Gifted & Talented Education

MPS K-8 Gifted and Talented Comprehensive Plan

Plan Integral para Dotados y Talentosos de MPS K-8

Understanding CogAT Scores

Overview of CogAT for Parents

MPS Family Information - Identifying Gifted Learners (1.31.24)

MPS Appeals Process Information

Información sobre el proceso de apelaciones de MPS

 

DEFINITION:

Exceptionally able students are those with outstanding intellectual or academic abilities, in one or more content areas, when compared to their chronological peers in the local district.  They may display unique creativity, productive thinking, and leadership traits or may exhibit exceptional talent in the visual and performing arts.  Academically talented students are those who have demonstrated and/or have proclivities to exceptional performance; accelerated comprehension and assimilation of context; exceptional capability for the abstract, creative and divergent thinking in academic or out-of-school activities and who require a differentiated educational program beyond that normally provided by the school district.

The NJDOE defines gifted students as: Those students who possess or demonstrate high levels of ability, in one or more content areas, when compared to their chronological peers in the local district and who requires modification of their educational program if they are to achieve in accordance with their capabilities.

MISSION:

Montclair Public Schools recognize that rather than any single gifted program, a continuum of programming services must exist for gifted learners as an integral part of differentiated classroom instruction. The district strives to provide an ongoing educational program that identifies, develops, and expands the gifts and talents of our students while monitoring the value and impact of services provided.

GOALS:

  • Develop the academic potential of identified gifted learners
  • Encourage and challenge students by providing opportunities in their area of talent and interest
  • Develop the thinking dispositions and affective skills such as risk-taking, curiosity, and intrinsic motivation necessary for students to become independent learners
  • Encourage opportunities for interaction with academic peers to develop self-awareness and self-efficacy
  • Develop social and leadership skills, fostering a sense of societal responsibility
  • Encourage creative productivity through the development of higher-order thinking skills such as problem-solving, decision-making, and critical thinking
  • Foster ongoing professional development to support classroom differentiation of content, process, and product

Academic Characteristics of Gifted Learners

  • Rapid Learners
  • Highly Curious
  • Advanced Readers and Writers
  • Many Interests
  • Abstract & Complex Thinkers

Social & Emotional Characteristics of Gifted Learners

  • Asynchronous Development
  • Over-Excitabilities
  • Expectations of Idealism/Justice
  • Multipotentiality

A Bright Child…

  • Knows the answers
  • Shows interest in topics
  • Has good ideas
  • Works hard
  • Top group
  • Learns with ease
  • 6-8 repetitions for mastery
  • Understands ideas
  • Absorbs information
  • Copies accurately
  • Enjoys school
  • Technician
  • Alert
  • Good memorizer

A Gifted Learner…

  • Asks the questions
  • Is highly curious
  • Has divergent, sometimes wild ideas
  • May not have to work hard to test well
  • BEYOND the group
  • Already knows
  • 1-2 repetitions for mastery
  • Constructs abstractions
  • Manipulates information
  • Creates a new design
  • Enjoys learning
  • Inventor
  • Keenly observant
  • Good thinker

What is expected of a gifted/talented student?

Students who participate in services designed for gifted and talented learners will demonstrate skills in self-directed learning, abstract and complex thinking, as well as a continuous process of research and communication. These learning outcomes will be evidenced by the development of innovative products and performances that reflect an advanced degree of individuality and creativity in relation to students of similar age, experience and/or environment.

Additional Gifted and Talented Resources

  • Association for the Education of Gifted Underachieving Students (AEGUS) provides a forum for ideas and interventions aimed at helping twice exceptional students reach their full potential.

  • Association for the Gifted (TAG) organized in 1958 by The Council for Exceptional Children, helps professionals and parents work with gifted children.

  • Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) is the largest international professional organization dedicated to improving educational outcomes for individuals with exceptionalities, students with disabilities, and/or the g

  • Davidson Institute for Talent Development has extensive resources for highly gifted students (and their parents). You can access articles by selecting "Browse by Topic" or "Search GT-Cybersource" from the "Resources" header in the pulldown top bar menu bar.

  • Duke University TIP Program: The Duke University Talent Identification Program (Duke TIP) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving academically gifted and talented youth. As a world leader in gifted and talented education, Duke TIP works with students, their families, and educators to identify, recognize, challenge, engage, and help students reach their highest potential.

  • Gifted-Children.com: Identification, Encouragement, and Development (GCC) is an on-line parents' newsletter with networking and information dedicated to making a difference in the education of children with special talents and abilities.

  • Hoagies' Gifted Education Page is a resource guide for the education of gifted children with links to many gifted education resources available on the Internet.

  • National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) is an organization of parents, educators, other professionals and community leaders to address the unique needs of children and youth. Membership includes a subscription to Parenting for High Potential, a magazine with articles geared to the development of talent. You can search "State Resources for Gifted Education" and Individual State Gifted Organizations on the NAGC website by clicking on the heading "Gifted By State."

  • National Research Center on Gifted and Talented (NRC/GT), sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education, investigates, develops, and disseminates new methods for identifying and teaching gifted students. The NRC/GT, located at the University of Connecticut, is run collaboratively with the University of Virginia and Yale University, and works in conjunction with more than three hundred public school district research study sites. 

  • New Jersey Department of Education Gifted & Talented Programming: This portion of the NJDOE website provides an overview of gifted and talented programming in the state of New Jersey in relation to the student learning standards.

  • Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted (SENG) focuses primarily on the adults (parents, educators, etc.) in the lives of gifted children. SENG provides information on identification, guidance, and effective ways to live and work with gifted individuals.

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