1. 1 The Prince William County Gifted Education Program Belmont Gifted Center Parent Information Night March 9, 2016

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 A continuum of programming services is available including support in the regular classroom and direct resource services. You will receive information about your child’s specific area of identification as well as the appropriate services to be offered to your child at the time your child is identified at the end of third grade. A Differentiated Services Plan will be available to you at the end of the first quarter of each year detailing specific plans for meeting your child’s educational needs. How are Gifted Education services provided?

5. 5 START ( S trategies T eaching A nd R eaching for T alent) START provides for the needs of identified K-3 grade students. START students are identified as potentially gifted students. Students work in small groups with the resource teacher weekly for 25 to 90 minutes depending on their grade level and needs. In the resource classroom, START students complete interdisciplinary units designed to develop higher level thinking skills as well as mini-lessons about specific skills and strategies. Classroom teachers collaborate with resource teachers in order to differentiate instruction to best meet all students’ needs.

6. 6 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 225 min. each week 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. Classroom teachers collaborate with resource teachers in order to differentiate instruction to best meet all students’ needs.

7. 7 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 already provided to all students in the regular classroom. All children have different skills and needs. Sometimes needs change.

8. 8 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?

9. 9 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?

10. 10 How do I know if my child is gifted? 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.

11. 11 The Prince William County Multiple Criteria Identification Process In START, students may be found eligible for Gifted Education Services for ability in mathematics, language arts or both. After third grade, 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.) 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.

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13. 13 The Prince William County Gifted Education Identification Process 1.Referral 2.Permission is Obtained 3.Data is Gathered 4.School Level Profile Development Meeting 5.District Level Eligibility Meeting 6.Notification

14. 14 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.

15. 15 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.)

16. 16 The Prince William County Gifted Education Identification Process Data Collection Ability Test Scores K-3 graders are administered the KBit2, (Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test Second Edition) when referred and permission is received. 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 KBit2 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.

17. 17 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.

18. 18 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 as well as 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.

19. 19 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.

20. 20 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.

21. 21 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 several school Profile Development Committee sit on the District Eligibility Committee. The student’s case is read and considered by a resource teacher, an administrator, a guidance counselor, and a classroom teacher.

22. 22 The Prince William County Gifted Education Identification Process

23. 23 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 will receive. A student may be found eligible for services, but those services may be altered as necessary by the parents and teachers. (No change is made without parent approval.) A student may be monitored for further information before an appropriate decision can be reached. A student may be found ineligible. Parents or school staff may appeal the decision, or a case may be reopened at a later time.

24. 24 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 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.

25. 25 The Prince William County Gifted Education Identification Process Third Grade Spring Screening Timeline February 26 Permission Forms and Parent Reports are sent home March 11 Permission Forms and Parent Reports are Due to Resource Teacher April Math Packets and Student Reports are completed, Local Profile Meetings are held May Eligibility Meetings are held June 10 Notification Letters are mailed June Resource Teacher will be available for phone calls

26. 26 For further information, contact the resource teacher at your school: Kevin Fahy START/SIGNET- Belmont & Occoquan fahykj@pwcs.edu 703.494.4945