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Lafayette County Schools: Gifted Education |
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Gifted Education HandbookGifted Education Programs
Gateway Art Gateway Drama Gateway Music Gateway Quest
Lafayette County Schools recognizes that there are many gifted students in the school district who cannot have their educational needs satisfactorily met entirely through the regular education program. We are committed to the identification of all gifted students in the district and to the provision of appropriate gifted services to those students. Our gifted program, which provides services for intellectually, artistically, and creatively gifted students, complies with the Gifted Education Program Standards and the regulations for the gifted program as approved by the Mississippi State Board of Education.
Definitions:
The State of
“Intellectually Gifted Children shall mean those children and youth who are found to have an exceptionally high degree of intelligence as documented through the identification process.”
“Academically Gifted Children shall mean those children and youth who are found to have an exceptionally high degree of demonstrated academic ability as document through the identification process.”
“Artistically Gifted Children shall mean those children and youth who are found to have an exceptionally high degree of creativity and an exceptionally high degree of ability in the visual arts as documented through the identification process.”
“Creatively Gifted Children shall mean those children and youth who are found to have an exceptionally high degree of creativity and an exceptionally high degree of ability in the performing arts as documented through the identification process.”
The gifted education programs
at Lafayette County Schools are mandated and regulated by the
Mississippi Department of Education. Lafayette’s Gateway
gifted programs serve intellectually gifted students in grades 2-8, gifted
music students in grades 5-12, gifted visual arts in 7th and 8th
grades, and gifted drama in grades 7-12. No services are
provided at Characteristics of the Gifted Learner
The gifted child can exhibit many unique characteristics or none at all. And even those who seemingly exhibit none of these characteristics may feel many of them, hidden just below the surface. And the effort it takes to continue hiding is often exhausting.—from Hoagie’s Gifted Education Page
Linda Silverman and the Reasons well (good thinker) Learns rapidly Has extensive vocabulary Has an excellent memory Has a long attention span (if interested) Sensitive (feelings hurt easily) Shows compassion Perfectionistic Intense Morally sensitive Has strong curiosity Perseverant in their interests Has high degree of energy Prefers older companions or adults Has a wide range of interests Has a great sense of humor Early or avid reader (if too young to read, loves being read to) Concerned with justice, fairness Judgment mature for age at times Is a keen observer Has a vivid imagination Is highly creative Tends to question authority Has facility with numbers Good at jigsaw puzzles
The following page compares the bright child with the gifted learner.
Bright Child vs. Gifted Learner
Intellectually Gifted: Gateway Quest
Gateway Quest is the program for intellectually gifted students in grades two through eight in the Lafayette County Schools. The intellectually gifted program is based on a student’s innate ability, rather than learned academics, meaning that participants in this program may not have straight A’s and students with straight A’s may not be eligible for gifted services. The Jacob Javits Act (PL 107-110 sec. 9101) declares that “intellectual ability and academic ability are two distinct and separate areas of performance.” The intellectually gifted program focuses on the areas of higher-order thinking skills, creativity, logic, communications, research, and independent learning. Gifted education does not replace regular classroom instruction. Instead, it is designed to meet the individual needs of gifted children and is in addition to and different from the regular program of instruction provided by the district.
Quest is a “pull-out” program in grades two through five and is a regular class period in grades six through eight. In the lower grades, every effort is made to structure the schedule so that a child does not miss an academic subject more than once a week. Students are expected to show mastery of missed work, but should not be required to make up all work missed due to gifted class scheduling. Gifted students are grouped together for a minimum of five hours per week to participate in enrichment activities designed to meet their specific needs.
Gifted program teachers strive to be aware of the affective (socio-emotional), career, and social needs of gifted students and make every effort to counsel with students or to refer them and parents to a trained counselor. Group activities to address these concerns in a safe environment are an important part of our curriculum. Collaboration between the regular education teacher and the gifted class teacher address the special needs of students who may be underachieving in the regular classroom.
Objectives/Goals:
The Lafayette County Gateway Quest program strives to achieve the following objectives with students:
Ø Develop the skills necessary to become advanced thinkers Ø Empower appropriate skills to solve problems in a creative fashion Ø Generate development of leadership skills, accepting responsibilities as effective leaders and as group members Ø Use meaningful communication Ø Develop crucial research techniques for authentic solutions Ø Instill self-directed learning skills by generating a love of learning Ø Provide discriminatory skills for career decisions
Identification: Intellectually Gifted
In accordance with the Mississippi Department of Education Regulations, Lafayette County Schools utilizes a two-part process of identification for intellectually gifted students.
I. Referral Process:
A student may be referred by anyone having reason to believe that the student
might be intellectually gifted. The identification process
is a combination of subjective and objective measures to determine eligibility
for the gifted programs.
Referral Criteria:
A student must meet the mandated criteria on at least three of the following measures: 1. normed group measure of intelligence: 90th %ile minimum 2. normed characteristics of giftedness: 90th %ile minimum 3. normed measure of creativity: 90th %ile minimum 4. normed measure of leadership: 90th %ile minimum 5. normed measure of cognitive abilities: 90th %ile minimum 6. normed achievement test: 90th %ile minimum
After collection of the referral data, the Local Survey Committee (LSC) will meet to review the data and make on of the following recommendations: 1. The student has met the referral criteria and may move forward to the assessment stage. 2. The student has not satisfied minimal criteria on the required measures and the identification process is stopped. Ø If the identification process stops here, parents are notified in writing of the results of the LSC meeting. Parents are given the opportunity to meet with the LSC or gifted contact person to discuss the student’s data.
II. Assessment
If parental permission for testing has not been obtained, written permission must be given before continuing with the assessment phase of identification.
Once a student has met the minimum criteria, he/she shall be administered an individual test of intelligence by a licensed examiner (psychometrist). The psychometrist reviews all data in the student folder to determine the appropriate instrument. Students must score at or above the 90th percentile to be eligible for intellectually gifted classes.
LSC will meet, reviewing all individual data, to determine eligibility for the Gateway Quest program for intellectually gifted students. Parents will be notified in writing about the assessment results, safeguards, and family rights. Written permission will be obtained from the parent before placement in the Gateway Quest program.
If a student does not qualify for Gateway Quest after an initial referral, he/she may be referred again, up to a maximum of three times (including first grade). Each referral shall follow the same procedure that includes an intelligence screener, checklists, and individual IQ test. Anyone (teacher, parent, self, peer, etc.) with reason to believe a student is intellectually gifted may refer students for placement in this program. Contact a teacher, the Gifted Contact Person, or counselor to begin the referral process.
Only one individual intelligence test may be used for identification within a six-month period.
For a complete copy of the regulations and standards mandated by the Mississippi Department of Education, visit http://www.mde.k12.ms.us/acad/id/curriculum/Gifted/gifted.html
Artistically Gifted: Visual Arts
Gateway Art is the program for students gifted in the visual arts, with services provided in grades seven and eight in the Lafayette County Schools. These students are grouped together and receive a minimum of five hours of instruction per week designed to meet their specific needs.
Objectives/Goals:
Lafayette County Gateway Art program students should be able to:
Ø Communicate ideas and feelings by creating and performing works of art through the visual arts Ø Respond to, describe, analyze, interpret, and evaluate the complex characteristics of the visual arts Ø Understand the roles and functions of artists and visual arts in cultures, times, and places Ø Perceive, understand, and appreciate the diverse meanings and value of the visual arts Ø Make valid connections among the arts, other subject areas, and everyday life
Identification: Visual Arts Gifted
I. Referral process:
A student may be referred by anyone having reason to believe that the student
might be artistically gifted. The identification process is
a combination of subjective and objective measures to determine eligibility
for the gifted programs.
Referral Criteria:
Criteria: #1 and one from #2 are required and one other criteria must be met
or norm-referenced test of creativity: 90th %ile minimum
or published test of ability in the visual arts: 90th %ile minimum
If the minimal criterion is met, LSC will review the data and make one of the following recommendations: 1. The student has met the referral criteria and may move forward to the assessment stage. 2. The student has not satisfied minimal criteria on the required measures and the identification process is stopped. Ø If the identification process stops here, parents are notified in writing of the results of the LSC meeting.
II. Assessment:
If parental permission for testing has not been obtained, written permission must be given before continuing with the assessment phase of identification.
Once a student has met the minimum criteria, he/she must successfully complete an individual live audition before a Panel of Experts. Each member of the panel will complete a rubric and sign a statement certifying that they find the student has an exceptionally high degree of creativity and exceptionally high ability in the visual arts that places him/her in the top 5% of age peers.
LSC will meet, reviewing all individual data, to determine eligibility for the Gateway Art Program for artistically gifted students. Parents will be notified in writing about the assessment results, safeguards, and family rights. Written permission will be obtained from the parent before placement in Gateway Art.
For a complete copy of the regulations and standards mandated by the Mississippi Department of Education, visit http://www.mde.k12.ms.us/acad/id/curriculum/Gifted/gifted.html Creatively Gifted: Music and Drama
Gateway Music is the program for musically gifted students, with services provided in grades five through twelve in the Lafayette County Schools. These students are grouped together and receive a minimum of five hours of instruction per week designed to meet their specific needs.
Gateway Drama is the program for dramatically gifted students, with services provided in grades seven through twelve in the Lafayette County Schools. These students are grouped together and receive a minimum of five hours of instruction per week designed to meet their specific needs.
Objectives/Goals:
Lafayette County Gateway Music and Drama students should be able to:
Ø Communicate ideas and feelings by improvising, composing, arranging, and performing works of music or drama Ø Respond to, describe, analyze, interpret, and evaluate the complex characteristics of performing arts Ø Understand the roles and functions of performing arts in cultures, times, and places Ø Perceive, understand, and appreciate the diverse meanings and value of the performing arts Ø Make valid connections among the arts, other subject areas, and everyday life
Identification: Performing Arts Gifted
I. Referral process:
A student may be referred by anyone having reason to believe that the student
might be creatively gifted in music or drama. The
identification process is a combination of subjective and objective measures
to determine eligibility for the gifted programs.
Referral Criteria:
Criteria: #1 and one from #2 are required and one other criteria must be met
1. statement from an expert in the performing arts field that the student is in the top 10% of age peers in ability and creativity of visual arts
2. published checklist of creativity: 90th %ile minimum or norm-referenced test of creativity: 90th %ile minimum
3. published checklist of characteristics for performing arts: 90th %ile minimum or published test of ability in the performing arts: 90th %ile minimum
4. videotape of student performance evaluated by rubric: top 5% of peers
If the minimal criterion is met, LSC will review the data and make one of the following recommendations: 1. The student has met the referral criteria and may move forward to the assessment stage. 2. The student has not satisfied minimal criteria on the required measures and the identification process is stopped. Ø If the identification process stops here, parents are notified in writing of the results of the LSC meeting.
Music: Identification of gifted music students begins in fourth grade, but students in higher grades may also be referred for the program. Drama: Identification of gifted drama students begins in sixth grade, but students in higher grades may also be referred for the program.
II. Assessment:
If parental permission for testing has not been obtained, written permission must be given before continuing with the assessment phase of identification.
Once a student has met the minimum criteria, he/she must successfully complete an individual live audition before a Panel of Experts. Each member of the panel will complete a rubric and sign a statement certifying that they find the student has an exceptionally high degree of creativity and exceptionally high ability in the performing arts that places him/her in the top 5% of age peers.
LSC will meet, reviewing all individual data, to determine eligibility for the Gateway Music or Drama Program for creatively gifted students. Parents will be notified in writing about the assessment results, safeguards, and family rights. Written permission will be obtained from the parent before placement in Gateway Art.
For a complete copy of the regulations and standards mandated by the Mississippi Department of Education, visit http://www.mde.k12.ms.us/acad/id/curriculum/Gifted/gifted.html Procedural Safeguards:
All data collected as part of the identification process are protected by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). All information /data collected as part of the identification process shall be placed in an individual eligibility file for each student. These files are not placed in the cumulative folder, but are kept separate in a locked storage facility. Access to this information is restricted to those personnel working directly with the process, in the gifted education program, or who have a documented need to know. Parents may have access to these records by contacting the Gifted Education Contact Person.
Annual Reassessment:
Each gifted student’s progress is monitored on at least a yearly basis. The student should remain in the gifted program as long as he/she is successful in the program. Grades and/or successes in the regular education program are the responsibility of the regular classroom teachers and should not be considered as a reason for removal from the gifted program. If a determination is made that the student should exit the program due to lack of progress in the program and/or unsatisfactory participation, parents will be notified and given the opportunity to help devise a plan for the student to meet specific goals. If the student still shows no benefit from the program, the student may be removed from the program for the remainder of the school year. If the parent is unwilling for the student to be removed, a hearing will be conducted with the parent, student, and gifted evaluation committee that may include, but is not limited to, the gifted teacher, the gifted contact person, administrator from the building, and the district gifted coordinator.
Exiting Gifted Programs:
Only parents and gifted personnel may remove a student from the gifted education program. If a parent decides to remove his/her student from any gifted program during the school year, he/she may not reenter the same program or enroll in a different program within that same school year, even if previously eligible and approved for placement. Students who are removed from the gifted program by parents may not reenter any gifted program until the beginning of the next school year.
Intellectually gifted students in grades 2-5 who may want to drop the gifted class temporarily until “grades improve” in the regular classroom are included in this ruling and will not be allowed to reenter the program until the next school year. Each gifted program has an instructional management plan and goals to accomplish. Pulling a student in and out of the class is not beneficial to the student or the class. Please consider this carefully before removing your child from the program.
Records will remain secure until graduation, at which time parents will be given the choice of claiming the records or leaving them to be destroyed.
Referral to Placement process (Quick View)
1. Recommendation to Gateway Program (by anyone)
2. Data collected (screeners, checklists, test results)
3. LSC meeting
Student results and data satisfies criteria?
Continue with identification process Identification process stops
4. Permission from parents to continue testing
5. Individual IQ test by psychometrist
6. LSC meeting
Did student score at or above 90th percentile?
Yes No
Parents notified of eligibility and Parents notified the student is NOT sign permission to place in gifted eligible for gifted program services. class.
7. Placement in gifted class at the beginning of the next nine-week period, semester, or school year.
What You Should Not See And What You Should See In the Gifted Classroom
What you should not see in the gifted classroom:
Ø More of the same kind of work from the regular education program and classroom Ø Focus on the use of activity books and/or the ditto(s) Ø Focus on recall of facts, information, and knowledge Ø Focus on pre-packaged units and /or mini-unit that have no relevance to the needs of the gifted students being served Ø Focus on hobbies and interests of the teacher of the gifted Ø Focus on competitions or educational games Ø Focus on cookbook approaches to classroom activities Ø Focus on “things” simply because they are not covered in the regular education program Ø Traditional classroom setting Ø Focus on a single learning style
What you should see in the gifted classroom Ø Focus on specific and unique identified needs of gifted students Ø Focus on specific interests of the gifted students being served, identified with input from the students Ø Focus on the identified learning styles of the students Ø Focus on more advanced and complex issues and themes that go beyond the domain of the regular education program Ø Focus on CREATING new ideas and products Ø Focus on analysis, synthesis, and evaluation Ø Focus on discovery, open-endedness, and reasoning Ø Focus on identification of real problems, real investigations, and real audiences Ø Focus on self-understanding Ø Focus on self-directed learning Ø Focus on self-initiated, lifelong learning Ø Focus on creativity Ø Focus on process skills Ø Focus on Metacognition Ø Focus on development of individual strengths and individual interests Ø Focus on small group and individual investigations
Coordinator, Gifted Education Program Mississippi Department of Education
Resources
Be a Problem Solver by Bob Stanish and Bob Eberle (LUES)
Children’s Dictionary of Occupations by Barbara Parramore (LUES)
CPS for Kids by Bob Eberle and Bob Stanish (LUES)
Creative Problem Solving by Joel McIntosh and April Meacham (LURS)
Discovering the Naturalist Intelligence by Jenna Glock, Susan Westz and Maggie Meyer (LUES)
Elementary Career Awareness Through Children’s Literature by Alice K. Flanagan and Helen Rosenbery (LUES)
Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom by Thomas Armstrong (LUES)
Puzzles, Patterns, and Problem Solving: Creative Connections to Critical Thinking by Ruth Tonk and Hilde Weisburg (LUES)
Social and Emotional Lives of Gifted Kids by Tracy L. Cross (LUES)
Survival Guide for Parents of Gifted Kids by Sally Yahnke Walker (LUES)
When Gifted Kids Don’t Have All the Answers by Jim Delisle and Judy Galbraith (LUES)
Curriculum for Gifted and Talented Students, Joyce VanTassel-Baska, 2004 (Phillips)
Multiple Intelligences, Kristen Nicholson-Nelson, 1998 (Phillips)
Multiple Intelligences: The Theory in Practice , Howard Gardner, 1993 (Phillips)
Teaching the Gifted in an Inclusion Classroom, Rosemary Callard-Szulgit, 2005 (Phillips)
Other books and materials may be available for checkout. If you have a topic of interest, please let us know and we’ll help you find resources.
Web Pagescontaining information about giftedness
Mississippi Gifted Education homepage http://www.mde.k12.ms.us/acad/id/curriculum/Gifted/gifted.html
Hoagie’s Gifted Page: Excellent resource
Hoagie’s Parent Page http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/parents.htm
National Association for Gifted homepage
USM Gifted Studies
Prufrock Press
KidSource Online http://www.kidsource.com/kidsource/pages/ed.gifted.html
Glossary of Gifted Education http://members.aol.com/svennord/ed/GiftedGlossary.htm
Duke University TIP (Talent Identification Program)
Austega’s Gifted Resource Centre
Highly/Profoundly Gifted
Highly Gifted: IQ 145-159 Profoundly Gifted: IQ 160 and above
http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/10_highly_gifted.htm http://www.coe.unt.edu/gifted/parents/highly.htm http://oops.bizland.com/giftedoops.htm
Brain research http://www.pfizer.com/brain/teachers_html.html
Art
For the student
Think Quest http://www.thinkquest.org/ click Library at the top of the page.
Examples of student interactive pages: Who dunit? http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0210342/ Tangrams http://library.thinkquest.org/J002441F/tangrams.htm Castles http://www.thinkquest.org/library/search.html Pioneers http://library.thinkquest.org/6400/
Contact Page (All information listed on this page is available on the Gifted page at http://teacherweb.com/MS/LafayetteSchoolDistrict/GiftedEducation/h0.stm)
Quest Glenda Pruett, Gifted Contact Person Gateway Quest
662.236.3761 glenda.pruett@lafayetteschools.net web page: http://teacherweb.com/MS/LafayetteSchoolDistrict/GPruett/
Renee Whiteaker Gateway Quest
662.234.5627 renee.whiteaker@lafayetteschools.net
Ruth Foster Gateway Quest
662.236.3761 ruth.foster@lafayetteschools.net
Maudann Phillips Gateway Quest
662.236.3761 maudann.phillips@lafayetteschools.net
Alice Mize Gateway Quest
662.234.1664 alice.mize@lafayetteschools.net
Gateway Art Miriam Wahl Gateway Art
662.234.1664 miriam.wahl@lafayetteschools.net
Gateway Drama Leah Shollenberger Gateway Drama
662.234-3241 leah.shollenberger@lafayetteschools.net
Gateway Music Kimberly Gregory Gateway Music
662.234.1664 kimberly.gregory@lafayetteschools.net
Matt Jones Gateway Music
662.234.1664 matt.jones@lafayetteschools.net
Debra Martin Gateway Music
662.236.3761
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