E.L.P.S. PHILOSOPHY OF
GIFTED & TALENTED EDUCATION
The
East Longmeadow Public School District is committed to an educational program
that recognizes individual student differences, abilities, interests, and
needs. Our goal is to enrich the
education of all students through events and activities designed to expose them
to a variety of challenging and higher-order critical and creative thinking
experiences.
Embodied in this commitment is a responsibility to academically gifted and artistically talented students to help them maximize their high potential and allow them to thrive, flourish, and create.
Students who are academically gifted differ from others in learning profile, particularly in the areas of pacing, knowledge base, memory, and depth of thinking. Artistically talented students differ from others in their intensity, level of expression, divergent thinking, and creative productivity. The E.L.P.S. Gifted Education Program is designed to meet these needs. Providing students with enhanced, differentiated instruction enables us to nurture the diverse talents and abilities of our student body.
E.L.P.S. GIFTED & TALENTED EDUCATION PROGRAM COMPONENTS
In order to reach potential, gifted and talented
students may journey within three instructional pathways. The development of these pathways is viewed
as a continuous, and at times flexible, process. These pathways are not necessarily sequential.
Pathway I –
School-wide exploratory activities for all students at times throughout the
school year.
Curriculum Focus for Pathway I:
Enrichment opportunities including fieldtrips,
mini-courses, guest speakers, assemblies, fairs, performances, competitions,
and special class lessons that emphasize cognitive and affective processes.
Pathway II - Flexible
grouping including individual tutorial, small group, large group, and whole
class, with focus on acquisition of skills related to identified strengths,
emphasis on mastery, and problem solving.
Curriculum Focus for Pathway II:
Curricular and Instructional Differentiation,
Curriculum Compacting, Honors and Advanced Placement (AP) Courses.
Pathway III -
Development of individual gifts and talents beyond the existing school
curriculum in those students formally identified and documented as
Gifted/Talented.
Curriculum Focus for Pathway III:
A challenging curriculum of high-level content and
rigorous pace combined with higher-level thinking skills, problem solving,
inquiry, and creative productivity.
Development of self-direction, risk taking, curiosity, imagination, and
inter/intra-personal relationships.
THE ABCs
OF E.L.P.S. GIFTED & TALENTED EDUCATION IDENTIFICATION PROCESS
The Identification Process
considers a complete profile of the child.
This process administered by the school district is:
· Multifaceted
·
Holistic
·
Authentic
·
Objective
· Criterion-referenced
·
Research-based
Assessments
· National and State Standardized tests with scores above the 96th percentile.
Behaviors
· Intellectual activity that can be observed and documented to a significantly higher degree when compared to age/grade level norms by teachers, parents, self, and peers.
Creative
Productivity
· Products, special talents and inventions observed and documented as noticeably beyond those of age/grade level norms.
Identification will be made:
· by the end of grade 2 for grades 3 through 5
· by the end of grade 5 for grades 6 through 8
· at the end of grade 8 for grades 9 through 12
E.L.P.S. GIFTED & TALENTED EDUCATION MISSION
To provide services designed to meet the educational, social, and career needs of academically gifted and artistically talented students.
To meet the needs of gifted and talented students through rigorous, differentiated curriculum.
Pathway I Goals
· To assist students in becoming individuals who are capable of self-initiated action, intelligent choice, independent learning, and problem solving.
· To develop skills in problem solving, creativity, and research.
· To provide enrichment opportunities, resources, and services throughout the school community.
Pathway II Goals
· To provide creative and intellectual stimulation through contact with other high-ability students.
Pathway III Goals
· To provide opportunity for academic accomplishment beyond the realm of the regular education experience.
THE OPEN DOORS
TO THE
PATHWAYS
OF THE
GIFTED & TALENTED EDUCATION
We gratefully acknowledge American Saw and the Davis Foundation for
their support of and contributions to the E.L.P.S. Gifted & Talented Education
Program.
Authored by:
Susan J. Superson
Donna M. Whitman
Meadow Brook School
Mountain View School
Mapleshade School
Birchland Park Middle School
East Longmeadow High School