QUEST Parent Information Meeting

Quest Vision To be an exemplary school that develops creative and innovative thinkers and leaders who are driven by our guiding principles, and seek opportunities to extend and apply their learning beyond the walls of our school.

What is Gifted?  No universally agreed upon definition  "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  The term “gifted and talented”, when used with respect to students, children, or youth, means students, children, or youth who give evidence of high achievement capability in areas such as intellectual, creative, artistic, or leadership capacity, or in specific academic fields, and who need services or activities not ordinarily provided by the school in order to fully develop those capabilities. (Title IX, Part A, Section 9101(22), p. 544)

Learning Characteristics of Young Gifted Learners  The ability to understand and use abstract systems at much younger ages than usual  Early language development and rich vocabulary  Early milestone development  Exceptional memory  Rapid pace of learning  The ability to ask reflective and probing questions  Early development of classifying and investigating skills

Socio-Emotional Characteristics  Highly developed sense of justice and ‘fairness’  Emotional intensity  Interests that are more like those of older children  Preference for companionship with older children  High sensitivity and capacity to empathize  Asynchronous development  Developed sense of humor  Evidence of being a leader with same age peers

Cognitive Testing  DAS-II  3 composites  Verbal Composite Solves problems using language and vocabulary  Non Verbal Composite Solve problems without language Example see a picture of a cat and a dog and they are both animals; understanding patterns circle, circle, square, circle, circle, ?  Spatial Reasoning Use eyes and hands together to solve problems  GNC: An overall score-combination on how well they did on all three composites  The scores will be sent to you via mail in approximately one month

Percentile Scores  Percentile ranks refer to an individual's standing in relation to the rest of the individuals in the norm or comparison group (i.e., others who are taking the same test). If your child receives a percentile rank of 90, it means that your child achieved a score equal to or better than 90 percent of the rest of the group with whom he or she is being compared

Identification Process  Kindergarten Screening Looking at behaviors through various teacher activities  DAS-II  Parent Survey  Teacher Recommendations(other adults)

FAQ Q: How many spots are there for each grade level? A: Kindergarten 50 students Q: What are the chances of out of district students getting a spot? A: In district students are looked at first to fill available spots. Then out of districts students are considered.

FAQ Q: What is an average DAS score? What does a student at Quest get? A: An average score is Most students in Quest fall in the first standard deviation above the mean?

FAQ Q: What if we don’t get in? A: You can reapply the following year. In district students will need to be identified as high potential or gifted at the school they attend. Q: What if we are on the waitlist? A: If students leave during the year, we do go into the waitlist to fill spots. You have to reapply for first grade.

FAQ Q: When do we hear if our student is accepted? A: Letters will be sent out the last week of March. Q: Are there any other resources that can help? A: Websites that have information on gifted and talented?