Title: City of Salem Schools Gifted Programs An Overview
1City of Salem Schools Gifted Programs An
Overview We hope you and your family have a
great 2010-2011 School Year!
2Gifted Programs Overview
- In-Class Differentiation is the cornerstone of
the gifted program at all schools. - Students are encouraged to go beyond the regular
curriculum by teachers who use a variety of
Differentiation techniques. -
- Examples of these include
- Higher level and critical/analytical thinking in
both independent and group tasks. - Tiered activities/centers/projects
- Open-ended questions
- Research
- Pretesting/post testing
- Choice Menus
- Alternate Assignments
- Creative Thinking Opportunities
3 Gifted Program Overview
- Gifted support service to
-Staff Coordinators meet with approximately
seven to ten teachers a week to assist them with
planning differentiation opportunities,
conferencing about individual students needs,
developing curriculum, etc
-Students Salem has two gifted program
coordinators for 256 students. The students
participate in an array of differentiated
opportunities in their own classrooms, as well as
attend workshops in their areas of interest.
4 Gifted Program Overview Cont.
- Gifted support service to
- Parents Coordinators send home differentiation
opportunity logs which describe differentiation
opportunities students have in the classroom. In
addition, coordinators meet with parents as
needed to discuss their childrens particular
needs. - Community Various community members volunteer
in programs such as our partnership with General
Electric and our annual Elementary Art Show we
assist with put on by the Friends of the Salem
Public Library.
5Elementary
- Support for Parents
- Meeting with parents as needed to discuss their
childrens individual needs - Resources
- Support for Teachers
- Resource materials
- Ideas of how to use differentiation strategies in
the classroom - Team Planning and Teaching
- In-service opportunities
- Workshops/Field Trips for Students
- In-school
- After-school
- Saturday Workshops
- Field Trips
6Middle School
- Support for Parents
- Meeting with parents as needed to discuss their
childrens individual needs - Resources
- Support for Teachers
- Resource materials
- Ideas of how to use differentiation strategies
- In-service opportunities
- Co-teaching
- Tutorials
- Gifted Programs Coordinators go to 6th and 7th
grade tutorials periodically to assist and
support students - Workshops/Field Trips for Students
- Before-school
- After-school
- Saturday Workshops
- Field Trips
7High School
- Support for Teachers
- Assist in planning
- Working with small groups
- Co-teaching
- Resource materials and ideas
- Support for Students
- Individual assistance
- -schedules
- -applications
- -college planning
- -college recommendations
- Partnership with General Electric and Job
Shadowing Opportunities - Workshops
- Governors School
- Field Trips
- Support for Parents
- College Planning in conjunction with Salem High
Schools Guidance Department
8Highlights
- We purchased Rosetta Stone, an online foreign
language learning program for our identified
gifted elementary students in which they are able
to learn a language by immersing themselves in
the language. They are able to utilize this
program both in the classroom and at home. We
have also been able to offer this program to a
number of teachers as well who have embraced the
program too. - Our Middle and High School Students went on a
fieldtrip to General Electric where they
participated in hands on learning labs and toured
the facility with the Engineers of the Facility.
Engineers from GE later went into various
classrooms at ALMS and SHS to promote engineering
as a possible future career choice. - All Introduction to Elementary School Movies for
new students coming to our schools have been
completed. The gifted students at each elementary
school created and produced the movies for the
new students coming to their schools. -
9Highlights
- Several Students at ALMS and SHS participated in
the Big Read. The Big Read is a nationwide
program that was created by the National
Endowment for the Arts. - The Big Read invites members of communities
throughout the United States to read a single
book of American literature in their home towns
and communities, and then join together for
activities including book discussion groups,
panels, lectures, film screenings and other
activities related to the book to name several. - Our identified gifted fifth grade students took a
field trip to the Roanoke Valley Governor School
to participate in Hands On Learning Activities in
Science, Math, and Technology. - Our Gifted Program Surveys were once again placed
online allowing students, parents, and teachers
to give us valuable feedback regarding the Gifted
program. -
10Highlights
- Our Region VI Gifted Consortium has been busy
collaborating together for many years working as
one to provide unique learning experiences for
the gifted children in our region as well as
provide professional development for the teachers
in our region that work with our identified
students. - Bob Iseminger, author of Demystifying
Differentiation in Elementary School and
Demystifying Differentiation in Middle School
came in April to the Salem Civic Center to do
professional development for our teachers and
other teachers around the region. - the ongoing development of the Region 6 Gifted
Consortium website that has resources for
parents, teachers, and coordinators - We recently worked together to purchase Rosetta
Stone and Renzulli Learning Systems for the
students in our region. As a result of our
collaborative purchase, we were able to save
money in our school systems.
11Highlights
- We assist the Friends of the Salem Public Library
in putting an Annual Art Show together that
features our talented artists in the four
elementary schools. - We purchased Renzulli Learning Systems for all
of our elementary students - students answer a questionnaire online resulting
in the development of their unique learning
profile. - As a result, the students have opportunities to
travel to an array of safe informative websites
based on their learning styles and interests. - The websites include virtual fieldtrips, summer
enrichment opportunities, and much more. - As the result of the purchase of this online
product, all teachers in our system have access
to this program which assists teachers in the
creation and execution of differentiated
teaching, learning, and assessment activities.
122009-2010 Workshop Opportunities
- Geocaching
- Introduction to Russian Language and Culture
- Renzulli Learning Systems
- Drama Games/Auditioning
- Constructing Polyhedrons
- College Planning
- Book Club
- Painting with water colors and oils
- Origami
- iPod Touches
- Civil War Reenactment
132009-2010 Field Trip Opportunities
- The Taubman Art Museum
-
- -Middle and High School Students November 3rd
- -Elementary Students February 12th
- General Electric
- -Middle and High School Students February 16th
- Roanoke Valley Governors School
- -5th graders
14The Rosetta Stone Foreign Language Web Based
Program
- http//www.rosettastone.com/
- Dynamic Immersion Program
- Getting children started early with second
language skills gives them a head start to
succeed in a global economy. - Research has shown that once a second language
has been acquired, it is easier to learn a third
or fourth language. Developing essential language
skills leads to success in other subject areas as
well. - Rosetta Stone is built on a series of common,
easily recognizable images found in everyday
situations, which enables young children
immediately to immerse themselves into the
program and progress quickly. - With Rosetta Stone, students can work
independently at school and at home on this
program.
15Languages Our Identified Gifted Elementary
Students Can Choose From
- Russian
- French
- Mandarin Chinese
- Japanese
16Upcoming Plans
- Continued Teacher workshop series focusing on G/T
topics - Continued collaboration with school systems in
our region - Continued Foreign Language Learning Opportunities
for our Gifted Students - Innovative Technology workshops for our students
and teachers utilizing technology such as IPod
Touches, GPS devices, and Web cameras
17Upcoming Plans
- Local, State, and National Government workshops
- Continued Partnerships with local businesses and
companies such as General Electric - Continued Opportunities to be Green and expose
and involve our students in Green efforts
around the community - Continued efforts to actively engage our students
in service projects to heighten their awareness
of people in need, and teach them how to work
together to make differences in peoples lives -
18Upcoming Plans
- Continued fieldtrips on Parent Teacher Conference
Days and Early Dismissal Days. - We are currently planning a fieldtrip to Virginia
Tech this fall for our Middle and High School
Students in which they will tour the campus,
attend an honors program presentation, and eat
lunch on campus at one of the popular dining
halls. - We are planning a fieldtrip to Virginia Tech this
spring for our elementary students to explore
hands on learning opportunities, tour the campus,
etc
19For more information go to
- - http//www.salem.k12.va.us
- - The Gifted Corner at http//agibson.edublogs.org