B.A.S.H. Gifted Education Program

Welcome to the first newsletter for the Boyertown Area Senior High Gifted Education Program! The goal is to send a newsletter update each month. This April Newsletter is being sent a little early because we just received some information about a free online webinar available tonight for parents.

Boyertown Area School District’s High School Gifted Program is focused on meeting the needs for students who have been identified as needing enrichment and a challenging curriculum. Therefore, the purpose of the gifted enrichment program is to provide academically gifted students with opportunities to further develop skills that will aid them in the realization of the maximum potential of their talents. Before entering this program, each student must meet eligibility requirements as established by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the BASD. At the high school level, students have their Gifted Individualized Educational Plans (GIEP) met in various ways. At the yearly GIEP meeting, areas of student interest, specialty, and aptitude are explored. With the guidance of the GIEP Teacher of Record, individual plans and goals are developed for the upcoming year. In addition to the yearly plan development, students with GIEPs are encouraged to explore the course programming options that include Advanced Placement, Dual Enrollment, and Honors levels courses.

Join PAGE board members for a free Parent-2-Parent (P2P) webinar focused on making the most of summer for your gifted child! From enrichment opportunities to creative at-home learning, we'll share practical strategies and resources to keep gifted minds engaged all summer long. Connect with other parents, ask questions, and get expert insights on planning a summer that sparks curiosity and growth!

Weds March 26 (7:00-8:30pm) - Online via Zoom. Register for the event here.

• Go to pages 14-16 in the Program of Studies titled “Enrichment Courses” This section covers the gifted program, honors/AP courses, dual enrollment, etc.
• May 9th is the last day for students to change their selections as all Course selections are FINAL and no changes will be made after this date.

• The Counseling Dept. also hosted a Financial Aid Presentation earlier this year. You can view recorded past presentations on the site. The Virtual FAFSA Support information is also listed here.
• Student Aid Guide - This comprehensive guide (which has been updated for 2025-26 school year) provides a complete overview of the financial aid process with information on most of Pennsylvania’s financial aid programs and services.

For the first time in 2024-25, BASH introduced homerooms exclusively for students in the gifted education program. The total time for homeroom was extended from 7 minutes to 32 minutes, providing for an advisory period. This additional time has allowed students to collaborate with other gifted students on classwork and projects while also building stronger social bonds.

The gifted homeroom and advisory will continue for the 2025-2026 school year.

• These students have outstanding intellectual & creative ability, the development of which requires specially designed programs or support services, or both, not ordinarily provided in the regular education program.

• Side Note: PA only recognizes giftedness in ELA, Math, and Science. It does not recognize “talents” such as art or music.

• The primary criteria is having an IQ of 130 or higher. However, an IQ score may not be the sole criteria for identifying a student as a gifted student.

• The multiple criteria indicating a student may be mentally gifted include:

• A year or more above grade achievement level in one or more subjects as measured by nationally normed and validated achievement tests.

• An observed or measured rate of acquisition/retention of new academic content or skills.

• Demonstrated achievement, performance or expertise in one or more academic areas as evidenced by excellence of products, portfolio, or research, as well as criterion-referenced team judgment.

• Early and measured use of high level thinking skills (Guilford/Bloom's Taxonomy), academic creativity, leadership skills, intense academic interest areas, communications skills, foreign language aptitude or technology expertise.

• Documented, observed, validated or assessed evidence that intervening factors such as English as a second language, learning disability, physical impairment, emotional disability, gender or race bias, or socio/cultural deprivation are masking gifted abilities.

Tuesday March 11 - On Tuesday, the BASH Academic WorldQuest teams traveled to Reading Area Community College to compete in the Berks County competition hosted by the World Affairs Council of Reading. Mr. Burychka has been organizing and preparing the students for this competition. It was the first time that Boyertown entered teams into the competition and despite a late start (only forming the club in December), the kids did great! The two BASH teams (mainly consisting of students in the BASH gifted education program) finished 7th & 8th places out of 22 teams from across Berks County.

How to Play? - There are 10 rounds in the competition, each round having 10 questions. Teams of 4 students will have 45 seconds at the local competition and 30-45 seconds at the National Competition to answer each question. For the AWQ National Competition, all of the categories are multiple choice. For Local AWQ Competition organized by World Affair Councils, it may be a multiple-choice format for the Current Events category. For the Berks County Competition, we are allowed up to 3 teams of 12 total students plus one alternate.

• Mr. B. Burychka (bburychka@boyertownasd.org)

• Mrs. M. Gramp (mgramp@boyertownasd.org)

• Mr. J. Mauer (jmauer@boyertownasd.org)

• Mr. J. Valick (jvalick@boyertownasd.org)

PACE is the Pennsylvania Association for Gifted Education

Empowering educators and parents to meet the diverse needs of gifted learners through awareness, advocacy, and action.

The Pennsylvania Association for Gifted Education is a nonprofit advocacy organization dedicated to helping gifted learners, parents and educators. An affiliate of National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC), since 1951, PAGE has assisted countless parents, teachers and administrators in helping Pennsylvania’s gifted learners reach their full potential. We do this through our free Helpline, our network of local affiliates, annual conferences, and effective advocacy. Working with state legislators and members of the state Department of Education, PAGE fostered the passage of Pennsylvania’s Chapter 16, Special Education for the Gifted, one of the strongest for gifted education in the nation.

PAGE Blogs List

Gifted and Distractible: Understanding, Supporting, and Advocating for Your Twice Exceptional Child by Julie Skolnick

A practical, research-based guide that demystifies giftedness and learning differences in order to help “twice exceptional” children thrive.

Does your child exhibit giftedness and behavioral issues like meltdowns, power struggles, and difficulty relating to their peers? Are they out-of-the-box thinkers requiring different teaching and learning methods? It’s a widely held misconception that intellectual ability and social and emotional success go hand in hand. In fact, “twice exceptional” kids—those who are gifted and have simultaneous learning differences like ADHD, Autism, or dyslexia—are often misunderstood by parents, teachers, and themselves.

Found here on Amazon

• 12 Traits of Giftedness

• Pennsylvania’s Chapter 16 Gifted Education Regulations
• Check back here each month as more will be added, including important links from past newsletters.