1. 1 The Prince William County Gifted Education Program Haymarket Elementary Parent Information Night March 4, 2015

2. 2 What is a Gifted Education Program? Gifted Education, like Special Education, is a needs based program. It helps to provide for students whose learning needs cannot be met entirely in the regular classroom. It is not earned or achieved, but is part of an appropriate education for certain students. In Virginia, it is subject to State Regulations.

3. 3 What is a Gifted Education Program? Our goals are to develop the creative thinking skills critical thinking skills independent learning skills interactive learning skills of identified students in order to encourage and enable them to become self-directed learners.

4. 4 How are Gifted Education services provided? SIGNET S chools I nvolved in G ifted N eeds in E ducation T oday Students identified for SIGNET services are eligible through twelfth grade. Fourth and fifth grade SIGNET students spend 3.75 hours for most weeks in the resource room. The largest portion of the day is spent working on independent learning centers. As a group, students participate in long term TAG (Techniques for Achieving Goals) units. Weekly, students are given a variety of short term problems to develop critical and creative thinking.

5. 5 How do I know if my child is gifted? Definitions of giftedness vary from one district to another. We identify children as requiring gifted education services. When a child is not found eligible for services, this means that we do not currently have sufficient evidence that they require services other than what is provided in the regular classroom. All children have different skills and needs. Students’ needs for services may change.

6. 6 Bright Child VS. Gifted Learner Knows the answers…………………...….……..Asks the questions Interested……….…………………………..……..Is highly curious Is attentive…………………...…Is mentally and physically involved Has good ideas………………...……….………Has wild, silly ideas Works hard …………………………….Plays around, yet tests well Answers the question……………..Discusses in detail, elaborates Top group……………………………………………Beyond the group Listens with interest……..…Shows strong feelings and opinions Learns with ease…………………………………..…...Already knows Understands ideas …………...…………….Constructs abstractions How do I know if my child is gifted?

7. 7 Bright Child VS. Gifted Learner, Continued Enjoys peers……………………..……………………….Prefers adults Grasps the meaning…………………….....…..……Draws inferences Completes assignments…………………....……… Initiates projects Is receptive……………………………………………………..Is intense Copies accurately…………………………….Creates a new design Enjoys school………………………...………………Enjoys learning Absorbs information…………...…………..Manipulates information Technician…………………………….………………………… Inventor Good at memorization…………..……………………...Good guesser Enjoys straightforward sequential presentation… ………………..Thrives on complexity Is alert………………………….……………………Is keenly observant Is pleased with own learning………………..…Is highly self-critical How do I know if my child is gifted?

8. 8 Most gifted children will exhibit some, but not necessarily all of these characteristics. However, there are two characteristics that generally present in all gifted learners, across all cultural and socio-economic groups. They are: Rapid acquisition of learning Unusual memory Early reading may be but is not always an indicator of giftedness in young children.

9. 9 The Prince William County Multiple Criteria Identification Process Students can be found eligible for Gifted Education Services in any of the four major content areas. (Resource services at the elementary level are the same regardless of the area of identification.) If a student is found eligible in two (Math and LA) or more areas, they are identified for General Intellectual Ability. A wide variety of data is included in the identification process. No single piece of data may either include or exclude a student from the Gifted Education Program in this county.

10. 10 The Prince William County Gifted Education Identification Process 1.Referral: Test scores, teachers, parents, START 2.Permission is Obtained from Parents 3.Data is Gathered 4.School Level Profile Development Meeting 5.District Level Eligibility Meeting 6.Notification

11. 11 The Prince William County Gifted Education Identification Process Referral Students may be referred at any time by anyone. This includes school faculty and staff, community members, classmates, or parents. A screening pool is established during the winter of third grade which includes current START students, referrals from teachers, referrals from parents, and students with ability test scores in the ninth stanine.

12. 12 The Prince William County Gifted Education Identification Process Permission Permission forms are available from the resource teacher upon referral. They are mailed to the student’s parents or guardians with a cover letter and parent report. No data may be gathered without parent permission, unless it is data available for all students (such as CogAt and NNAT scores.)

13. 13 The Prince William County Gifted Education Identification Process Data Collection Ability Test Scores All third graders in PWCS take the following: Cognitive Abilities Test Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test Other ability test scores provided by previous schools or a KBIT-II from START identification may be used if they are within the acceptable time frame for that test. Occasionally other tests may be ordered as required due to special circumstances.

14. 14 The Prince William County Multiple Criteria Identification Process Data Collection Grades and Instructional Levels Teachers provide both the grades and the instructional levels for students. These are used together to indicate students’ readiness in the content areas.

15. 15 The Prince William County Gifted Education Identification Process Data Collection Classroom Work Samples Resource teachers administer Math Packets to students, as well as a Student Report. These indicate problem solving ability and student interests and learning preferences. Teachers provide samples of students’ classroom work in the various content areas. These are evaluated for skills such as “voice,” creativity, and advanced thinking.

16. 16 The Prince William County Gifted Education Identification Process Data Collection Teacher and Parent Reports Teacher and parent reports are used together to determine a student’s learning strengths and to highlight examples of typical characteristics of a gifted learner the student may be displaying. Teacher reports are written by professionals who have had experience with many children over a long period of time. Parent reports may indicate typical characteristics of gifted learners that have not been demonstrated in the large group setting typical of a school classroom.

17. 17 The Prince William County Gifted Education Identification Process Local Profile Development Committee Meeting A meeting is held at the school, and the case is presented to the committee. The school committee consists of an administrator, a guidance counselor, two regular classroom teachers, the resource teacher, and the child’s classroom teacher. The committee discusses the case and highlights the student’s strengths as a learner. This ensures that professionals who know the student and the learning environment in that school have opportunity to provide pertinent information.

18. 18 The Prince William County Gifted Education Identification Process District Eligibility Committee Meeting A meeting is held at the district level, and the case is presented to the Eligibility Committee. Members of the school Profile Development Committee sit on the Eligibility Committee. The student’s case is read and considered by four people, the resource teacher, an administrator, a guidance counselor, and a classroom teacher.

19. 19 The Prince William County Gifted Education Identification Process Eligibility and Determination of Services At the eligibility meeting, a decision is reached as to the appropriate eligibility and the services a student should receive. A student may be found eligible for services, and PLACEMENT will either be SIGNET (pull-out) and classroom services OR classroom services only. For START students we only consider placement, they are automatically found eligible. A student may be monitored for further information. A student may be found ineligible.

20. 20 The Prince William County Gifted Education Identification Process Permission to Receive Gifted Education Services After a student is found eligible and before resource services begin in late September, permission to participate in any gifted service must be obtained from the parent. A parent may make a decision to remove a student from resource services for a period of time during the year by scheduling a conference with the resource teacher and providing written notice.

21. 21 The Prince William County Gifted Education Identification Process Third Grade Spring Screening Timeline February 27Permission Forms/Parent Reports are sent home March 13 Permission Forms/Parent Report Due March/April Math Packets and Student Reports completed Local Profile Meetings are held April/May Eligibility Meetings are held June 5 Notification Letters are mailed

22. 22 For further information, please contact me: Leigh Young 703-530-1560 younglk@pwcs.edu Please return all parent reports and permission forms to Mrs. Willemann – START resource teacher