AAPS, or Advanced Academic Programs and Services, exists to provide challenging learning experiences that build on individual strengths and promote growth for students with advanced academic needs. The program is based on Levels of Service, with a wide range of services based on what students need. This may include collaborating with classroom teachers, co-teaching within the general education environment, creating resources for students to work on within the regular classroom setting, working with small groups, and/or pull-out services.
What is gifted? How is it defined? Who are the gifted? What are their needs? Why should we care? So many questions...
What is giftedness? There is no universal definition. Some professionals define "gifted" as an intelligence test score above 130, two or more standard deviations above the norm, or the top 2.5%. Others define "gifted" based on scholastic achievement: a gifted child works 2 or more grade levels above his or her age. Still others see giftedness as prodigious accomplishment: adult-level work while chronologically a child. But these are far from the only definitions. Former U. S. Commissioner of Education Sidney P. Marland, Jr., in his August 1971 report to Congress, stated:
Gifted and talented children are those identified by professionally qualified persons who by virtue of outstanding abilities are capable of high performance. These are children who require differentiated educational programs and/or services beyond those normally provided by the regular school program in order to realize their contribution to self and society.
No Child Left Behind legislation created a new, achievement-based definition of giftedness, however it does not mandate that states use its definition:
The term “gifted and talented”, when used with respect to students, children, or youth, means students, children, or youth who give evidence of high achievement capability in areas such as intellectual, creative, artistic, or leadership capacity, or in specific academic fields, and who need services or activities not ordinarily provided by the school in order to fully develop those capabilities. (Title IX, Part A, Section 9101(22), p. 544)
A group of respected professionals in the field of gifted suggest a definition based on the gifted child's differences from the norm:
"Giftedness is asynchronous development in which advanced cognitive abilities and heightened intensity combine to create inner experiences and awareness that are qualitatively different from the norm. This asynchrony increases with higher intellectual capacity. The uniqueness of the gifted renders them particularly vulnerable and requires modifications in parenting, teaching and counseling in order for them to develop optimally." The Columbus Group, 1991, cited by Martha Morelock, "Giftedness: The View from Within."
Because there are so many views on determining giftedness, ranges of giftedness, and types of giftedness, there is no one best way to fulfill the needs of this diverse student population. Instead of providing a "gifted" label, AAPS aims to serve students in varying capacities in order to meet individual academic, creative, and/or social-emotional needs. For more information on how AAPS works at Kadena Elementary, please feel free to contact us!