Program Overview

The Saddle Brook Gifted and Talented program focuses on empowering students to reach their highest potential academically while engaging in challenging units of study. Students participate in collaborative learning groups which focus on Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (STEAM). Students will demonstrate the willingness and ability to plan, monitor and evaluate their own rigorous units of study. Students interact with their peers in activities and experiences that require high level critical thinking skills, problem solving, and creativity.

Students will be engaged in learning experiences that enable them to use creativity, problem solving, critical thinking and logical reasoning to acquire 21st century skills and become effective learners, collaborators, communicators and creators.

The Gifted and Talented classroom is a student centered environment. Experimentation, collaboration, perseverance and communication are attributes that students are encouraged to use and improve upon.

Classes complete several Units of Study each year. Each Unit includes individual and group or partner activities, self evaluation opportunities, hands on activities that encourage students to express their creativity, problem solving skills, critical thinking, technology, a culminating activity, artistic and written components. Most also include research, oral presentations, and the STEM process.

In order to truly reach the gifted child, Gifted and Talented instructors administer a learning styles inventory to differentiate for all students and tailor units of study to students' passions and interests. Teachers use both the New Jersey Student Learning Standards as well as the standards from the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) Pre-K-12 Gifted Programming Standards.