About Elementary Services

Third-grade students at Central School and Eliot Elementary School participate in universal screening for gifted and talented services. Students begin receiving services in the fourth grade. Before that time, the gifted specialist works in collaboration with classroom teachers to support the academic and social-emotional needs of students who demonstrate achievement beyond their peers. 

Once students are identified, every effort is made to cluster them into fourth and fifth-grade classrooms. The gifted specialist works with cluster classroom teachers by assisting in differentiating materials, developing pre-assessments, supporting the development of compacting the curriculum, and developing learning extensions. The gifted specialist consults and collaborates with parents, classroom teachers, school counselors, building specialists, and building administrators to help meet the social-emotional and academic needs of the student.  An individual learning plan is developed for each identified student based on their strengths and needs.  These plans are reviewed and revised annually with input from all stakeholders. 

Elementary gifted and talented services provide opportunities for students to both pursue their passions and develop the skills necessary to pursue them, demonstrate competence in a variety of ways, and create and share talent-related work.