Encinitas Union School District

1
Encinitas Union School District

• GATE Parent Information Night 2008-09

2
You know your child is gifted when..

• He knows everything there is to know about
  giraffesand chess, and Top 40 music, and
  Humphrey Bogart movies.
  
• Your 5 year-old asks for an unabridged dictionary
  for her birthday
  
• He has already asked why? 100 times today and
  its only 800 am in the morning
  
• She builds a scale model of the Eiffel Tower out
  of toothpicks and marshmallows.
  
• He spends four solid weeks studying Greek and
  Roman Architecture
  
• She insists that everyone who visits your home
  bring a canned item for the local food shelf

3
Characteristics of Gifted students

• Advanced intellectual ability
• Verbal proficiency
• Creativity
• High Energy
• Focus, Passion, Intensity
• Logical Thinking
• Sensitivity
• Sense of Humor

Taken from You Know Your Child is Gifted When
Judy Galbaragh
4
Characteristics of Gifted students

• Able to Concentrate for long periods of time at a
  very young age
  
• Uses a large vocabulary
• Constant questioning
• Creativity
• Exceptional ability in a particular subject
• Advanced comprehension
• Faster pace of learning
• Need for school work that provides activities
  that are both complex and fast paced
  

The California Association for the Gifted
5
Characteristics of Gifted students

• Remembers what has been learned forever, making
  review unnecessary, and frustrating for the
  student
  
• Is able to deal with concepts that are too
  complex and abstract for age peers
  
• Has a passionate interest in one or more topics
  and would spend all available time learning more
  about that topic
  
• Does not need to watch the teacher to hear what
  is being said can operate on multiple brain
  channels simultaneously and process more than one
  task at a time

6
Common Misunderstood Characteristics

• Disorganized (creative)
• Perfectionistic and Procrastinistic OR
  Contemplative and Introverted
  
• Intense (argumentative)
• Poor handwriting, especially in boys (sloppy)
• Asynchronous in Development
• (not gifted at everything, immature in some
  areas)
  
• Complex (whole to part)
• Precocious
• Insightful
• Avid Readers
• Strong Sense of Justice
• Motivated when Interested

7
Recent History of Gifted Education in Encinitas

• Target established as part of our Strategic
  Planning Process (2006..continuing)
  
• Administrators and teachers attend Summer
  Institute at the Center for Gifted Education,
  College of William and Mary (Summer 2006)
  
• Differentiation Task Force (August 2006)
• Session at Management Retreat with Leadership and
  Board August 2006
  
• Parent Information Nights at all nine schools
• 2006-07
• Formation of GATE Instructional Improvement
  Committee (IIC) Fall 2006
  

8
History of Gifted Education in Encinitas (2006-07)

• Recommendations of the Differentiation Task Force
  to IIC
  
• What can We Do Now! Surveyed Teachers regarding
  what they are currently using
  
• Developed list of appropriate resources
  Identified appropriate support materials to be
  used district-wide
  
• William and Mary Units
• Junior Great Books
• Everyday Math
• ALEKS and Successmaker
• Re-write GATE Plan plan approved for 2 years

9
History of Gifted Education in Encinitas (2007-08)

• Principal/Governing Board Training
• Work of IIC continued
• Formation of 1st Gate Certification Cohort
• GATE Parent Nights all 9 schools
• Curriculum materials piloted and refined by Gate
  Cohort
  
• End of Year GATE Colloquium

10
History of Gifted Education in Encinitas (2008-09)

• Second GATE Cohort Formed
• Continue the work of the 1st year GATE Cohort
• Re-Writing Plan for June 2009 submission
• GATE Parent Nights all 9 schools
• Pilot and implement new identification process

11
GATE Plan

• Approval by the State for 1, 2 or 3 years
• Required to receive state funding
• Last plan approved for 2 years
• We will need to submit a new plan in June 2009.

12
GATE Plan 8 Components

• Program Design
• Identification
• Curriculum and Instruction
• Social and Emotional
• Professional Development
• Parent and Community Involvement
• Program Assessment
• Budget

13
Program Design

• Philosophy
• all children should be challenged to meet their
  full potential,
  
• GATE services include high quality differentiated
  curriculum which extends student learning
  
• It is our responsibility to provide
  differentiated learning opportunities, that
  exhibit acceleration, complexity, challenge,
  depth, and creativity

14
Identification

• Currently
• End of 3rd grade beginning of 4th
• Based upon STAR and RAVEN Tests
• STAR results reviewed each fall
• Piloting
• Looking at multiple, research-based criteria
• Parent/Teacher surveys
• Multiple Assessments
• STAR
• Naglieri
• CogAT

15
Curriculum and Instruction

• Higher Order Thinking Skills
• Features of Differentiated Curriculum for Gifted
  Learners
  
• Acceleration in Math
• Completing the curriculum of the next grade
  level
  
• Learning advanced, accelerated math in their own
  classroom, individually, or in a small group
  
• Differentiation in Language Arts
• Flexible leveled groups for reading
• Jr. Great Books
• William and Mary Units

16
Higher Order Thinking Skills
17
Higher Order Thinking Skills
18
Differentiation Feature Acceleration
Fewer tasks assigned to master standard
Assessed earlier or prior to teaching
Clustered by higher order thinking skills
19
Differentiation Examples Acceleration
Implement a math curriculum objective for the
gifted by Multiplying by 1 digit Multiplying by
2 digits Multiplying by 3 digits Complete word
problems using multiplication
Implement a math curriculum objective for the
gifted by Computational procedures as a tool for
problem solving Using addition, subtraction, mul
tiplication, and division to solve multi-step
problems
Center for Gifted Education The College of Willia
m and Mary
20
Differentiation Feature Complexity
Used multiple higher level skills
Added more variables to study Required multiple r
esources
21
Differentiation Examples Complexity
Read Animal Farm and discuss the novels
symbolism. Write an essay analyzing how the
symbolism communicates central themes of the
novel.
Read Animal Farm and Lord of the Flies and
compare and contrast how the novels reflect the
concept of power. Write a persuasive essay
arguing which of the novels communicates the
concept more effectively and why.
Center for Gifted Education The College of Willia
m and Mary
21
Free powerpoint template www.brainybetty.com
22
Differentiation Feature Depth
Studied a concept in multiple applications
Conducted original research
Developed a product
23
Differentiation Example Depth
Choose one of the following topics and prepare an
oral presentation using at least four library
sources -Shakespeares World -The American Dr
eam -The Role of Science Fiction in Literature
Debate one of the following resolutions.
-Mankind is on a path toward human progress
-Studying our past will help us cope with the
future. Use multiple sources including surveys, i
nterview, and library sources in your preparation.
Center for Gifted Education The College of Willia
m and Mary
24
Differentiation Feature Challenge
Advanced resources employed Sophisticated content
stimuli used Cross-disciplinary applications mad
e
Reasoning made explicit
25
Differentiation Examples Challenge
Joe invested 1,000 in stock in January. When he
sold it in December, the price was up 12 from
his purchase price. What was his profit on this
stock?
Which would you rather choose?
a) 80 profit in year 1 and 50 loss in year 2.
b) 5 profit in year 1 and 5 profit in year 2.
Explain your reasoning.
Center for Gifted Education The College of Willia
m and Mary
26
Differentiation Feature Creativity
Designed/constructed a model based on principles
or criteria Provided alternatives for tasks, prod
ucts, and assessments Emphasized oral and written
communication to a real-world audience
27
Differentiation Examples Creativity
Conduct an experiment on plant growth by
measuring weekly progress of two sets of seeds,
one in artificial light indoors and one outside
in shade.
Design an experiment on one of the following
questions and share your results in an oral and
written presentation Are bees attracted to diet
cola? Are earthworms attracted to light? Are boy
s more interested in computers than girls?
Your own question
Center for Gifted Education The College of Willia
m and Mary
28
Social and Emotional

• Teachers to receive training on needs of gifted
  students
  
• Parent Resources
• Character Counts

29
Professional Development

• Principals
• GATE Plan
• Observation Tools
• Identification Process
• GATE Cohort
• Curriculum Materials

30
GATE Certification Cohort
Requirements of participants Completed applicati
on Demonstrated commitment to differentiated
instruction, acceleration, and the tenets of a
high quality gifted program for students
Participation in Summer Institute (College of
William and Mary Differentiating Curriculum for
Gifted Learners Strand -Language Arts
Required participation in monthly meetings
District-funded participation in Annual
California Association of Gifted (CAG)
Conference Maintenance of a portfolio for present
ation at an end-of-year colloquium.
31
GATE Certification Cohort
Components of Professional Development/Areas of
Study Research-based instructional model in colla
boration with the College of William and Mary,
Williamsburg, Virginia Junior Great Books Inqui
ry Method Everyday Math Program Components Chara
cteristics of gifted students Features of differe
ntiated instruction for gifted students
Identification of gifted students
Meeting the social/emotional needs of gifted
students Technology resources for gifted students
Parent Education for parents of gifted students

32
GATE Certification Cohort
Incentives and Compensation All supplemental GATE
materials and equipment supporting the program
will be provided to each teacher accepted into
the certification program. Remuneration in accord
ance with certificated contract for attendance to
all meetings/workshops (outside the work day).
Paid membership in the California Association for
the Gifted (CAG) Subscription to the Gifted Educa
tion Communicator Beginning Fall 2008, a cluster
of GATE identified students will be assigned to
certified teachers classrooms.
Several instructional and reference books
33
Parent and Community Involvement

• Parent Representatives on GATE IIC
• Improving Communication
• Envoy Articles
• District GATE Brochure
• District Website
• Letters

34
Program Evaluation

• Classroom Observations
• Consultant Review with suggestions for next
  steps
  
• Data on student progress
• Parent Input
• Surveys
• Focus Groups
• GATE Parent Nights

35
Budget

• Amount of Funding we receive from the state is
  limited
  
• Can do more from a district perspective, than by
  schools purchasing or contracting things
  individually
  
• We supplement GATE funds with other moneys in
  order to achieve our goals
  

36
So what does all this mean for my child?

• We serve children kindergarten through 6th grade
• We provide a research-based differentiated
  curriculum for our students
  
• At times students may be regrouped for
  instruction and may have more than one teacher
  
• We serve academically precocious students,
  whether or not they are officially identified
  
• Gifted students are placed in clusters within a
  general education classroom

37
So what does all this mean for my child?

• Mathematics
• Students meeting identified criteria are eligible
  for math acceleration
  
• Math acceleration my include
• Completing the curriculum of the next higher
  grade level
  
• Completing the current grade level curriculum at
  a faster pace
  
• Being provided with extension activities at grade
  level

38
So what does all this mean for my child?

• Mathematics
• Math Acceleration may be offered through
• Regrouping
• Going to the classroom of the next higher grade
  level
  
• Learning more advanced math curriculum in their
  own classroom either individually or with a small
  group
  

39
So what does all this mean for my child?

• Language Arts
• Flexible, leveled reading groups
• Inquiry Based Curriculum
• Advanced reading strategies
• Quality, high level literature
• Curriculum Includes
• William and Mary Center for Gifted Education,
  Integrated Curriculum Model
  
• Jr. Great Books

40
So what does all this mean for my child?

• Language Arts
• Through an integrated approach students are
  taught the concepts of
  
• Change
• The Reasoning Process
• Advanced content skills in reading
• Instruction can be done through regrouping, or
  through flexible groups within the classroom

41
So whats next?

• Continued refinement of our gifted curriculum
• Alignment to CA Standards
• Continued training
• Continued sharing and modeling among teachers
• Scope and Sequence
• Collecting and evaluating data on student
  performance

42
Finally

• We know there is more to be done
• We are proud of what we have accomplished
• We are committed to continued improvement to our
  program
  
• We know that we will never be done, as things are
  constantly changing!

43
Questions