Gifted & Talented Programming and Services

• During the GT program review beginning in the 2017-18 school year, through feedback from teachers, administrators, parents and students, a commitment was made to open pathways for more students to engage in extension and enrichment activities.

• We currently have three elementary GT specialists who support students at our 12 elementary schools.

• During the 2021-2022 school year we are offering enrichment opportunities for students at the third, fourth and fifth grade levels during a protected block of time every day.

  • Students are flexibly grouped across a grade level, according to skill needs.

  • Students who have mastered the skills for the current instructional cycle will engage in inquiry based units that are aligned with the Benchmark Reading Curriculum.

  • Instructional cycles are typically 4-6 weeks in length.

• In grades one and two, our GT Specialists are working with all students on the Young Scholars Program.  (See below)

• The elementary GT Specialists support and consult during the MTSS process for students whose needs are not being met with Tier II interventions.

The Young Scholars program is a 16 week, 4 unit academic program that embraces research-based practices for nurturing academic potential in students who have been historically underrepresented for gifted services and enrichment. The program was originally designed and implemented in Fairfax County (VA) Public Schools in 2002. Young Scholars is one of eight nationally-recognized programs which demonstrate clear evidence of successfully supporting diverse high-ability learners.

Who participates in the Young Scholars program?

The Young Scholars program is currently being offered to all second graders and all first graders.

How does Young Scholars work?

For each four week unit, the GT specialists use the PETS (Primary Education Thinking Skills) Curriculum to teach two whole group lessons on one of four different types of higher level thinking skills: convergent analysis, divergent analysis, visual/spatial thinking and evaluation.  During these whole group lessons, the classroom teacher acts as an observer, and using a specifically designed observation tool, records student actions/thinking during the lessons.  

Based on these observations and work samples, students are chosen to work in small groups with the GT specialists for the following two weeks to further explore and develop the thinking skill that is being taught.

The Math Masters mathematics competition program challenges 4th, 5th and 6th grade students to use critical thinking and problem-solving skills in mathematics. Students compete as individuals and on teams in eight rounds of competition held in March and April each year. Students’ academic effort and achievement is recognized with plaques, medallions and ribbons in each competition element: Fact Drill, Individual Round and Team Competition.

We currently have teams in fourth and fifth grade at most of our elementary schools.

Math Masters Website

• Humanities Advanced Academic Course 

  • Plymouth Middle School, Grades 6 & 7

  • Robbinsdale Middle School, Grades 6 & 7

  • Sandburg Middle School, Grade 7

• Honors Math

• International Baccalaureate (IB) Classes

  • Robbinsdale Middle School--All students

• We currently have two GT Specialists at the middle school level.  These teachers are offering the following services:  

  • Push-in to classrooms to support & extend learning 

    • Collaborate on differentiation

    • Reading/ELA Groups

  • Learning extensions at FAIR Crystal

  • Consulting & support during MTSS process

• International Baccalaureate (IB) Classes

  • Cooper High School--All 9th and 10th Graders + IB Diploma Programme (Grades 11 and 12)

• Advanced Placement (AP) Classes 

  • Cooper & Armstrong

• Post Secondary Enrollment Options (PSEO)

  • Cooper, Armstrong, Highview, and Robbinsdale Virtual Academy (RVA)

For information about gifted children, explore the websites linked below:

• Hoagies' Gifted Education
• Hollingworth Center for Highly Gifted Children
• Minnesota Educators of the Gifted and Talented (MEGT)
• The Minnesota Council for the Gifted and Talented (MCGT)
• National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC)
• Supporting the Emotional Needs of the Gifted (SENG)
• National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented
• National Society for the Gifted and Talented
• Uniquely Gifted