|
|
|
Gifted and Talented Guidelines |
|
|
|
Tuesday, 29 May 2007 |
Gifted and Talented Guidelines
JORDAN SCHOOL DISTRICT GUIDELINES FOR GIFTED/TALENTED PROGRAMS
I. The gifted and talented students are those students who are identified as being exceptionally talented in the following areas:
A. Academic: skills which include those mental abilities and skills as measured by norm and/or criterion-referenced testing materials.
B. Problem-Solving: skills which include productive thinking, decision making, forecasting, planning, and communication.
C. Leadership: skills which are demonstrated by the ability to use problem-solving skills in social settings.
D. Creative: skills which include performing the visual arts and creative problem solving.
E. Performance: skills which include occupational and psychomotor abilities.
II. A program related to the development of the gifted-talented student shall include the following guidelines:
A. The Gifted/Talented Program shall encourage the cognitive, social, creative, andoccupational development of students and the development of positive self-image.
B. The development of District programs for gifted/talented students shall be an ongoing process requiring constant program evaluation by professional staff, students and parents.
C. The local school principal and classroom teachers shall be the major agents for developing the capabilities of the gifted/talented students and will be assisted by appropriate district personnel and other local school staff.
D. The gifted/talented students shall be given opportunities to interact with students of all levels as they develop and expand their talents and abilities.
E. Adequate provisions shall be made to insure teacher training programs which will assist in developing appropriate identification procedures and instructional processes.
F. Methods shall be provided to insure optimum opportunities for keeping parents and the public aware of the manner in which the district is meeting its obligation to identify, develop, and provide appropriate educational programs for gifted/talented students.
G. Double advancements or acceleration will be considered on the basis of the best interests and welfare of a specific student and will be made upon the approval of the parent or guardian and the appropriate school personnel. Advancement information shall be communicated to the Director of Student Accounting and the appropriate division director. Magnet programs will be provided to meet needs of some highly accelerated students in leiu of grade level acceleration. Students must apply and test into the program every year.
State of Utah Gifted and Talented Rules
R300-711 Rules for Educational Programs for Gifted and Talented Students
R300-711 Definitions
A. “Board” means the Utah State Board of Education.
B. “Gifted and Talented Students” means children and youth whose superior performance or potential for accomplishment requires a differentiated and challenging education program to meet their needs in any one or more of the following areas:
1) general intellect: students with high aptitudes for abstract reasoning and conceptualization, who master skills and concepts quickly, and who are exceptionally alert and observant.
2) specific academic: students who evidence extraordinary learning ability in one or more specific disciplines;
3) visual and performing arts: students who are consistently superior in the development of a product or performance in any of the visual and performing arts;
4) leadership: students who emerge as leaders, and who demonstrate high ability to accomplish group goals by working with and through others;
5) creative, critical or productive thinking: students who are highly insightful, imaginative, and innovative, and who consistently assimilate and synthesize seemingly unrelated information to create new and novel solutions for conventional tasks;
C. “Accelerated” means enabling students to move through academic programs based on their performance level.
D. “Enrichment” means classes or programs that provide greater depth and breadth of experiences and information than students would receive in traditional classes.
E. “Programs for gifted and talented students” means differentiated and challenging educational programs designed to meet the needs of gifted and talented students in one or more areas identified in Section 1(B).
R300-711-2 Authority and Purpose
A. This rule is authorized by Section 53A-17-122(25), U.C.S. 1953, which authorized the Board to adopt rules for spending state funds appropriated for accelerated learning programs, Section 53A-1-402(1), A.C.A. 1953, which authorizes the Board to adopt rules for special programs, the Section 53A-1-401(3), U.C.A. 1953, which authorizes the Board to adopt rules in accordance with its responsibilities.
R300-711-3 Program Standards
A. Appropriately qualified people shall direct and implement the district’s program(s) for gifted and talented students.
B. Each district shall have a process for identifying students in one or more of the areas listed in section #1 (B) based upon at least three assessment instruments. These instruments shall not be solely dependent upon English vocabulary or comprehensive skills and shall take into consideration abilities of culturally diverse, handicapped and underachieving students.
C. Each school district shall have a process for appropriately placing students identified as gifted and talented.
D. Each school district shall develop and submit to the Utah State Office of Education for review annually, a plan for educating gifted and talented students. This plan can reflect a time frame appropriate to the district. The district program shall contain provisions to:
1) develop a written philosophy for the education of gifted and talented students that is consistent with the goals and values of the school district and community;
2) select a district coordinator who is responsible for the program;
3) recognize a variety of areas in which a student may be identified as gifted;
4) provide carefully integrated, and articulated curricula throughout the district.
5) identify and use teaching strategies that are appropriate to the learning styles and emotional needs of gifted and talented students;
6) adopt flexible pacing at all levels and allow students to advance as they master content and skills.
7) offer program options that reach through and beyond the normal institutional boundaries: across disciplines, across grade levels, and across levels of intelligence;
8) provide guidance to assist students in addressing personal and interpersonal needs, in program selection, and in career and college choices;
9) balance acceleration with enrichment activities for diverse types and degrees of intelligence;
10) provide information regarding special services, programs, and other appropriate educational opportunities; and
11) utilize appropriate community and private resources
E. Provisions shall be made in the district plan for staff development and support.
F. Each district shall evaluate its program to assure accountability, assess the success of individual program elements, and determine students growth and achievement.
R300-711-4 Fiscal Standards
A. Each school district shall receive its share of GT funds in the proportion that the district’s number of weighted pupil units for kindergarten through grade twelve and necessarily existent small schools bears to the state total.
B. Funds shall be used in any of the following areas:
1) planning, program development, and identification of students;
2) inservice education costs, costs of conferences, workshops, and other educational activities designed to enable teachers to better serve gifted and talented students.
3) supplies, materials, and equipment to supplement and enhance the education programs for gifted and talented students.
C. Funds allocated for programs for gifted and talented students shall not be used for Advanced Placement or Concurrent Enrollment programs.
D. The Utah State Office of Education shall have fiscal and pupil accounting procedures to assess programs for gifted and talented students.
I. The gifted and talented students are those students who are identified as being exceptionally talented in the following areas:
A. Academic: skills which include those mental abilities and skills as measured by norm and/or criterion-referenced testing materials.
B. Problem-Solving: skills which include productive thinking, decision making, forecasting, planning, and communication.
C. Leadership: skills which are demonstrated by the ability to use problem-solving skills in social settings.
D. Creative: skills which include performing the visual arts and creative
problem solving.
E. Performance: skills which include occupational and psychomotor abilities.
II. A program related to the development of the gifted-talented student shall include the following guidelines:
A. The Gifted/Talented Program shall encourage the cognitive, social, creative, andoccupational development of students and the development of positive self-image.
B. The development of District programs for gifted/talented students shall be an ongoing process requiring constant program evaluation by professional staff, students and parents.
C. The local school principal and classroom teachers shall be the major agents for developing the capabilities of the gifted/talented students and will be assisted by appropriate district personnel and other local school staff.
D. The gifted/talented students shall be given opportunities to interact with students of all levels as they develop and expand their talents and abilities.
E. Adequate provisions shall be made to insure teacher training programs which will assist in developing appropriate identification procedures and instructional processes.
F. Methods shall be provided to insure optimum opportunities for keeping parents and the public aware of the manner in which the district is meeting its commitment to identify, develop, and provide appropriate educational programs for gifted/talented students.
G/T Programs’ Essential Components
Educators, including administrators, counselors, and teachers, accept and understand that differences, needs, rights, and contributions of all students require differentiated and challenging educational programs. Among these students are those who perform and show potential to perform at remarkable high levels of accomplishment when compared to others of their age, experience or environment. The Utah State Board of Education has established rules outlining educational programs for these gifted and Talented Students (R300-7110).
This document, a companion to the state rules, outlines five ESSENTIAL components that when used together provide a framework for a meaningful gifted program.
Five Essential Components of a Gifted Program:
1. Identification: In accordance with the State Rules (R300-711-3) gifted and talented students should be identified using at least three appropriate assessment measures.
2. Peer Association: Identified gifted and talented students should have full-time or frequent opportunities to work together to meet their academic and affective needs.
3. Content Differentiation: Curricular content should be differentiated in depth, complexity, and acceleration commiserate with the abilities of the identified gifted and talented students.
4. Instructional Strategies: Differentiated content should be used with a variety of instructional strategies that are recognized as being effective with gifted and talented students.
5. Pacing: Appropriate and flexible pacing of teaching, learning, and thinking should be used to meet the needs of identified gifted and talented students.�
|
|
Last Updated ( Wednesday, 27 February 2008 )
|
|
|
G/T guidelines 
