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GIFTED AND TALENTED PROGRAM             

Weatherford Independent School District’s gifted and talented program, Quest, identifies and serves gifted students in grades kindergarten through twelve.  The district program provides a differentiated curriculum in the four core academic areas to meet the needs of the gifted learner.  Students engage in a variety of activities in all four (4) core content areas: language arts, science, social studies and mathematics.  The teachers of gifted and talented students provide a learning environment where depth and complexity are the focus in both individual and group settings.

PROGRAM GOALS

● Modify the depth, complexity, and pacing of curriculum and instruction to meet the needs of gifted students.

● Provide a learning continuum to reinforce the strengths, needs, and interests of gifted students.

● Encourage community and family participation
 

PROGRAM SERVICES

Grades Kindergarten-Six will be identified and served through the following options:

● Weekly pullout program (begins the week of March 1st) for kindergarten.

●Weekly pullout program by gifted/talented specialist for first through sixth.

● Differentiated instruction in language arts, mathematics, social studies and science.

Grades Seven-Twelve will be served in the following way:

● AP and PreAP classes with differentiated instruction in language arts, social studies, mathematics and science.

NATURE AND NEEDS OF GIFTED/TALENTED STUDENTS

Gifted and talented students require not only a challenging curriculum, but also planned opportunities to work together with other students of advanced ability, interest, and motivation.  Gifted students possess abilities that allow them to move at a faster pace and to retain knowledge in greater depth when compared with other students.  Because of their unique abilities, gifted students require access to a challenging curriculum and to encounters with their intellectual peers.

IDENTIFICATION PROCESS

Criteria to identify gifted and talented students is specific to the state definition of gifted and talented and ensures the fair assessment of students with special needs, such as the culturally different, the economically disadvantaged, and students with disabilities.

Nominations for the program are accepted from parents, teachers, and community members.

Written parental consent shall be obtained before any special testing or individual assessment is conducted as part of the screening and identification process.

Data is collected through both objective and subjective assessments.  Assessment tools may include but not be limited to the following: achievement tests, intelligence tests, creativity tests, behavioral checklists completed by teachers and parents, teacher nominations based on classroom observations, student/parent conferences, and student work products, if available.

A selection committee shall evaluate each nominated student according to the established criteria and shall select those students for whom gifted program placement is the most appropriate educational setting. 

Students, who are not placed in the program, may be reassessed after one calendar year.  Nominated kindergarten students are assessed during the spring semester.  Kindergarten students may be reassessed during the spring semester of the first grade.

Parents and students shall be notified in writing upon selection of the student for the gifted program.  Participation in any program or services provided for gifted students is voluntary.  The District shall obtain written permission of the student and the parents before a student is placed in a gifted program

TRANSFER STUDENTS

When a student, identified as gifted by a previous school district, transfers into WISD, the student’s records shall be reviewed by the selection committee to determine if placement in the local program for gifted and talented students is appropriate. 

The committee shall make its determination within 30 days of the student’s enrollment, and shall base its decision on the transferred records, observation reports of district teachers who instruct the student, additional testing if needed, and student and parent conferences.

CREDIT BY EXAM

● A student in any grade (K-12) may use examinations in lieu of course work for:

 (1) Acceleration to advance one grade level (K-5)

 (2) Earning credit in an academic subject (grades 6-12)

● Questions regarding these examinations and procedures for kindergarten acceleration may be discussed with the campus principal.

● The parent must file a written request with the campus principal for a student to accelerate a grade or course, and the parent request must include a rationale for the acceleration and testing.

● Dates for testing are published in each edition of The Communicator and in campus handbooks.

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