Enrichment
Gifted And Talented Programs
We believe that children possess many different gifts and talents so we don’t just confine ourselves to addressing those who excel in reading and mathematics. For example, there are children who are verbally (linguistically) gifted and need enrichment in writing, speaking and debating. There are other children who are talented in music and/or art and need enrichment in those areas. The same applies for those who are kinesthetically gifted, interpersonally gifted and even those who possess a naturalist intelligence or deep understanding of the environment.
To that end, we believe that it is critical for us to recognize the gifts our students possess and plan an instructional program that meets their needs. For example, for some students excelling in mathematics, it might be necessary to accelerate them by placing a grade higher in that subject, for others compacting the curriculum and offering them opportunities to solve rich problems might suffice. The important thing is that we carefully assess each child before we plan an instructional program tailored specifically for them. We do this by assessing interests, as well as looking at test scores. Test scores don’t always tell the story alone so we look at authentic student work to give us more of a picture of a child’s abilities.
In middle school we have an elective program built into the school day in which students have the opportunity to take classes that will enhance and enrich their talents. They choose an elective in their area of interest or talent that is meant to challenge and develop their gifts even further. It might be an art club, an advanced math class or math competition club, a creative writing workshop, a language class or a choice of others. The idea is to not only enrich the gift, but to expose the children to topics they might not have known so that they develop new interests. This elective program is (With a few exceptions) for all students because developing new interests and ideas in children is the hallmark for any program in education, no matter how a child does in school.We believe we can develop interests in even the most reluctant child and let the gift shine through. Additionally we do offer gifted and talented art, and opportunities for students to work in a small independent group on special projects.
