Elementary Gifted Services

Each student is unique. In identifying students who qualify for gifted services, Advanced Learning Programs and Services seeks to appropriately meet the educational needs of students. Therefore, the district will provide a continuum of differentiated services of support for students who qualify for gifted services. The services described below may apply to students in grades K-6 (K-5 in the Lake Highlands Learning Community).

Richardson ISD facilitates a variety of services for identified students. The first support is intentionally grouping identified gifted students so the teacher can more effectively provide the type of instructional experience best suited for GT thinkers. Clustering and teacher support means students will have their instructional needs addressed during all subjects each day.

The classroom teacher can also leverage grouping strategies that reduce the range of abilities and achievement levels in their classroom. This means they can group their students and pace their learning in more targeted ways. Through increased collaboration, connections between academic subjects create learning experiences that reach a whole new level!

In addition to the above supports, some students need the intervention of GT pullout services (sometimes referred to as GT3). Providing services on the campus means we have the flexibility for students to have their services and not miss special events or field trips. Students who qualify for GT pullout are placed in the GT clustered classroom and participate in two hours of GT pullout instruction in gifted services each week with their campus Advanced Learning Teacher.

The GT3 Pullout curriculum is:

• appropriately differentiated for the qualified students
• cross-curricular
• intentional in promoting creative and critical thinking
• centered around a global theme that encourages students to think from multiple perspectives
• designed to respond to the unique social-emotional needs of the gifted
• linked meaningfully to the regular curriculum (TEKS)

Students identified for GT2 services are placed in clustered classrooms with other identified gifted students. They also participate in 30-45 minutes of services each week and will be grouped based on their area of academic strength. These services, facilitated by the campus Advanced Learning Teacher, promote learning and growth through lessons and activities designed to extend and enrich academic standards and skills.

Some students learn at a faster pace than others and a small number of them would benefit greatly from grade-level acceleration that differs from traditional pacing. In some cases, students may benefit from two years or more of acceleration in all four core subjects (reading, math, science, and social studies). These students may be grouped in grades 3-6 at the Math, Science, Technology (MST) Magnet School for advanced acceleration. Students may choose to progress through the curriculum at a faster and more personalized pace than their current grade peers, possibly completing up to 8th grade content by the end of 6th grade. These students will graduate early and move into deeper study of their chosen field in college. For more information, please visit this newsletter.

Email: kelsey.karcher@risd.org