HIGHLY CAPABLE PROGRAM REVIEW RECOMMENDATIONS

1. HIGHLYCAPABLEPROGRAMREVIEW RECOMMENDATIONS Board of Directors May 8, 2014

2. Highly Capable Review Committee Membership

3. Highly Capable Goal: • Develop a Highly Capable Program that meets the unique needs of students, complies with state law, and establishes a vision for the future.

4. Process To-date • Formed Committee • Reviewed new requirements with staff • Surveyed parents • Conducted parent meetings • Identified strengths and areas for improvement • Developed Policy & Procedure Language • Developed 2014-15 Phase-in Plan

5. Jayasri GhoshEducational Consultant • PhD, Educational Psychology/ Gifted Education • Research in learning styles of gifted children and its application to the classroom. • Current Board member for St. Thomas School, Medina • Chair of the Multicultural Advisory Committee for Tacoma Community College • Head of Seattle Country Day School serving gifted youth and Annie Wright School

6. Understanding Highly Capable • Not all high achieving students are gifted. • Not all gifted students are high achievers. • Some students may be twice exceptional (ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorder, EBS, etc.)

8. Parent Meetings • Goal: To give BISD parents a forum for expressing their thoughts and suggestions for the BISD program for Highly Capable Students.

9. Themes from parent meetings: • Majority of respondents were from the District’s elementary school • Most parents were aware of the Highly Capable program and its methods of identification. There are those who wished they knew more. Criteria seems arbitrary. • Clear communication and co-ordination seems to be important • HC should be offered for earlier grades.  • High achieving students who do not meet HC cut- off criteria need challenging work as well. Serving these students well will create a great deal of good will as BISD has a higher average number of high achieving students. • There is need for District-wide leadership and co-ordination with the HC program and a need for clarity, communication and transparency.

10. Themes from parent meetings: • General satisfaction with the overall teaching in BISD. • Enrichment opportunities offered by the District and some parent support groups are a great source of satisfaction; Math clubs, Jiffy Math, Math Olympiad, Engineering, Robotics, Rocket Club Parents appreciate it when teachers take the time to offer extended learning opportunities. • ILP program needs improvement (meaningful  differentiation for students in Math and LA Social studies). • While some math acceleration opportunities exist at Sakai and Woodward, there is a need for better differentiation in Math for students who are truly excelling and need a more personalized plan.

11. Parent Survey Results • 324 Respondents (115 self-identified having children identified as highly capable) • Parents representing all schools and all grade levels: • High School – 88 • Middle School – 69 • K-6 - 297 (parents have students at multiple grade levels)

12. Aware of HC Program Aware of HC Identification Process

13. Satisfied with Grade Level Math

14. Satisfied with Grade Level Language Arts

15. If your child is in the HC program, what is your level of satisfaction? How satisfied are you with the Individualized Learning Plan (ILP)?

16. Highlights of Recommendations • The 2014-15 school year will be a phased-in development year. • By “phased-in” we mean that some initial revisions will be implemented in this next year to meet the newly adopted Washington State requirements. • The district will continue over the next 2 to 3 years to refine the continuum of service options for K-12 students. 

17. Highlight of Recommendations • Expand the grade level of students being served: • Currently provided to students in grades 4-8 • Beginning in 2014-15 identify and provide services to students in grades K-12

18. Highlight of Recommendations • Students who are currently identified as Highly Capable do not need to be reassessed. • A new learning plan will be created for support at the beginning of the 2014-15 school year.

19. Highlight of Recommendations • Start to identify and serve highly capable students in grades K-12.  • The nomination, screening and assessment of highly capable K-12 students will be based on multiple measures. • Step 1: Spring 2014

20. 2015 & Beyond

21. Selection • A Multi-Disciplinary Committee comprised of HC Teacher/TOSA, psychologist, program administrator, grade/school level representatives will conduct the process. • The Committee will select students for Highly Capable Services by evaluating multiple criteria that includes: • Cognitive ability measure, academic performance and creative behavioral characteristics checklist. • Multi-assessment data will be used to identify students, some of whom might remain otherwise undiscovered • The selection decision shall be based on: • A preponderance of evidence from the data demonstrating that a student is among the most highly capable; • Evidence of clear need for highly capable services; and • Determination of which students would benefit the most from inclusion in the Program.

24. Highlights of Recommendations • To support schools in these changes we are recommending the addition of 2.0 staffing (1 staff member to support grades K-6 and one to support grades 7-12).  • These staff members will provide support and training to teachers, some direct services to students, support the nomination, screening and identification process and support the development, implementation, and monitoring of learning plans and collect data to monitor the overall effectiveness of the program. • If approved, these positions will be posted as new openings.

25. Highlight of Recommendations • As reflected in the parent survey, we need to improve the consistencyof support of our highly capable program for services offered during the school day in grades 4-8 and develop strategies for supporting students in grades K-3 and 9-12. • Continuum of Services • Learning Enhancement & Acceleration Program (LEAP) Plans • Direct Services & Support by HC TOSA

27. Service Options to Consider for Most Highly Capable Students* • Pull-out program (one day a week, partial day) • Inclusion model within a homeroom classroom (cluster grouping and differentiation) • Ability Grouping for instruction in one content area (Walk-to-Math/Walk-to-Read) • Acceleration or compacting of curriculum • Specialized Classes (AP, Honors) • Pull-out Self-Contained Program • Talent Development (Math Olympiad, Engineering/Robotics Clubs, Destination Imagination, Math Counts, Internships, Service Learning) *Adapted from the Center for Gifted Education and Professional Development, Whitworth University, 2013

28. Highlight of RecommendationsDevelop LEAP Plans:Learning Enhancement & Acceleration Program • Redesign of Instructional Learning Plan (ILP) • Statement of the student’s present educational performance. • Annual goals describe what the student can be expected to learn during the year. • Short-term outcomes describe what needs to happen during the school day to reach these Annual goals.

29. Next Steps • Post & Hire 2.0 Staff • Finalize LEAP Template • Develop Staff Development Plan for 2014-15 • Communication to parents and staff (on web, listserve, school bulletins) • Begin implementation of School Board approved Recommendations for the 2014 -2015 school year and beyond. • Screening, Nomination & Assessment completed by end of school year. • Progress Report to Board in Winter of 2014-15.