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Gifted Education

Gifted Education

 

Identification of Gifted Students at Moffat and Crestone Charter Schools

Moffat PK-12 contact: Alex Moore-Guenther
Email: amoore@mofffatschools.org

Crestone Charter School contact:  Melissa Sladin
Email: msladin@crestonechareter.com

Identification of gifted students at our schools is done using the Reponse to Intervention (RtI) process.  In this team approach, students, parents, and school personnel supply information about the student and his or her needs. 

In grades K-12, screening for the gifted program may begin with high achievement scores, teacher, or parent recommendations. Observations are made of the students’ performance on higher level thinking tasks as part of a talent pool.  When further evidence is required students then receive a more extensive evaluation.  A body of evidence about the students’ performance is gathered.  This includes:

  1.       Behaviors/Characteristics checklists from teachers and parents
  2.       Achievement Test Scores
  3.       Demonstrated Performances – juried exhibits, auditions, portfolios
  4.       Ability Testing Scores

 

Once the evidence is collected it is reviewed by the Response to Intervention Team (RtI.)  This team is comprised of the counselor, teachers at the appropriate level, an administrator, the gifted education coordinator, sometimes the school psychologist and parents.  The evidence is reviewed to see if the student displays a need for gifted programming as part of his or her educational plan. To exhibit this need the student will show strong evidence in three of the following four categories:

  • GES-3 behavioral checklist  - 95th percentile or above
  • achievement test scores of 95th percentile or above
  • high rankings on demonstrated performance assessments
  • scores of 95th percentile or above on cognitive ability testing

The process Moffat Schools follows is the identification process determined by the San Luis Valley BOCES, following recommendations from the Colorado Department of Education.

More information can be found at the SLV BOCES website: HERE

An identification inventory form is completed on each student who is screened for gifted education. If the student is identified as gifted, an Advanced Learning Plan (ALP) is created with parents, educational personnel, and the student, if age appropriate.  The ALP describes academic and affective goals for the next year.  The ALP specifies which instructional strategies will be used and who is responsible for carrying them out.  Parental involvement is also described in the ALP.  These documents are usually created and stored within the Alpine Achievement System.  Parents receive a copy of the ALP and the gifted education coordinator keeps a signed hard copy of the plan.

If the student is not identified as gifted, his or her strengths are communicated to teachers where they are used for appropriate classroom instructional planning.

Records for students who transfer into Moffat Schools are reviewed for evidence of giftedness.  If the student’s body of evidence is complete and meets the criteria for identification, an ALP is written.  If the body of evidence is not complete, the gifted coordinator gathers the needed pieces of information and the RtI team reviews the information for potential identification.