Web Page for TAG

Talented and Gifted Program

Philosophy Statement

The philosophy of the Winterset Community School District’s Talented and Gifted Program is to meet the diversified cognitive, emotional, and social needs of talented and gifted students regardless of gender, ethnic origin, or socioeconomic status or physical ability.

Since there are great differences among students’ abilities, special educational provisions are often necessary for those students whose needs cannot adequately be met through the standard curriculum.

This program is intended to create an environment in which deliberate efforts are made to recognize students’ emerging strengths, talents, and interests and then nurture them through appropriate and challenging educational experiences.

Definition of Giftedness
Areas of Giftedness
Mission
Goals
Identification
Services
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Definition of Giftedness

Gifted and Talented children are those identified by professionally qualified people, who by virtue of outstanding abilities, are capable of high performance. These children who require differentiated educational programs and/or services beyond those normally provided by the regular school program in order to realize their contribution to self and society.

*U.S. Department of Education (Education of the Gifted, 1972)

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Specific Areas of Giftedness to be Served

General Intellectual Ability
Specific Academic Aptitude

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Mission

The Talented and Gifted Program mission is to offer a broad base of experiences to identified students. By providing qualitatively differentiated curriculum, this program facilitates the growth of students as independent, life-long learners, with the development of skills, concepts and positive attitudes within the cognitive, emotional, and social domains.

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Goals

The students of the Talented and Gifted program should be able to:

1. Understand their giftedness in relation to self and society.

2. Develop cognitive, emotional, and social skills necessary for becoming autonomous learners.

3. Explore a variety of subject areas.

4. Develop creative and critical thinking skills.

5. Demonstrate responsibility for learning in and out of the school setting and ultimately become life-long learners.

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Identification

General Intellectual Ability and Specific Academic Aptitude:

Initial assessment criteria for these areas will reflect:

1. Nomination

2. Achievement tests such as: ITBS or ITED test scores

3. Cognitive Abilities Test

4. Supplemental screening information may include:

Out-of-level tests

Rating Scales for Specific Subject Area

District Performance Assessment

Portfolio of student demonstrations or work samples

ACT and/or SAT tests

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TAG Delivery of Services: Grades 7 - 8

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TAG Delivery of Services: Grades 9 - 12

Advocacy
The Talented and Gifted teacher will aid identified students in individualizing programming, enabling students to reach their academic potential. Both cognitive and affective needs will be addressed. Components of advocacy include: a) conduct individual interviews and assessments to diagnose student needs and learning styles; b) write and staff detailed IEP for every identified student with parent, student, and staffing input; c) implement and monitor the IEP; d) communicate with parents, students, staff, and community on in-servicing, programming, planning, and progress; e) recruit and in-service Talented and Gifted identification committee and set up meetings; f) prepare and present identification information to Talented and Gifted identification committee and g) represent student’s best interest--problem solving and advocating for appropriate educational programming.

Modifications of Regular Curriculum
Exceptional students, identified by the Talented and Gifted identification committee, will receive modifications to the regular curriculum. The regular curriculum will be modified in content, pacing, and learning environment to match the appropriate level of the learner. The Talented and Gifted and classroom teachers, along with parents, will collaborate to create a plan of instruction and implementation as designated on the IEP. Modifications may include compaction, acceleration, and/or enrichment.

Acceleration and/or curriculum compacting: Available for students who would like to be accelerated through a class due to the fact that current classroom pace is not appropriate for the learner. Students should discuss this with the TAG teacher so that together we can offer a plan to your teacher.

Advanced Placement Classes: Students will be required to take an AP test to qualify for college credit. Students need to make sure that the AP teacher knows that you are planning to take the exam. This is college credit that can be earned while you are in high school. The extra work is worth it! Current AP courses offered: AP Biology, AP Calculus, and AP English.

CLEP (College Level Entry Placement) Testing: This is a testing opportunity, which allows you to earn college credit from knowledge that you already know through previous course work. CLEP tests cover material taught in courses that most students take as requirements during their first two years of college. On the basis of a satisfactory test score, the institution grants credit equal to the amount it gives to students who successfully complete that course. Interested students should contact the TAG teacher for additional information.

Elective Class
Autonomous Learner Class: This course is designed to facilitate the growth of gifted students as independent, self-directed learners, with the development of skills, concepts and positive attitudes within the cognitive, emotional and social domains. Identified students will be able to register for a Talented and Gifted course that is graded. The course is designed for gifted students in the areas of general intellectual ability and specific academic abilities. The curriculum is based on the Autonomous Learner Model, developed by Dr. George Betts and Jolene Knapp.

Special Opportunities
A variety of special opportunities may be offered to Talented and Gifted and other highly interested/able students that are based upon feasibility considering factors such as interest, cost, time, accessibility, and transportation. Special opportunities may include field trips; summer opportunities; conferences (examples may include the Iowa Talented and Gifted Youth Summit, Young Scholar’s Conference, etc.); seminars; and competitions (such as Future Problem Solving, Knowledge Bowl, Mock Trial, etc.).

Off Campus Opportunities
Opportunities such as Central Academy, Post-secondary Enrollment, and correspondence courses are available to eligible students.

Central Academy: Central Academy, a school for academically gifted students, is an extension of the Des Moines Public Schools. The curriculum offers acceleration and enrichment beyond the traditional American high school program and prepares students to take Advanced Placement courses. Students usually attend Central Academy for half of their regular school day and the other half-day is spent in the student’s home school. See me for additional information and courses that are offered at Central Academy.

Post-secondary Enrollment Options Act: Identified students is grades 9-12 may receive academic credits that count toward the graduation requirements for courses taught in post-secondary institutions. The student may receive credits for courses approved by the administration. A request for enrollment in the post-secondary institution must be made to the principal before registration for the class. Courses shall be approved on a case-by-case basis. Ninth and tenth grade students must be identified as TAG students to participate in this program. Students in 11th and 12th grade will have tuition paid directly to the school for an approved course. No student may enroll in more than two courses per semester for high school credit. This does not include summer coursework. Students may not receive high school credit and college credit for the same class unless approved by the high school principal. Courses taken for high school credit will be included on the high school transcript and the grades will be computed into the high school grade point average. Students who fail a class taken under this policy will be responsible for reimbursing the school district for their costs.

Correspondence Classes: Many colleges offer classes through correspondence that can be explored based on individual needs.

Iowa State University offers World Wide Web classes through the ACES program. Students in grades 7 through 10 qualify for these classes in math, computer science, computer aided design during the fall, and literature and composition in the spring. Qualifications include ITBS sub-test score greater than or equal to 97% (national).

The University of Iowa has a new program called The National Academy of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering. This is a special program in which the student forgoes their senior year at high school and goes straight to the University of Iowa from their junior year of high school.

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