7, 2025-December 5, 2025)
January: Hold "GATE Staff In-Service", Determine students to be GATE Tested, Receive Testing Materials if applicable (no later than January 20 meeting)
February: Enter new Grade 3 GATE students in AERIES by Feb 6, 2026. (Enter ONLY into "Programs" screen with a start date of 2/1/26), Add Grade 3 Names to List Names of Newly Identified GATE Students for 25-26 on Shared Google Doc. OLSAT GATE Testing begins (February 6, 2026-March 27, 2026)
March: OLSAT GATE Testing (February 6, 2026-March 27, 2026)
April: Return Testing Materials (if applicable), enter new Grades 4-6 GATE students in AERIES by April 17, 2026. (Enter ONLY into "Programs" screen with a start date of 4/1/2026), List Names of Newly Identified GATE Students Grades 4-6 for 25-26 on Shared Google Doc
Forms
Forms
Before Testing
Before Testing
The "Referral for Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) Program" form has been revised - teachers/staff no longer have to provide a reason and/or justification for their referral.
The "Referral for Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) Program" form has been revised - teachers/staff no longer have to provide a reason and/or justification for their referral.
18-19 Referral for Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) Program copy.docxThis letter "Parent Notice for Student Potential GATE Program Screening (OLSAT)" - you send home before OLSAT testing - you DO NOT need to get it signed and returned - the parent must contact the school to opt out. (There is a different letter below for students taking the NNAT2 in place of the OLSAT - this is not the grade 3 screening letter).
This letter "Parent Notice for Student Potential GATE Program Screening (OLSAT)" - you send home before OLSAT testing - you DO NOT need to get it signed and returned - the parent must contact the school to opt out. (There is a different letter below for students taking the NNAT2 in place of the OLSAT - this is not the grade 3 screening letter).
Gr 3-6 OLSAT Parent Consent.docxGr 3-6 OLSAT Parent Consent-CH.docxSPANISHGr 3-6 OLSAT Parent Consent.docx
After Testing
After Testing
Identification Forms
GATE OLSAT Identification Matrix.pdfThe "OLSAT Identification Matrix" is for record keeping and retrieval of information & scores for students in grades 3-8 who take the OLSAT (for instance if information is requested in the case of students moving to other schools/districts). Please fill it in completely, but there's no need to add up/divide scores for a "ranking" number in the revised version).
The "OLSAT Identification Matrix" is for record keeping and retrieval of information & scores for students in grades 3-8 who take the OLSAT (for instance if information is requested in the case of students moving to other schools/districts). Please fill it in completely, but there's no need to add up/divide scores for a "ranking" number in the revised version).
The letter below, "RUSD GATE Program Participation/Non-Participation Letter" is the one you will send home AFTER it has been determined if the student should be recommended for the GATE Program or not. This letter only needs to be returned by students who qualify for the program. A copy needs to be kept in the Green GATE Folder for all students of what was sent home, but the copy alone is fine for students who do not qualify at this time (they can return the bottom portion if they want to, though).
The letter below, "RUSD GATE Program Participation/Non-Participation Letter" is the one you will send home AFTER it has been determined if the student should be recommended for the GATE Program or not. This letter only needs to be returned by students who qualify for the program. A copy needs to be kept in the Green GATE Folder for all students of what was sent home, but the copy alone is fine for students who do not qualify at this time (they can return the bottom portion if they want to, though).
**This letter is used for both NNAT2 and/or OLSAT Testing**
**This letter is used for both NNAT2 and/or OLSAT Testing**
The letter below, "Parent Notice of Gr. 5 or Gr. 6 Student as Qualifying for Gifted/Talented Program" to be used only for students in Grades 5 and 6 who scored "Exceeded Grade Level Standards" in BOTH English Language Arts SBAC testing AND Mathematics SBAC testing. This letter is sent home INSTEAD of the "RUSD GATE Program Participation/Non-Participation Letter" for these students, and does need to be signed and returned. A copy of what was sent to the parent needs to be kept in the Green GATE Folder, as well.
The letter below, "Parent Notice of Gr. 5 or Gr. 6 Student as Qualifying for Gifted/Talented Program" to be used only for students in Grades 5 and 6 who scored "Exceeded Grade Level Standards" in BOTH English Language Arts SBAC testing AND Mathematics SBAC testing. This letter is sent home INSTEAD of the "RUSD GATE Program Participation/Non-Participation Letter" for these students, and does need to be signed and returned. A copy of what was sent to the parent needs to be kept in the Green GATE Folder, as well.
Parent Notice for Exceeded Standards on SBAC GATE Program Qualification copy.docxParent Letter for Exceeded Standards on SBAC GATE Program Qualification-CH.docx2-26-19 Parent Letter for Exceeded Standards on SBAC GATE Program Qualification-Translation.docxParent Letter for Exceeded Standards on SBAC GATE Program Qualification Korean.docxReport abuse