Rationale

• Gifted students, like other populations that differ from the norm, have special learning needs that require a special education program. It is the school responsibility to assess the needs of all students and to respond appropriately to those needs.

Philosophy

• To meet this unique need, we believe it is our responsibility to each child, and to the benefit of both our schools and society, to identify, nurture, and challenge the potential of these persons as leaders in government, education, medicine, research and invention, the creative arts, the communicative arts, the visual and performing arts, philosophy, industry, and science.

Target Population

• Gifted children are those identified as possessing outstanding abilities who are capable of high performance. They are children who require appropriate instruction and educational services commensurate with their abilities and needs beyond those provided by the regular school program. A program of high rigor, enrichment, student directed activities, and curriculum modifications appropriate to students' current and potential performance will be conducted by teachers of the gifted learner program. The activities and learning are designed to recognize the diverse and differing levels of academic and non-academic abilities and needs of the students. All students K-12 will be identified in the areas of general intellectual ability, creative thinking ability, and specific ability aptitude.

To meet the unique ethnic and socio-economic diversity needs, we believe it is our responsibility to each child, and to the benefit of both our schools and society, to identify, nurture, and challenge the potential of these students.