Personalized Learning for Gifted Minds
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Approximately one-third of all students in the PLSD school district are identified as gifted in one or more areas. Gifted students have unique needs and abilities that require specialized attention and support to help them reach their full potential. Pickerington Schools offers a range of services specifically designed to meet the needs of gifted students. These services can include specialized academic programs, advanced coursework, accelerated and compacted classes, enrichment activities, and school counseling services. By providing these services, gifted students can receive the necessary support and resources to excel academically and socially, while also developing important skills and abilities that will serve them well throughout their lives.
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Todd Stanley | Gifted Services Coordinator
Todd Stanley | Gifted Services Coordinator
Todd Stanley is the coordinator of gifted services for Pickerington Schools.
Contact information:
Todd Stanley, Gifted Services Coordinator
Phone: 614-833-2110
Fax: 614-548-1710
Degrees and certifications:
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Gina Komorowski | Gifted Instructional Coach
Gina Komoroski | Gifted Instructional Coach
Gina Komorowski coordinates the testing for gifted services at Pickerington Schools.
Contact information:
Gina Komoroski, Gifted Instructional Coach
Phone: 614-833-2110
Degrees and certifications:
Gifted Identification/Screening
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Definition
The Ohio Department of Education defines “gifted” as a student who performs or shows potential for performing at remarkably high levels of accomplishment when compared to others of the same age, experience, or environment (ORC, Sec. 3324.01).
We recognize that the unique characteristics of gifted children necessitate differentiated programming. Special characteristics may include precocious insightfulness, uniqueness of response, and the ability to integrate several levels of thinking and reasoning.
The district provides differentiated learning experiences for those children identified for gifted education services. These experiences may include the provision for quality time spent with peers of similar interests and abilities; opportunities for involvement in clubs, organizations, enrichment groups and activities; and social and emotional support, whole class lessons, and small group work.
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Identification
- Superior cognitive ability: Two standard deviations above the mean on an IQ or SAI test. Generally, a 130 plus or minus standard error. Depending on the assessment, students can qualify for this identification with a score between 126-129. Examples of tests in this category are the Inview, NNAT3, and Cognitive Abilities Test.
- Gifted in reading or English language arts: The 95th percentile on a nationally normed achievement reading or language test. Examples of tests in this category are the i-Ready, Terra Nova, and Iowa.
- Gifted in math: The 95th percentile on a nationally normed achievement math test. Examples of tests in this category are the i-Ready, Terra Nova, and Iowa.
- Gifted in science: The 95th percentile on a nationally normed achievement science test. Examples of tests in this category are Terra Nova and Iowa. Science is generally not assessed until Grade 5 or later because extensive study of this area of content does not begin until middle school.
- Gifted in social studies: The 95th percentile on a nationally normed achievement social studies test. Examples of tests in this category are Terra Nova and Iowa. Social studies are generally not assessed until Grade 5 or later because extensive study of this content area does not begin until middle school.
- Creativity: An SAI/IQ of one standard error or higher. Generally, 115 plus or minus the standard error and an approved score on a creativity checklist by a trained educator.
- Gifted in the arts: An approved score on an evaluation by a trained educator in the area of identification: music, fine arts, theater, dance.
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Screening
In accordance with Ohio law pertaining to gifted education, Pickerington Schools use the Ohio Department of Education’s three-part approach to screening, assessing, and identifying gifted students:
Step 1. Screening all students
All students are screened for gifted identification in Grades 2, 3, 5, and 11 as part of whole-grade screening. This ensures equal access to screening and further assessment of all district children, including culturally or linguistically diverse children, children from low socioeconomic backgrounds, children with disabilities, and children for whom English is a second language. Additionally, all students in Grades 2 through 8 are tested for possible identification as gifted in reading and math three times a year via i-Ready online screenings at the whole-grade level.Opportunities exist for students to take these tests in their native language and for students with physical and sensory needs to take these tests with appropriate accommodation as each assessment permits. Parental authorization is not required for whole-grade assessments; however, parents may opt their children out of participation in group assessments by submitting a written request to the building principal.
Some students are identified as gifted directly from this screening step. Tests are administered by qualified and licensed educators. By using tests from the Ohio Department of Education-approved list, the district ensures the tests are valid for all special populations.
Step 2. Assessment of some students
The assessment stage examines the data gathered from the whole-grade screening stage and determines if additional assessment is necessary. In making decisions about additional assessments, existing test data for students is not the sole determining criterion. School personnel examine all available information about a student to determine if evidence of possible giftedness exists and then conduct necessary additional assessments. District-determined cut-off scores (to move students from the screening stage to the proactive assessment stage) are lower than the scores necessary for identification.
Step 3. Individual/small group assessment, affecting a few students
Assessment strategies provide additional data necessary for an identification decision. Strategies for additional assessment include the individual and group-testing requirements of Ohio Revised Code Sections 3324.01-3324.07. Parent authorization must be obtained for individual assessments. Once an additional assessment has been completed, the data obtained throughout the stages of identification is compared to the State of Ohio gifted standards. Parents are notified of the assessment results via email or by a letter sent home with the student. Some students are identified at this point.
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Referrals
Although anyone may refer a student for gifted screening, a parent or legal guardian’s signature is required to begin the assessment process. All referrals must be in writing using the district Referral for Gifted Screening and Identification form. The person initiating the referral must obtain the signature of the parent or legal guardian of the student.
Referrals may be submitted for the district’s fall or spring referral deadline. Any referral received after the deadline will be screened and assessed in the following testing window, which may be in the subsequent school year.
Referrals are for identification of possible areas of giftedness only. By signing the form, the person initiating the referral is certifying that he/she believes the student shows “a high potential for performing at a level significantly above his/her grade and age level peers and of qualifying as gifted in accordance with the State of Ohio standards.”
Gifted referrals are not to be used as a means to request testing for purposes other than the identification of gifted students.
To request testing for any purpose other than gifted identification invalidates the referral and disqualifies the student from testing during that testing window.
After the referral is submitted, the testing may occur at any time. The testing may be in small or large groups. Parents are not notified of the name of the testing instrument nor of the time or date of the assessment prior to testing due to a large number of gifted referrals and the complication of scheduling these tests at 14 different buildings.
Additionally, gifted assessments are secured testing materials. There is no recommendation for studying for these types of tests. Parents, guardians, and teachers will receive their student’s total score, but in no situation will they be able to review test questions or individual student answers.
Results will be either emailed to the parent at the address provided on the testing referral or sent home in letter format with the student.
Note: No referrals are required for students in Grades 2, 3, 5, or 11 in the fall window because whole-grade screening covers the testing for those time periods.
At the request of the parent or guardian, Pickerington Schools will test any child transferring into the district within 90 days of the transfer, provided the request is made at the time of registration. Requests made after the student has been enrolled in the district and attended classes for more than 10 school-days will no longer be considered as transfer student requests, and the student will be tested in the next testing window based on the date of receipt of the Referral for Gifted Screening and Identification form.
Students with a 504 Plan or IEP may attach documentation detailing accommodations to the screening referral if they wish to utilize these accommodations for gifted screening. If no request for accommodation is attached to the gifted screening referral, the testing will be conducted under general testing protocols.
Outside data will be accepted for identification and service provided it is from testing performed by a licensed psychologist in the State of Ohio that is less than 24 months old, occurred when the student was at least in Grade 2, and used a testing instrument from the Ohio Department of Education’s Approved List for Gifted Identification. For information on submitting outside testing data, contact Gina Komorowski.
Grades 1-4
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Reading Clusters
In Grades 3-4, students identified as gifted in reading/English language arts are placed in reading cluster classrooms. Reading cluster classrooms offer reading and language enrichment of the grade-level content standards. In the event that more students are identified as gifted in reading than there are spots in the cluster classroom, seats will be given to students with the most recent gifted identification dates and/or highest SAI/IQ scores first. Students placed in this class must also have scored Proficient or higher on the previous school year state ELA test. Please note, that due to changes in enrollment, individual student’s gifted identification, and class size limits, enrollment in this class does not guarantee placement in cluster classrooms in subsequent years.
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Math Enrichment
Grade 3 students who have met the qualifications for either MathPlus and/or Gateway are eligible for math enrichment. Students may enter math enrichment at the beginning of either the first or second semester depending upon when they meet the program qualifications. These services include enrichment of Grade 3 math content standards and introduction to Grade 4 content standards in a resource room environment multiple times a week to help prepare the student for the MathPlus curriculum.
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MathPlus
Math Plus is a compacted, enriched, and accelerated math program for students in Grades 4-6 at every Pickerington elementary and middle school. Students receive accelerated and enriched math curriculums. Students cover 5 years of math content over 3 years. Students receive Written Acceleration Plans and take above grade level OST testing.
Students spend daily math class with gifted peers and are instructed by gifted intervention specialists who are uniquely trained to support their social and emotional development. At the end of the three-year program, students enter junior high school advanced two years in math. Grade 6 students who enter MathPlus for the first time will not automatically be accelerated in math because they have not covered the Grade 4-5 prerequisite materials. The plan will be for these students to prepare to take Advanced Math 7/8 in Grade 7.
Any student who meets all of the following requirements shall be eligible for consideration for selection to Math Plus:
For Entrance in Grade 4:
- School Ability Index (SAI) or Intelligence Quotient (IQ) as measured by a standardized group intelligence test administered within 24 months before initial placement with performance of 118 or higher.
- Specific academic ability in mathematics, as measured by a standardized group achievement test related to specific academic ability and administered within 24 months before initial placement with performance at or above the 95th national percentile.
There will be no exceptions to this policy.
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Availability of Services
All gifted services placement is based on space available in the program and at each location. If there are no spaces available in the new building or if scheduling issues prohibit the placement, students who move buildings mid-year may not receive the same placement in their new building.
Students may only begin services in Grades 4-8 at the start of an academic school year. No transfers in placement will be made after the first day of an academic school year due to the results of subsequent testing or gifted identifications. The only exception to this policy are students on district wait lists. Initial placement into services is based only on standardized test scores and gifted identifications within the previous 24 months.
Students who apply for and are approved for intra-district building transfer are not guaranteed a spot in a similar class or program at their non-home school if space is not available.
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Waitlist Policy
In the event that any class in a program is full and there are not enough spaces for all qualified students, seats will be offered to all currently enrolled Pickerington students before any new student enrolling in the district for the subsequent school year is given a seat. Students who currently attend a school building will have priority over students who come to that building from a different building within the district. The following exclusions apply:
- Students who qualify for placement via outside testing may also be placed on a waitlist if no seats are available in a given program. All placements using outside testing data are made based on the date the testing results are received and verified by the district.
- Additionally, students who have previously declined an invitation to a given program or withdrawn from a gifted program and now wish to attend in subsequent years or in a different program may be waitlisted to make room for students who are newly qualified for a program.
- Students who exercise intra-district building transfer may be waitlisted if the building to which they transfer does not have open seats for a program for which they have previously qualified at their home building. This should be of particular consideration at the middle and junior high school levels when making intra-district building transfer decisions.
In cases of students who have identical qualifications as listed above, spots will be determined by a lottery and students will be placed on a waitlist via the lottery order.
Families with students receiving gifted services who plan to move within the district should notify Gina Komorowski in the gifted services office as soon as they are aware of the potential change in school buildings.
Every effort will be made to offer the students the same services in the new building. However, if the class is at capacity in the new building, the student may be placed on a waitlist. There is no guarantee of the same placement in the new building. Scheduling issues and class sizes may both impact the availability of placement in the new building.
Gifted Services Overview
MS 5-6
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Availability of Services
All gifted services placement is based on space available in the program and at each location. If there are no spaces available in the new building or if scheduling issues prohibit the placement, students who move buildings mid-year may not receive the same placement in their new building.
Students may only begin services in Grades 4-8 at the start of an academic school year. No transfers in placement will be made after the first day of an academic school year due to the results of subsequent testing or gifted identifications. The only exception to this policy are students on district wait lists. Initial placement into services is based only on standardized test scores and gifted identifications within the previous 24 months.
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Gateway Academy
Gateway Academy is a comprehensive gifted program housed at Harmon Middle School. At Gateway, students in Grades 5-6 receive accelerated and enriched English language arts and math curriculums, along with enriched science and social studies curriculums.
Students spend the entire school day with gifted peers and are instructed by gifted intervention specialists who are uniquely trained to support their social and emotional development. At the end of the two-year program, students enter junior high school advanced one year in English and two years in math.
Students may enter Gateway at the beginning of Grade 5 or Grade 6. For Grade 5 students, integration is complete and seamless. Students who attend Gateway for the first time in Grade 6 are entering with potential gaps in their foundation skills, as they have missed some of the compacted and accelerated curricula. These students will have various options for class placement in Grade 7. They may follow the pathway that all Gateway students are on and take Algebra and Gifted ELA 8 as Grade 7 students. However, if they are not prepared to succeed in these courses, Grade 6 students new to Gateway, whether from other districts or from the regular classroom, may choose to take Gifted ELA 7 and Advanced Math 7/8 as Grade 7 students in junior high school. This pathway allows these students to benefit from the enrichment of Gateway without undue stress or the expectation that they make up three to four years of curriculum in one year. Grade 5 students who enter Gateway from a MathPlus classroom can expect a seamless math transition and may only need to consider an alternative placement in English.
A student who meets all of the following requirements shall be eligible for consideration for selection to the Gateway Academy.
- School Ability Index (SAI) or Intelligence Quotient (IQ) as measured by a standardized group intelligence test administered within 24 months before initial placement, with performance two standard deviations above the mean, minus the standard error of measurement. Generally, this is equivalent to an IQ score of 130 or higher.
- Specific academic ability in mathematics, as measured by a standardized group achievement test related to specific academic ability and administered within 24 months before initial placement, with performance at or above the 95th national percentile.
- Specific academic ability in reading/language, as measured by a standardized group achievement test related to specific academic ability and administered within 24 months before initial placement with performance at or above the 95th national percentile.
or for entry for Grade 6 only:
- School Ability Index (SAI) or Intelligence Quotient (IQ) as measured by a standardized group intelligence test administered within 24 months before initial placement, with performance three standard deviations above the mean. NAI scores from Naglieri Nonverbal will not be used for this qualifier due to the exclusion of the verbal component in this particular test. Generally, this is an IQ score of 145 or higher.
There will be no exceptions to this policy.
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Math Enrichment Cluster
Students who have been identified as gifted in math but have not met the IQ/SAI requirement for MathPlus will be placed in a math cluster classroom in Grade 6 where they will be offered math enrichment of the Grade 6 content standards and limited introduction to select Grade 7 content standards. Students will be graded exclusively on the Grade 6 content standards and will take the Grade 6 AIR test. In the event that more students are identified as gifted in math than there are spots in the cluster classroom, seats will be given to students with the most recent gifted identification dates and/or highest SAI/IQ scores first. Students placed in this class must also have scored Proficient or higher on the Grade 5 Math AIR test.
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MathPlus
Math Plus is a compacted, enriched, and accelerated math program for students in Grades 4-6 at every Pickerington elementary and middle school. Students receive accelerated and enriched math curriculums. Students cover 5 years of math content over 3 years. Students receive Written Acceleration Plans and take above grade level OST testing.
Students spend daily math class with gifted peers and are instructed by gifted intervention specialists who are uniquely trained to support their social and emotional development. At the end of the three-year program, students enter junior high school advanced two years in math. Grade 6 students who enter MathPlus for the first time will not automatically be accelerated in math because they have not covered the Grade 4-5 prerequisite materials. The plan will be for these students to prepare to take Advanced Math 7/8 in Grade 7.
Any student who meets all of the following requirements shall be eligible for consideration for selection to Math Plus:
For Entrance in Grades 5-6:
Students will be expected to make up one and two years’ worth of math materials, since the students previously in the program have already been accelerated on Written Acceleration Plans. Hence, a higher cognitive score is required because students will be compacting more material in less time and must have significantly above average processing speed and working memory to handle this level of acceleration.
- School Ability Index (SAI) or Intelligence Quotient (IQ) as measured by a standardized group intelligence test administered within 24 months before initial placement with performance of 122 or higher.
- Specific academic ability in mathematics, as measured by a standardized group achievement test related to specific academic ability and administered within 24 months before initial placement with performance at or above the 95th national percentile.
There will be no exceptions to this policy.
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Reading Clusters
In Grades 5-6, students identified as gifted in reading/English language arts are placed in reading cluster classrooms. Reading cluster classrooms offer reading and language enrichment of the grade-level content standards. In the event that more students are identified as gifted in reading than there are spots in the cluster classroom, seats will be given to students with the most recent gifted identification dates and/or highest SAI/IQ scores first. Students placed in this class must also have scored Proficient or higher on the previous school year state ELA test. Please note, that due to changes in enrollment, individual student’s gifted identification, and class size limits, enrollment in this class does not guarantee placement in cluster classrooms in subsequent years.
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Waitlist Policy
In the event that any class in a program is full and there are not enough spaces for all qualified students, seats will be offered to all currently enrolled Pickerington students before any new student enrolling in the district for the subsequent school year is given a seat. Students who currently attend a school building will have priority over students who come to that building from a different building within the district. The following exclusions apply:
- Students who qualify for placement via outside testing may also be placed on a waitlist if no seats are available in a given program. All placements using outside testing data are made based on the date the testing results are received and verified by the district.
- Additionally, students who have previously declined an invitation to a given program or withdrawn from a gifted program and now wish to attend in subsequent years or in a different program may be waitlisted to make room for students who are newly qualified for a program.
- Students who exercise intra-district building transfer may be waitlisted if the building to which they transfer does not have open seats for a program for which they have previously qualified at their home building. This should be of particular consideration at the middle and junior high school levels when making intra-district building transfer decisions.
In cases of students who have identical qualifications as listed above, spots will be determined by a lottery and students will be placed on a waitlist via the lottery order.
Families with students receiving gifted services who plan to move within the district should notify Gina Komorowski in the gifted services office as soon as they are aware of the potential change in school buildings.
Every effort will be made to offer the students the same services in the new building. However, if the class is at capacity in the new building, the student may be placed on a waitlist. There is no guarantee of the same placement in the new building. Scheduling issues and class sizes may both impact the availability of placement in the new building.
JH 7-8
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Advanced Math 7
Advanced Math 7
Open to qualifying 7th-grade students (iReady Math 85th Percentile Rank in 6th grade or the 90th percentile on a Nationally Normed Gifted Approved Achievement Test within the last 24 months and a score of accelerated or higher on math 6 state test).
Students will focus at an accelerated pace on the 5 critical areas of 7th grade Mathematics as well as the following 8th-grade critical areas: (1) formulating and reasoning about expressions and equations, including modeling an association in bivariate data with a linear equation, and solving linear equations and systems of linear equations; (2) grasping the concept of a function and using functions to describe quantitative relationships; and (3) working with irrational numbers, integer exponents, and scientific notation; and (4) understanding and applying the Pythagorean Theorem.
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Advanced Science 7
Students successfully completing this course will be prepared to take Advanced Science 8. Students should have excellent organizational skills and work ethic to be successful in this accelerated class.
Advanced Science 7 is based on Ohio’s Learning Standards for Science and consists of 7th-grade content for advanced scientific thinkers. Content will consist of Life, Earth, and Physical Sciences.
Life Science: Cycles of Matter and Flow of Energy – Students will learn how matter is continuously transferred between organisms and between organisms and their physical environment. Students will
learn about factors that affect organisms in certain biomes. Students will also learn about different factors that affect organisms in certain biomes.Physical Science: Conservation of Mass and Energy – Students will learn about elements and compounds and their properties and ways energy can be transferred and transformed but always conserved.
Additional: Prerequisite: 118 or higher SAI/IQ or 80 Percentile Rank on a Nationally Normed Science Achievement Test in Science or 90th percentile on iReady Math in 6th grade and proficient or higher on math and ELA state tests were taken in 6th grade. -
Advanced Science 8
Advanced Science 8 is based on Ohio’s Learning Standards for Science and consists of 8th-grade content for advanced scientific thinkers.
Content will consist of Life, Earth, and Physical Sciences. Life Science content from the 8th grade is expanded upon in the advanced course. This course will investigate the standards at a deeper level and include more rigorous tasks to learn and demonstrate learning than the Science 8 course.
Life Science: This topic focuses on the continuation of species, specifically how species continue successfully or not through geologic time. Investigations into extinction and natural selection will be
investigated, along with reproductive strategies and their strengths and drawbacks. Patterns of inheritance will also be investigated.Physical Science: This topic focuses on forces and motion within, on, and around the Earth and within the universe. Newton's 1st and 2nd laws of motion will be investigated, as well as different non-contact
forces (magnetism, electric charge, gravity).Earth Science: This topic focuses on the physical features of Earth and how it formed. This includes the interior of Earth, the rock record, plate tectonics, and landforms.
Additional: Prerequisite: 118 or higher SAI/IQ or 80 Percentile Rank on a Nationally Normed Science Achievement Test in Science or 90th percentile on iReady Math in 7th grade and proficient or higher on
math and ELA state tests taken in 7th. -
Algebra & Geometry
Algebra and geometry are rigorous high school math courses that are taken for high school credit and impact high school GPA. Algebra has an AIR end-of-course exam that must be passed as part of the Ohio High School Graduation Requirements.Gateway and MathPlus students continue their accelerated and enriched math curriculum at the junior high level with Grade 7 Algebra and Grade 8 Geometry. These are the only students eligible for these classes, as these students have already completed MathPlus 7/8 through Gateway Academy or MathPlus in Grade 6 and achieved a score of Accelerated or higher on the state Grade 7 Math AIR test as Grade 6 students on written acceleration plans.
An additional pathway to Grade 8 Algebra is available for students who have not qualified for MathPlus or Gateway. Students who score in the 90th percentile on a STAR/i-Ready math test during their 6th grade year or in the 90th percentile on a nationally normed math achievement test and have earned a score of Accelerated or higher on the Grade 6 AIR test are eligible to take Advanced Math 7/8 in 7th grade. Completion of this course and a score of Accelerated or higher on the Grade 7 AIR test allows a student to take Algebra during 8th grade.
All students taking Algebra for high school credit must take the AIR End of Course Exam. There is no longer a pass/fail option for Algebra or Geometry courses and the grade earned will count toward the high school grade point average.
There will be no exceptions to this policy.
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Gifted English
Gifted English 7, Gifted English 8, and Gifted English 9 are enriched courses offered at the junior high school level, where students are offered a wider breadth and deeper exploration of the grade-level content standards. Students complete additional and above-grade-level readings, written work, and projects to extend their learning beyond the traditional classroom.Gifted English 9 is a high school English course that is taken for high school credits and affects high school GPA.
Gateway students continue their accelerated and enriched ELA curriculum in junior high, with Grade 7 students enrolling in Gifted English 8 and Grade 8 students enrolling in Gifted English 9. These are the only students eligible for these classes, as they have already completed Gifted English 7 at Gateway Academy and achieved a score of Accelerated or higher on the state Grade 7 ELA AIR. These students also have identifications as Superior Cognitive Ability and Gifted in Reading/English Language Arts.
Students who entered Gateway as Grade 6 students will not automatically be accelerated in English language arts because they have not covered the prerequisite materials in Grade 4-5. The plan will be for these students to prepare to take Gifted English 7 as Grade 7 students.
Any student who meets all of the following requirements shall be eligible for consideration for selection to the Gifted English 7 in Grade 7 or Gifted English 8 in Grade 8.
- School Ability Index (SAI) or Intelligence Quotient (IQ) as measured by a standardized group intelligence test administered within 24 months before initial placement with a performance of 122 or higher.
- Specific academic ability in reading/ELA, as measured by a standardized group achievement test related to specific academic ability and administered within 24 months before initial placement with a performance at or above the 95th national percentile.
- A score of accelerated or higher on the previous year’s ELA AIR test.
There will be no exceptions to this policy.
HS 9-12
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Gifted Services at our high schools are available in some Pre-Advanced Placement, Honors, Advanced Placement and College Credit Plus classes.
Gifted Forms
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Pickerington schools gifted services coordinator Todd Stanley is the creator of The Gifted Guy YouTube on The Todd Cast. The Gifted Guy is a place where teachers and students alike can come and learn! Watch "Todd Talks" professional development tutorials designed to help teachers be better at their craft or take a look at "Enrichment with the Gifted Guy" for fun lessons designed to get students thinking about learning.
