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Curriculum and Instruction

GATE: Gifted and Talented Education

In 2015-2016, the district had the opportunity to review the services offered to our gifted students. As a result of that review, the district was able to develop a district gifted continuum of services without needing additional staff. The proposed gifted service plan, approved by the PCSD Board of Education, will allow us to serve more gifted students throughout the district in grades 3-12 as follows:

GRADES 3 - 4
Gifted Service Criteria
Reading: Reading ID or Superior Cognitive Ability ID
Math: Math ID or Superior Cognitive Ability ID or Creative Thinking ID

Program Code: 205062
REGULAR CLASSROOM WITH CLUSTER GROUPING
Support provided by GIS assigned to the building

Gifted students meeting the above criteria will be deliberately placed in classrooms with a teacher who will receive ongoing support and professional development in differentiating curriculum and instruction in both reading and math instruction from a gifted intervention specialist. The gifted intervention specialist will be actively involved in assisting the classroom teacher to differentiate and/or deliver content to gifted students clustered in his/her classroom. The program’s curriculum aligns with the Ohio’s New Learning Standards and was designed to support the development of critical thinking skills and problem solving while also engaging students in authentic real world challenges.

GRADES 5 - 7
Gifted Service Criteria
Reading: Reading ID or Superior Cognitive Ability ID
Math: Math ID or Superior Cognitive Ability ID or Creative Thinking ID

Program Code: 205047
LANGUAGE ARTS & MATH COURSES
Support provided by GIS assigned to the building


Qualifying gifted students have been deliberately placed with a general education language arts and/or math teacher who will receive ongoing support and professional development in differentiating curriculum and instruction in both reading and math instruction from a gifted intervention specialist. The gifted intervention specialist will be actively involved in assisting the classroom teacher to differentiate and/or deliver content to gifted students clustered in his/her classroom. The curriculum will be modified in depth, breadth, and pace based on the adopted course of study, and will be differentiated in one or more of the following ways:

  •  Providing access to appropriately advanced curriculum content, including replacement or extension of the regular curriculum;
  • Modifying the learning process to provide an appropriate level of challenge, including the use of strategies for curriculum compacting: and,
  • Modifying or replacing assignments and projects with alternatives based on the student’s needs and abilities.
 
GRADES 6 – 7
Gifted Service Criteria: Math ID, Superior Cognitive Ability or Creative Thinking

Program Code: 205075
HONORS MATH COURSES
Support provided by the GIS assigned to building

The middle school honors math courses serve as gifted services for qualifying gifted students. Highly qualified middle school instructors provide rigorous compacted content to students who are ready for accelerated learning. The curriculum in these courses is compressed and covers 3 years of math content in 2 years. The gifted intervention specialist will be actively involved in assisting the classroom teacher to differentiate and/or deliver content to gifted students clustered in his/her classroom. The GATE students enrolled in these courses will be challenged to think critically and collaborate in a group setting.

GRADES 8 – 12
Gifted Service Criteria: Superior Cognitive Ability, Creative Thinking Ability, Math ID, Reading ID, Science Id and Social Studies ID (Gifted identification must correlate with coursework to qualify as a gifted services.)
Program Code: 205075
 
HONORS COURSES
Support provided by the district gifted coordinator

The honors courses offered at the high school level provide students with an opportunity to engage in in-depth study and research. Teachers providing gifted services to gifted students enrolled in these courses will receive ongoing professional development and support from the district gifted coordinator. Not all Honors courses serve as gifted services. Not all honors courses serve as gifted services.
 
Program Code: 205065
ADVANCED PLACEMENT (AP) COURSES
Support provided by the district gifted coordinator

College-level courses with corresponding examinations in multiple subject areas (e.g. English, mathematics, etc.). Credit for college may be obtained if a student takes an AP examination sponsored by the College Entrance Examination Board and given in the spring of each school year. Not all AP courses serve as gifted services.
 
Program Code: 205070
COLLEGE CREDIT PLUS
Support provided by the district gifted coordinator

Ohio’s College Credit Plus program provides the opportunity for students to earn college and high school credits at the same time by taking college courses from colleges and/or universities. The purpose of this program is to promote rigorous academic pursuits and to provide a wide variety of options to college-ready students. Taking a College Credit Plus course from a public college or university is free, which means no cost for tuition, books, or fees. If you choose to attend a private college or university, you may have limited costs.

ODE Gifted Service Requirements

Student gifted services must be differentiated based on identified areas of strength and in appropriate setting.
 
The gifted support staff assigned to each building will be responsible for facilitating and completing the individual Written Education Plans (WEP) for students as required by ODE and reported in the Education Management Information System (EMIS).
 
All classroom teachers responsible for providing gifted services in the regular classroom setting will receive ongoing high-quality professional development for gifted services provide by the gifted staff member assigned to their building as follows:
 
Note: Advanced Placement and College Credit Plus teachers are exempt from this requirement.
 
SchoolGifted Staff
Service Day
Office/Instructional Space
 NormandyMichele Wargo
Support by Appointment
N/A
 Parma High
Michele Wargo
Support by Appointment
N/A
 Valley Forge
Michele Wargo
Support by Appointment
N/A
 GreenbriarPolly Bowman
Monday and Friday
Media Center
 HillsideBrooke Beni
Monday and Friday
224
 ShilohMegan O'Hara
Monday and Friday
120D
 Green Valley
Brooke Beni
TuesdayRoom 24
 DentzlerBrooke Beni
WednesdayRoom 11
 John Muir
Brooke Beni
Thursday28B/Room 2
 Pleasant Valley
Polly Bowman
Tuesday and Thursday
Room 200C
 Parma Park
Polly Bowman
WednesdayRoom 100
 RenwoodMegan O'Hara
TuesdayRoom 115
 Thoreau Park
Megan O'Hara
 WednesdayRoom 201
 Ridge-Brook Megan O'Hara
ThursdayRoom MC1
 
 
If you have any questions regarding this information, please contact:
 
Michele Wargo
PCSD Gifted Coordinator

GATE: Gifted and Talented Education Documents

Policy on Academic Acceleration, Early Entrance to Kindergarten and Early High School Graduation

In accordance with the belief that all children are entitled to an education commensurate with their particular needs, students who can exceed the grade-level indicators and benchmarks set forth in the standards must be afforded the opportunity and be encouraged to do so.

 

Whole-Grade Acceleration:  The practice of assigning a student to a higher grade level than is typical given the student’s age on a full-time basis for the purpose of providing access to appropriately challenging learning opportunities.

 

Individual Subject Acceleration:  The practice of assigning a student to a higher grade level than is typical given the student’s age for the purpose of providing access to appropriately challenging learning opportunities in one or more subject areas.

 

Early Admission to Kindergarten:  The practice of admitting a student to kindergarten who has not yet reached the typical age at which students are admitted to kindergarten for the purpose of providing access to appropriately challenging learning opportunities.

 

Early High School Graduation:  The practice of facilitating completion of the high school program in fewer than four years for the purpose of providing earlier than typical access to post-secondary educational opportunities.

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