What Every Faculty Should Know About Gifted Education

THE GIFTED EDUCATION
REFERRAL PROCESS
Created By:
Brooke D. Frahn
I
INITIAL REFERRAL
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Any teacher or the student’s parent(s) may fill
out the Gifted Nomination Alert Form.
Forms can be requested from the School
Counselor (or RtI Coach) or found on the school’s
website
Completed forms should be returned to the
School Counselor.
The School Counselor will pass completed
documents to the Gifted Program teacher so the
student may be screened for gifted services.
SCREENINGS THAT ARE NOT PASSED
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Gifted Program teacher sends a letter home to the
parent(s) informing them of their child’s screening
results. (Some GP teachers send a letter to the general education teacher as
well letting them know the results of the screening.)
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The letter will list the required minimum percentile,
that child’s earned percentile score, and the
statement “No further testing is recommended at this
time.”
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The screening folder will go in the child’s cumulative
folder in the front office.
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Students may be screened again after 1 calendar year
has passed.
SCREENINGS THAT ARE PASSED
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Student must earn an IQ composite score of
119/90%ile on the screening tool to go on for
further IQ testing.
Results are returned to the School Counselor
School Counselor sends home additional
paperwork to the parents that must be filled out,
signed, and returned giving permission for their
child to go on for further testing.
SCREENINGS THAT ARE PASSED
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Once the parent permission packet is signed and
returned, it is submitted to the PCSB School
Psychologist Department for IQ Testing.
It takes 90 SCHOOL DAYS for the school
psychologist to administer an IQ test to that
student. That is an entire semester! (They are
responsible for testing ALL ESE students and they are
tested in the order in which they are received.)
IQ TESTING
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In order to be considered gifted, a student must
score a 130 or higher on the IQ Test.
Students who score a 127-129 may be considered
eligible for gifted, but 3 quality letters of support
must be written by staff members at that child’s
school. (They take into account the test may have made
an error +/- 3 points.)
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Results will be sent to the parent and the School
Counselor.
LETTERS OF SUPPORT
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Writing a Gifted Letter of Support:
If you are asked to write a letter of recommendation
for your student, please make sure you put some
sincere thought into it and don’t just submit a form
letter that you would write for any student being
considered for gifted. Feel free to use the purple
brochure I created for each of you at the beginning of
the year to find gifted attributes that child has and
incorporate them into the letter. Honestly tell the team
what you see happening in your classroom with that
child. The Eligibility Team reads them out loud at the
meeting for all to hear, and if they don’t think the
letters show support for that child being gifted, or if it
looks like a form letter that is not specific to that
student, the letters will be returned and asked to be
rewritten (delaying the process) or the child will be
rejected and determined “Lack of Eligibility”.
ELIGIBILITY MEETING
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School Counselor sends student folder to the
Eligibility Team which includes IQ Test,
Characteristics of Gifted Checklist, Parent
Questionnaire, Parent Permission for further testing,
3 letters of support (if needed)
This team meets twice a month on Tuesdays.
The team will review all the data and make a
determination as to whether or not the child is
eligible for gifted services.
Results will be emailed to the School Counselor and
Gifted Program teacher and the Red Staffing Folder
will be sent back to the Gifted program teacher.
GIFTED PLACEMENT MEETING
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The Gifted Program teacher has 20 days from the
time the student is found eligible for gifted services to
host a Gifted Placement meeting.
Required Attendees: Parent(s), GP teacher, General
Education teacher, LEA (Local Educational
Agency)Representative, Interpreter of Results.
At this meeting, an Educational Placement (EP)
document with specific goals will be specially
designed for that student and reviewed with the
parent(s).
Parents must accept/decline gifted services and sign
for it either way.
EDUCATIONAL PLACEMENT (EP)
DOCUMENT
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Is a LEGAL document!
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Provides start date of services
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Paragraph of strengths, interests, and Present Levels of
Performance (PLOPS)
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Must include 2 or more personalized goals with objectives that
focus on the students’ strengths
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Goals are good for 3 years
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Outlines that the student will receive services between 3-5
hours per week
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Records any additional related services the student receives.
STUDENT PROGRAMMING
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The student is placed in the school’s weekly Gifted
Program. There is no more busing to another campus
to receive services.
Students will be working in an advanced, accelerated,
and integrated curriculum that spans all subject
areas.
Students will receive both academic and affective
lesson support.
Students will have weekly homework, long term
projects, and community service to complete on a
regular basis.
ACCELERATION
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House Bill (HB) 7059
Available to ANY high functioning student, not just gifted
students
ACCEL School Team consists of Principal, School
Counselor, Gifted Program teacher, General Education
teacher, School Psychologist (and parent)
Formal Referral Process, ACCEL Referral Packet, and
Monitoring Program to evaluate success on an ongoing
basis
27 forms of acceleration that can be incorporated into
student learning beyond just “Whole Grade Acceleration”
FINAL THOUGHTS…
Look
around your classroom,
the hallways, the
school…who could YOU refer
for a Gifted Program
screening?