Gifted and Talented Education
Welcome to the Gifted and Talented Education page! My name is Amy Robinson, and I am the GT Facilitator for Lewis-Palmer Middle School.
Our Purpose, Values, Mission, and Vision
Gifted Education Values...
Shared responsibility of educators, parents, and community for the academic and affective growth of gifted and talented learners.
A climate of excellence and rigorous curricula for every child.
Consistent practice of differentiation in curricula, instruction, and assessment which supports a continuum of services for every gifted learner.
Highly qualified professional educators who work with gifted learners.
Identification of exceptional potential using a body of evidence in all populations regardless of ethnicity, culture, gender, exceptionality, or income level.
Gifted Education Mission
Recognize and nurture the development of exceptional abilities so that all gifted students demonstrate positive character development, high level thinking, and creative productivity.
Gifted Education Vision
All gifted youth in Lewis-Palmer School District are identified by their academic strength areas and needs. Educational programming is designed and implemented to match their identified needs. Student progress and achievement is monitored through on-going assessment. All teachers participate in professional development to increase knowledge, skills, and understanding of gifted students and their instructional needs.
Identification Process
"Gifted and talented children" means those persons between the ages of five and twenty-one whose abilities, talents, and potential for accomplishment are so exceptional or developmentally advanced that they require special provisions to meet their educational programming needs. Children under five who are gifted may also be provided with early childhood special educational services. Gifted students include gifted students with disabilities (i.e. twice exceptional) and students with exceptional abilities or potential from all socio-economic and ethnic, cultural populations. Gifted students are capable of high performance, exceptional production, or exceptional learning behavior by virtue of any or a combination of these areas of giftedness:
General or specific intellectual ability.
Specific academic aptitude.
Creative or productive thinking.
Leadership abilities.
Visual arts, performing arts, musical or psychomotor abilities.
In Lewis-Palmer School District #38, the advanced learning assessment and identification process involves gathering a body of evidence through a variety of procedures and sources designed to reveal exceptionalities or potential. The purpose of a body of evidence is:
to ensure that the student's abilities are well recognized.
to look beyond just one area for information.
to include a more diverse population.
to match appropriate services to needs.
The body of evidence collected for identification in Lewis-Palmer School District #38 comes from the following four categories:
Intellectual abilities - 95th percentile or above on norm-referenced cognitive tests or subtests
Academic achievement - 95th percentile or above on norm-referenced standardized tests
Behavior characteristics - observation of behaviors with outstanding or exceptional factors
Demonstrated performance - distinguished level of performance
A body of evidence will be collected for every child considered for identification.
General Information about the Gifted and Talented Education program at LPMS
The Gifted Education program at LPMS consists of several different parts. Students identified as Gifted will be placed on an Advanced Learning Plan (ALP) which addresses their specific needs as Gifted students and ways that we here at LPMS can help to meet those needs.
Students identified as Gifted may choose to take the elective class Opps and Challenges which is a science-based STEM course for 7th and 8th grade students. Students learn creative problem solving, programming, robotics, and participate in hands-on, space-themed engineering design challenges.
The identification process is based on a body of evidence. In general, students must have aptitude and/or achievement scores above the 95th percentile to be considered and then supporting evidence must be found in two of the additional three categories (Achievement, Characteristics, and Demonstrated Performance). Our most commonly used aptitude tests are the Cognitive Abilities Test and the KBIT II and our most commonly used achievement tests are the Measures of Academic Progress by NWEA and the CMAS. The Characteristics category is determined through parent and teacher checklists. Demonstrated Performance is assessed through a portfolio.
Programming for Gifted students occurs in several ways, including (but not limited to):
Differentiation in instruction in academic classrooms
Acceleration of specific courses
Advanced-level courses
Full-grade acceleration (grade-skipping)
Elective classes designed for Gifted students
School-wide Enrichment opportunities such as National Junior Honor Society, Student Council, Leadership Class, etc.