Gifted Students in School: Part One
If you have a gifted learner in your home, it's important to carefully consider how a prospective school supports their unique needs. Charter and private schools vary in their approach, and some may not offer specialized programs for gifted students. Instead, they often emphasize rigorous or advanced coursework as a way to challenge all students, including those who are gifted. Gifted learners definitely benefit from increased rigor, but many times a school will conflate rigor by giving more homework. While this model may benefit advanced and/or highly motivated students, truly gifted students often require more than just harder or faster-paced work. Why? Although gifted students are “smart,” not all “smart” students are gifted. Gifted students do not need more homework.
If you think your child is advanced, but does not qualify for gifted services, please check out Part Three of our Gifted Students in School article.
Gifted learners learn differently than their high achieving peers and benefit from differentiated content, curriculum compacting, and the ability to dive deeper into a particular topic. That is why programs specifically designed for gifted students, taught by a teacher who is highly qualified to teach gifted students, is so important.
Public schools are required to offer specific programming for gifted students. Although it can look different in every district, in the Scottsdale region (SUSD and PV Schools) gifted services actually look very similar. However, there are often still differences between sites at how effectively the program is administered. We will cover more about the public school gifted programs in Scottsdale (SUSD and PV) in part two of this series.
If you believe your child is gifted it is important to have them tested by a state approved test. Both Scottsdale Unified and PV School districts will offer testing free of charge to enrolled students a couple of times a year or to preschoolers who are in a school district’s boundaries in the winter/spring. Parents can also choose to pay for private testing at their own cost, but double check that provider is approved by the district you are wanting to enroll your child into. You also have to make sure the psychologist is using a test the district will accept. Two of the most common tests used by school districts are the CogAt (Cognitive Abilities Test) and the Naglieri.
You may find AZ ED's Characteristics of Gifted Learners document helpful to determine if your child might be gifted.
Still confused about the gifted identification process or which school might best fit the needs of your gifted student? School Match is here to help guide and support you every step of the way. Call today for your complimentary 15 minute consultation.
