Dps highly gifted program

Gifted and talented children are present in all student groups, regardless of gender, disability, English language proficiency, economic status, ethnic or cultural background. This program provides an educational option for students in first through eighth grades whose extraordinary educational, emotional and social needs are best met in a setting that clusters these students.

A nomination form describing the program and providing information about the nomination process is produced and distributed each fall to every K-7 student in the Denver Public Schools. At Edison, we believe in the education of the individual child. To accomplish this, we differentiate. Differentiation occurs in many ways. The differences between the categories are the tests given for entrance into the category and priority placement into programs.

If the tests are questioned, then placement into these specialized programs becomes questioned as well. In Sleeter's article , she explains the relationship between funding and categorical distinctions. She states, "For purposes of obtaining funds for special classes and teacher training, the category required a legal definition" p.

HGT proponents know that added resources like training for teachers and special classes comes with a label and they seek to have these resources funneled towards their students.

Staff at the newest elementary school to house an HGT program "have undergone extensive training in highly gifted education. They also will undergo continued professional development on differentiated learning for all ability groups" Teller Elementary, This school received extra financial and professional support because of the new program. Luckily they see their mission as furthering the education of all students in the school and see differentiation as something for all their students, not a select few.

This is only one of two HGT programs in the district where students who benefit from the HGT label are not in separate classrooms from their peers for the majority of the day.

In the rest of the district, parents and educators prefer to use these resources for separate classes for this separate group of students. The resource question is very interesting in an educational system that relies on scarcity of resources. Some schools have been in danger of losing their HGT programs because of lack of enrollment. DPS schools cannot justify hiring a teacher for less than 20 students.

For example, one school chose "to expand the program at the school to include high achieving students. They found this to be a model that worked well at 2 other schools. The numbers had declined … over the last years and they felt this expansion would help revitalize the program.

They wanted to continue to offer a program with enough students to make a viable program" DPS, c. The rhetoric here is about revitalization of a program, not of finding a way to continue to serve a group of students who are qualitatively different than other students and need a separate setting.

The underlying rationale is about keeping and expanding resources for this program at this school relates back to the category — whether LD or HGT — being a conduit for extra resources. Denver is undergoing many educational and demographic changes. In recent years the number of white students has fallen in the district and the number of students of color has risen and will continue to rise. In addition to the rise of students of color is the rise of students with disabilities in general education classrooms.

In a school system that is based on scarcity and meritocracy, one can see why parents want to do what it takes to get the "best" education for their children. This system rewards getting to the top and staying there. Being part of a system that tries to integrate everyone into the same classroom produces fears about a lack of rigor due to heterogeneous groupings, a lack of hierarchy if there is nowhere "better" to be, and a lack of trust that the system will educate all students well.

In light of DPS' changes, one can ask: Why this program now? Although there is not a direct correspondence between race, class, and HGT, as has been shown to be the case for LD, there is enough circumstantial evidence to question the rise of HGT in Denver at a time when more students with disabilities and more students of color are flooding general classrooms. Students of color and students with disabilities make up a great percentage of those in poverty.

Therefore, classist underpinnings of schooling affect both these groups of students. Denver is the only district in the state to have HGT programs and it is the district with the least number of white students in the state. This could mean that the HGT program is opening challenging opportunities to all students in the district.

It could also mean that HGT is a way to keep white students in the district. Recently parents of color and advocacy groups have noticed a racial discrepancy between students in these programs and the overall school and student populations. Is dismantling HGT the best solution in Denver?

We know that DPS is firmly entrenched in beliefs about meritocracy, white, middle class students and their parents benefit overwhelmingly from this meritocratic system. We also know that parents want to maintain status and have some control over deciding the "best" school for their children.

If we try to create an egalitarian system it will just send those same parents off to find "something better" — which means leaving the district. So instead of creating a new reason for white flight, what else can be done in an urban area like Denver, where "white parents flee to make the best possible life for their children within a social context they accept" Sleeter, , p. Everyone has the "desire to be part of a set of functionally relevant and valued social norms and institutions," but these norms and institutions will have to change quite dramatically to meet this desire Kittay, , p.

One idea for changing norms and institutions that benefit from HGT is to show parents how creating a truly egalitarian class can give all students a chance to excel in school Hart et al. A third is to create creative ways to keep students interested at school. Horn and Kurlaender note that "white students in integrated settings exhibit more racial tolerance and less fear of their black peers over time than their counterparts in segregated environments … and leads to their likelihood of cross-racial interactions and friendships" p.

If white parents see evidence that their child learns valued social and academic skills and receives extra value in the form of what desegregation does for white students, then maybe we have a chance at making schools into a part of the democratic process in this nation. The newest HGT program in Denver is striving to do things differently than before. It sees adoption of an HGT program as something that will benefit all students in the school.

Much like other inclusive practices that open classrooms up for all students through creating multiple entry and exit paths to a lesson or giving students choice in their own learning, this "school's goal is to create intentional and effective learning environments for all students. Every child … will benefit from this highly differentiated curriculum, instruction and assessment" Teller Elementary, Rather than pulling students away from each other and creating an environment where some learn more, better, or differently than others, this new program understands its mission to bring new pedagogies to everyone at the school.

It sees how "every child benefits both academically and socially by interacting with many different children with many different special gifts.

This model is real life" Teller Elementary, Popkewitz argues that curricular decisions "obscure the normalizing and dividing practices of teaching. This includes reformulating questions of diversity into a particular curriculum enactment that has consequences for social exclusion and inclusion" p.

HGT, like other categories in schooling, does not, in and of itself, have to be dividing — but in practice it often is. It often divides students based on race, class, and ability even though the official rationales do not articulate these hidden curricula. The discourses highlighted in this paper demonstrate that HGT programs are often used as a mechanism to diminish white flight from the district, but result in white flight within the district.

The rationales behind HGT discourses parallel in many ways those demonstrated by Sleeter in the rise of learning disabilities: preservation of inequalities, bio-medical or significantly different intellectually reasons for children's perceived differences, and extra resources in a system that has scarce resources.

HGT, whether a term for one child or a group of children, impacts that child, other children with the same label, other children at the school and at other schools, teachers, parents, administrators, and the list could go on. However, HGT also has the possibility, as in the case of the newest HGT program, to shape classrooms that benefit every child both academically and socially, but it will take careful and continual pressure to break away from the status quo and create schools and classrooms that benefit all of Denver's students equally.

The designation of highly gifted makes a difference when placing students at magnet sites. If the magnet site is also a high achieving site such as A, B, C, or D, students who qualify under high achieving are placed after highly gifted students. These students attend the same classes throughout the day. Personalized Education Plans should be completed once a semester for students in the Highly Gifted Program as per the Highly Gifted Program guidelines, but beyond that, nothing is different for these students in the classroom" DPS, n.

Abstract Sleeter's article "Why is there Learning Disabilities? Classifying students Classification systems are used to sort students, teachers, and classrooms. Sleeter states: Reforms were to help schools more efficiently fit every child for a 'place' in society, with some 'places' clearly more desirable and profitable than others. Situating Highly Gifted and Talented This section historically locates the demographic changes that have happened in DPS in relation to other large schooling changes like inclusion, desegregation, HGT, and resegregation in the district See Figure 1.

Since Denver has been under a court desegregation order whereby busing and racial integration were imperative for determining school populations. This ended in , when Judge Matsch lifted the order and the Denver Public School Board voted to reintroduce neighborhood schooling. Fully half of the elementary schools went through "noticeable change in white representation" p.

Inclusion in Denver Inclusion has risen nationwide over the past two decades. By "Most students about 96 percent with disabilities are being educated in regular school buildings. Almost half of all students with disabilities In Colorado, the statistics are more promising. Rationales behind the recent rise of Highly Gifted and Talented The context of the language surrounding the rise of and current definitions of HGT mimics many of the same reasons for separating out LD as a separate educational category in Sleeter's article.

Works Cited Armor, D. Forced justice: School desegregation and the law. Oxford University Press: US. Artiles, A. Special education's changing identity: Paradoxes and dilemmas in views of culture and space. Harvard Educational Review, 73 2 , Banks, J. Teaching diverse learners. Becker, H. Qualifying for the Gifted and Talented magnet program makes a student eligible to apply to a Magnet Program site the following school year. Enrollment in the Magnet Program is a lottery process, handled by Choice and Enrollment Services , and it is based on the spaces available at each magnet site.

Please contact Choice and Enrollment with questions regarding the choice process, placement, and individual school priorities. At the high school level gifted and talented programming varies from site to site.

There is not a specific magnet site for high school. The eligibility process is to determine if a student is eligible to apply for center-based programming at one of DPS Gifted and Talented magnet sites.

This process is managed directly by the Gifted and Talented Department. Parents, teachers, students and or others are welcome to nominate a student for the Magnet Program. Testing is offered in the fall and the spring. Students in kindergarten, 2nd grade, and 6th grade will be automatically tested for GT in a universal screening NNAT testing. It is the goal of DPS to provide all of our students with appropriate academic services.

When there is a disagreement on matters pertaining to the identification, evaluation and eligibility for gifted services the appeals process may be initiated.

Written appeals based on one of the following criteria may be sent to the Gifted and Talented Department:. Appeals must be completed and sent to the district office following the notification of identification decision. As well, the students are given time and lessons in their SUCCESS Seminar classes to facilitate the research process and outline presentation expectations.

They are expected to brainstorm for a variety of ideas creative thinking , critique their ideas for the best topic, then outline their process of inquiry. Students will delve into multiple sources to create a presentation with a visual component that demonstrates their depth of study and ability to explain it to others. Completion of the passion project also helps the student to meet the ALP goals. During their presentation of learning, students will have the opportunity to share their work with peers, educators, and community members.

Website Portfolios Portfolios are one type of performance assessment in which students highlight their work in progress and illustrate improvement over time. This is a systematic way for students to manage and compile a body of self-selected evidence supporting growth. Submissions support the ALP and each piece of evidence may come from content area work, contests, performances, and clubs.

It may include out-of-school efforts as certain abilities and interests may be limited in school settings. The student completes an evaluation of the work as it relates to a specific goal and indicates next steps ensuring continued personal or academic growth. Magnet Eligible : a student designation that means the child has shown at least one indicator of high cognitive ability. Highly Gifted :a child that is not only magnet eligible but also has at least two indicators of high academic achievement based on nationally normed tests or instruments.

Morey community! We are collecting alumni stories from our last years as a school and we need your voices.