Definition of Giftedness

According to TEA, a gifted/talented student is a child or youth who performs at, or shows the potential for, performing at a remarkably high level of accomlplishment when compared to others of the same age, experience, or environment and who

• exhibits high performance capability in an intellectual,creative or artistic area;
• possesses an unsual capacity for leadership; or
• excels in a specific academic field (Texas Education Code §29.121)

Selection or nomination of students for the Gifted & Talented Program

Parents, teachers, counselors, administrators, and other interested persons can nominate students for the GT Program.

Quantitive assessments such as NNAT, IOWA/Logramos, Torrance and qualitive measurements such as parent & teacher questionnaires are used to identify students for the GT Program.

A GT Committee made up of the principal, counselor, a monolingual teacher and a bilingual teacher as well as the GT Coordinator review all information from the assessment to qualify students.

Notification to Parents

Parents and students are notified in writing upon selection and placement of a student in the Gifted and Talented program. Written permission from the parent is obtained before a student is placed in the gifted program. Participation in the Gifted and Talented program is voluntary.

Differentiation in the Classroom

Students identified as Gifted and Talented will receive differentiated instruction in their classroom from their teacher throughout the school in accordance with the needs of each student.

Enrichment Activities

Students identified as Gifted and Talented will be offered access to enrichment activities to work on through a menu of challenging activities or opportunities that fit the unique interests and abilities of advanced-level students. Enrichment activities include participation in the VEX Robotics Program where students learn to build, program and drive their robots.

Student Filmmakers

Gifted and Talented Students will be offered access to enrichment activities such as filming.

Team Quest

Team Quest is an academic competition that allows gifted and talented students to learn the importance of teamwork. Students work collaboratively to solve problems in a variety of academic instructional areas. Team Quest includes activities in music, the arts, geography, language arts, science and math. Teams are challenged to apply their knowledge to real life problems incorporating creativity, imagination, and engineering into the events.