Talented and Gifted Program 2018-2019 Handbook - Sioux City ...

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Talented and Gifted Program 2018-2019 Handbook - Sioux City ...
Talented and Gifted Program

        2018-2019
        Handbook
During the 2015-2016 school year, a group of Talented and Gifted staff attended workshops titled “Designing
Comprehensive Gifted Programming.” This series of meetings began a comprehensive review of the Talented
and Gifted Program within the Sioux City Community School District. As a part of this process, a Talented and
Gifted Advisory Group was formed.

What this document includes are the recommendations resulting from this comprehensive review in the areas
of:
Vision, Mission, and Belief Statements
Program Goals
Identification
Program Design
Parent Involvement
Professional Development
Program Evaluation
Vision Statement
 Gifted learners will work toward achieving their full potential through self-directed learning and challenging
                      opportunities provided by the Sioux City Community School District.

                                             Mission Statement

Supporting the Philosophy & Mission of the Sioux City Community School District, and in recognition of the
differentiated needs of gifted learners, the Talented and Gifted Department will provide opportunities
designed to:
    › Broaden and extend the learning process of gifted learners through a continuum of services available in
        all grade levels.
    › Support the social/emotional needs of gifted learners.
    › Support qualitatively differentiated curriculum commensurate with the unique learning needs of gifted
        learners.
    › Support gifted learners as they become self-directed, life-long learners through acquisition of skills in
        taking initiative, diagnosing needs, establishing goals, identifying resources, implementing strategies,
        and evaluating outcomes.

                                              Belief Statements
   ›   Administrators, Talented and Gifted teachers, classroom teachers, support staff, parents, and the
       community share responsibility for meeting the needs of gifted learners.
   ›   Talented and gifted programming should adapt to meet the unique social/emotional and learning
       needs of gifted learners.
   ›   Gifted learners need learning opportunities in the company of their intellectual peers.
   ›   Gifted learners come from all socioeconomic, racial, ethnic, and linguistic backgrounds.
   ›   Ongoing support and professional development for staff is an important aspect of the continued
       academic, social and emotional growth of learners.
   ›   Gifted learners need challenging curriculum that is tailored to their unique abilities, interests, and
       learning styles.
   ›   A sound identification system is an integral part of determining a gifted learner’s needs.
Identification
The Sioux City Community School District will identify students for Talented and Gifted services through the
following processes and will focus on general intellectual and specific ability aptitude. Referrals can be
completed at any time.
For students who are nominated for Talented and Gifted services at the secondary levels, the Purdue
Academic Rating Scales will be utilized in place of the Motivation Scale. A score of 50 or above would be
expected.

The above pieces of information provide largely objective information and can be applied systemically. The
information collected will be reviewed in committee format (an administrator from each level, TAG staff, an
elementary general education teacher, middle school reading teacher, high school English teacher, a middle
school math teacher, and a high school math teacher). This committee will determine which students will be
identified as Talented and Gifted.
For students for whom Talented and Gifted Services are deemed necessary, a Personalized Education Plan will
be developed and reviewed annually by a committee of individuals including the TAG Specialist, general
education teacher, principal or guidance counselor, parent, and student.

Parent permission will be required for Talented and Gifted Services. This will be documented on the
Personalized Education Plan.
Program Goals
Goals are included with the Talented and Gifted Program. The goals are consistent with the overall district
goals and with the mission, philosophy, and belief statements of the Talented and Gifted Program.

Goal #1:

The Sioux City Community School District Talented and Gifted program will identify and serve students
representing the diversity of the district.

       a. The program will identify students using local norms by gender, socioeconomic status, English
          Language Learner, special education, and at-risk, and race/ethnicity.
       b. The program will use multiple criteria to identify students for all K-12 services.

Goal #2: The Sioux City community School District Talented and Gifted Program will provide effective
programming that adapts to meet the unique social emotional and learning needs of gifted students.
       The curriculum within gifted education will:
       a.   Be compacted and accelerated.
       b.   Reflect a higher degree of complexity than the regular classroom.
       c.   Provide a framework for further study in an activity.
       d.   Provide an environment that allows for maximum development of the gifted child’s thinking,
            learning, and creative abilities.
       e.   Promote ongoing self-understanding, awareness of their needs, and cognitive and affective growth
            of gifted students.
       f.   Perpetually change to meet immediate and long-range needs of gifted students.
       g.   Provide for differentiated learning experiences not offered in the regular classroom.
       h.   Use community resource personnel, mentorships, and field trips/competitions to enhance the
            program.
       i.   Provide opportunities for students to learn and collaborate in the company of their intellectual
            peers.

Goal #3: The Sioux City Community School District Talented and Gifted program will provide on-going
professional development to teaching staff.
       Professional development opportunities will:

       a. Share information with regular education personnel in order to develop a better understanding of
          the characteristics of gifted learners, differentiation strategies, social/emotional needs, and
          programming options.
       b. Include in-service opportunities for teachers and administrators.
       c. Support parents in learning about gifted children.
       d. Share information regarding the program with the public.
Student Outcomes:
    1. Demonstrate self-knowledge with respect to their interests, strengths, identities, and needs in social-
       emotional development and in intellectual and academic domains.
    2. Possess a developmentally appropriate understanding of how one learns and grows; recognize the
       influences of beliefs, traditions, and values on learning and behavior.
    3. Demonstrate understanding of and respect for similarities and differences between self and peers and
       others in the general population.
    4. Access resources from the community to support cognitive and affective needs, including social
       interactions with others having similar interests and abilities or experiences, including same-age peers
       and mentors or experts.
    5. Recognize preferred approaches to learning and expand the repertoire.
    6. Identify future career goals that match talents and abilities and resources needed to meet those goals.

                                                     Program Design
    The program delivery for the Sioux City Community Schools is viewed as a continuum of services. The
    continuum considers all services available in the district and provides appropriate services based on the
    unique needs of individual students.

Role of the Talented and Gifted Teacher                    Example services available to students by a
                                                                  variety of school staff
Direct student involvement                                             Grade Acceleration
                                                                       Subject Acceleration
                                                                       Pull out classes for specific content
                                            Identified                  Cluster grouping
                                               TAG                      AP and Honors classes (MS and HS)
                                                                         Dual enrollment
                                                                          Mentoring

Member of Professional               High achieving students who                    Differentiated instruction
Learning Community               May not be TAG identified, but need                Small group work
                                 Something beyond what the regular                  AP classes or dual enrollment
                                 Classroom provides.

                                                                                          Differentiated instruction
Collaborate                              All Teacher/Students
Consult
Coach

By utilizing all services that the Sioux City Community School District has to offer, we are able to continue to
provide a model of service that recognizes that students have different needs.

Each student identified for Talented and Gifted Services will complete a Personalized Education Plan. This plan
will provide an avenue to identify the services that students will receive and to establish goals as a result of
participation in those services. The plans will be reviewed annually with the student, parent, TAG specialist,
general education teacher, and principal or guidance counselor.
It is also important to note that though students may qualify for gifted programming, they may lose interest in
the program. The Personalized Learning Plan is intended to keep students motivated by aligning services with
needs, however, the program does have an Exit Policy for Talented and Gifted services should it be necessary.
GIFTED & TALENTED EDUCATION
                                                            PERSONALIZED EDUCATION PLAN

                                              School

Student:                                                                     Grade:
Address:                                                                 Birthdate:
Parents/Guardians:                                                          Phone:
            TAG Advisor:                                               Date of Plan:

Current Services:
Additional advisors:

Current Assessment Data:
               State Assessments          Test Year    Reading     Science             Math   Core Total

             Classroom Assessments        Qtr./Year    Reading      Math           Science    Soc. Studies

               Cognitive Abilities Test   Test Level   Verbal    Quantitative    Non-Verbal   Composite
   (circle one) Screen   / Full Battery

     Key area(s) of interest:

    Other Services Needed:
                 (e.g.: IEP or ELL)

              End-of-Year
         Recommendations:
         (To become next-year’s goals.)
Student Response:
What are your strengths?
___________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________

What are your needs?

___________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________

How do you learn best?

___________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________

Identified areas of Giftedness

    General
    Intellectual
    Specific Academic
    Math
    Reading/Literacy
    Other/specify

Service Recommendations(check all that apply):
    Direct services by TAG           Cluster Grouping
    teacher (specify)
    Flexible Grouping                Mentorship Program
    Career exploration               Extracurricular Program
                                     (specify)
    Acceleration (specify)           AP or dual credit courses
                                     (specify)
    Other (specify)                  Curriculum compacting
    Classroom
    differentiation
Goals             (At least one long-term and one annual goal is required.)
 LONG-TERM GOAL:

                 Action Step                               Target Outcome                   Data to Collect   Review Date

                 OUTCOME

 ANNUAL GOAL:

                 Action Step                               Target Outcome                   Data to Collect   Review Date

                 OUTCOME

 UPDATED ANNUAL GOAL:

                 Action Step                               Target Outcome                   Data to Collect   Review Date

                 OUTCOME

Student’s Signature                                                     Evaluating Advisor’s Signature

____________________________________________________________
Parent/Guardian Signature (indicates permission for participation)
Date   Notes
Talented and Gifted Services
                                            Exit Procedures
Step 1: Determine reason(s) for consideration of exit from services:

_____ Routinely does not complete assignments

_____ Voices dissatisfaction with the class/program

_____ Is unable to keep up with material in the class

_____ Student is failing the class

_____ Teacher request (explain) __________________________________________________

_____ Student request (explain) __________________________________________________

_____ Parent request (explain)___________________________________________________

Step 2: Intervention (ALL POINTS LISTED MUST BE ADDRESSED)

_____ Discussion between student and teacher                            Date: _____________

_____ Discussion between student and TAG teacher/counselor              Date: _____________

_____ Student, TAG teacher/counselor, teacher develop action plan        Date: ______________

_____ Action plan is shared with parent                                 Date: ______________

_____ TAG teacher/counselor follows up with student                     Date: ______________

Step 3: Determine appropriate services

_____ Conference with parent/guardian

_____ Discussion between TAG Supervisor, TAG teacher/counselor, teacher, principal

Options:

_____ Exit TAG services for remainder of year, document with letter, re-examine eligibility and need following
year.

_____ Continue TAG services. Establish parameters for student’s ongoing participation through goals in
Personalized Education Plan.
Staffing Provisions

Each elementary building shall be assigned a Talented and Gifted Specialist to serve their students on a part
time basis. These specialists will provide services to identified students via both by collaborating with general
education teachers for modification strategies and by providing resource room type services to students.
Social and affective needs are most often addressed in a resource room, small group setting.

At the middle school level, talented and gifted staff are available to provide collaboration and coaching
support to general education teachers for differentiation and enrichment. Students will be cluster grouped
with peers of similar ability and need. Enrichment activities will be planned for each core content area. In
addition, we will have Pre-AP courses via Belin-Blank for our identified talented and gifted students in middle
school who meet prerequisites. These courses are on-line, but proctored by school staff.

At the high school level, Honors English courses are available. There are numerous advanced course, AP
courses, and dual enrollment courses available as well. Several extracurricular activities are available for most
interest areas. Staff assist students in making appropriate choices among all those available to meet their
needs.

At all levels, acceleration is available and these processes are guided by talented and gifted staff. In addition,
the personalized education plans are monitored by the talented and gifted staff.

A K-12 Talented and Gifted Counselor is also employed to ensure that affective needs are addressed.

                                             Professional Development

Professional development will be an ongoing opportunity. By providing time for Talented and Gifted
Specialists to coach other staff members, professional development becomes a job embedded practice. In
addition, the District will continue to have professional development days when sessions related to Talented
and Gifted youth will be available.

Talented and Gifted staff attend the Iowa Talented and Gifted Conference annually. This conference is held in
Des Moines each October.

Buildings also have Monday afternoon PD opportunities available.

Talented and Gifted staff are available to participate in PLC meetings to offer Professional Development as
needed as well.

                                               Parent Involvement

Parents will be involved in multiple ways:

   1. Parents will be able to nominate students for Talented and Gifted Programming
   2. Parents will be notified if their students has been identified for additional screening.
3. Parents will be asked to complete a parent checklist if their student is being considered for talented
       and gifted programming.
    4. Parents will be a part of establishing a Personalized Education Plan if their student is considered in
       need of talented and gifted services and they would like their student to participate.
    5. Parents will be asked to complete a survey regarding their experience with talented and gifted
       programming.

    Parent groups may be available. For example, during 2015-2016, a SENG parent group was held and facilitated by
    Talented and Gifted staff.

                                                Program Evaluation

The District will collect information regarding enrollment data to ensure that we are monitoring goal #1
regarding identification relative to our population. In addition, we will collect and report information related
to students who are achieving at the advanced level on the identified state achievement test. We currently
have this information disaggregated by a TAG subgroup. We will have parents, administrators, students, and
teachers complete a survey regarding the Talented and Gifted program. This form will utilize a likert scale. We
will review the Iowa AP Index annually. The district will have the Talented and Gifted Advisory Committee
complete the self-audit tool every three years. Finally, we will collect information regarding the progress and
completion of the annual goals written as a part of the Personalized Education Plans.

NON-DISCRIMINATION STATEMENT:
The Sioux City Community School District offers career and technical programs in the following areas: Business
& Marketing, Family & Consumer Science, Health Science, and Industrial Arts, Technology, & PLTW.

The Sioux City Community School District is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. It is an unfair
or discriminatory practice for any educational institution to discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, sex,
sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information (for employment), national origin, religion, age (for
employment), disability, socioeconomic status (for programs), marital status (for programs), or veteran status
(for employment) in its educational programs and its employment practices.

Inquiries or grievances, including Section 504 grievances and grievances under Title II of the Americans with
Disabilities Act, may be directed to Jen Gomez, Director of Student Services & Equity Education at 627 4th
Street, Sioux City, IA 51101, (712) 279-6075, gomezj2@live.siouxcityschools.com. Please see District Board
policies 103 and 504.4 for additional information on available grievance procedures.
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