Mr. Thomas Smith, Supervisor

The school system provides a variety of ways to address the needs of students who have outstanding abilities. For example, for youngsters who excel in specific academic areas, there is differentiated coursework. For those with special abilities in the arts, there are opportunities to participate in musical performances, art exhibits, and dramatic productions. For athletes, there is a wide array of interscholastic teams. In addition, many extracurricular activities enable students to develop their individual interests and leadership skills.

The district also has a series of formal program components for students with special abilities and talents. Formal components are characterized by specific identification procedures and regularly scheduled instructional time. In keeping with the most recent research, the school system defines intellectual giftedness as a blending of outstanding intellect, motivation and creative thinking. For the formal components of the program, the district uses multiple criteria to identify students who may be gifted. The criteria includes standardized test scores, grades, writing samples and recommendations by teachers. Students are screened each year  for the following year’s program.

A component for children of outstanding general intellectual ability, called TAG (Talented and Gifted), serves students in grades three through seven. Instruction includes multi-disciplinary units organized around broad themes. Most of the instructional activities emphasize hands-on learning. A second component, "Math Prime," addresses the needs of the mathematically precocious in grades five through seven, while a third component serves fifth, sixth, and seventh graders who have outstanding verbal ability. All three program components emphasize higher order thinking skills.

For eighth-grade students who demonstrate aptitude in special academic areas, classes for the academically talented  in English, science and social studies, are provided. In the ninth grade and beyond there are honors and advanced placement classes.

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