Welcome to the TOMBALL I.S.D. GT PROGRAM

1. Welcome to the TOMBALL I.S.D. GT PROGRAM

2. BENEFITS OF BEING IN THE GT PROGRAM • Qualified teachers are trained to meet the needs and appreciate the nature of gifted students. • GT Specialist supports students with curriculum, materials and advocacy. • Opportunities to practice critical thinking and develop leadership skills are incorporated into the curriculum. • Extra-curricular opportunities (conferences, competitions, etc…) take place throughout the year. • GT students develop requisite skills for the future through extended research projects (PSP).

3. Identification Process

4. CURRICULAR INTERVENTIONElementary Level • GT teacher/specialist collaboration • Self-selected research (PSP) • Academic competition opportunities • Differentiated curriculum • Special math groups • Special literature groups (problems/solutions in literature) • Enrichment/Extension Labs and Workstations

5. CURRICULAR INTERVENTIONIntermediate Level • GT teacher/specialist collaboration • Acceleration • Pre-AP • Performance Standard Project

6. EXTRACURRICULAR OPPORTUNITIES • UIL • Destination Imagination • Chess Club • Honor Choir • Camp Invention (Summer) • Continental Math League • Scrabble Club • FIRST and Jr. Lego Clubs • Drama • Fine Arts • Scholastic Writing • Clubs (Thinking Games)

7. Will there be more work? Yes! GT students will complete tasks that are appropriate for their level of ability and achievement. Just as the average student should experience at least one (1) year of academic growth, so should a GT student. The instructional opportunities and assignments should be designed to maximize the GT student’s learning experience. The tasks may indeed be “harder” than that of an average student, but that doesn’t mean it is “too hard” for the GT student. The GT program is meant to be more rigorous and challenging than the general education program. That is what makes it a special program.

8. Resources for Parents • TAGT (Texas Association for Gifted and Talented): This is a state organization for gifted education which includes a parent organization. The state conference will be held in Houston at the GRB Convention Center this year, December 4-6. For more information to register for the conference or view the parent focused sessions you may go online to http://www.txgifted.org • NAGC (National Association for Gifted Children): They have free weekly on-line webinars on GT subjects at http://www.nagc.org/wow.aspx

9. Parent Advisory Committee PAC meetings: This is a TISD district committee made up of parents, administrators, and the GT Specialists to discuss district news pertaining to parents of the gifted students. Mrs. Box will serve as our campus representative to represent our school. • The PAC Brown Bag Lunch Meetings will be held at 11:30-12:30 on the following dates at the new Staff Development Center (SDC) on Keefer Street in Tomball: Sept. 12, Nov. 7, Mar. 20, and May 20. • All parents of TISD GT students are invited to attend. Please contact me. We will be having a book review this year on How to Parent So Children Will Learn by Sylvia Rimm.

10. TISD Kids’ Conferences: Tentatively scheduled for Saturday, March 1st for grades K-5. The theme and venue will be announced at a later date. Mark your calendars! • 4th grade Texas Performance Standards Project: The Texas Education Association (TEA) has developed curriculum that gives gifted students an opportunity to work on long-term research projects. • Students will receive lessons starting in January in their language arts classroom, researching topics and creating an advanced product in lieu of regular classroom work. Presentation of the highest quality TPSP projects will be shared on May 15th. The venue is to be announced at a later date.

11. FAQs • 1. What happens if a child does not qualify this year? Students may be nominated, screened and tested every spring, but not more frequently. Any qualifying scores obtained during testing may be applied to later testing for two (2) years. • 2. What happens if a child qualifies, but does not perform well in the program? A meeting may be held with the parents after the specialist analyzes data and observes the student at work in the classroom. A struggling GT student may request a one-year furlough. However, if the problems are severe and a furlough is not expected to ameliorate the situation, the student may be exited from the program. This is a joint decision between parents, students, specialists and teachers. • 3.Does a child ever have to be retested? Student performance will be reviewed before entering Pre-AP/Accelerated programs at Grade 6. • 4. Is a record of the testing kept? Yes, GT specialists keep a record of the testing that has been completed at their campuses. Once students move up to the next campus level, the records are transferred. Students who withdraw from the district should request copies of the records, as they are only kept for three (3) years after the student leaves. • 5. How many students are in the program? TISD’s GT program includes approximately 8% of the student population in the entire district.

12. T.I.S.D. COMMITMENT • The Tomball Independent School District GT Program is aligned with the Texas State Plan for the Gifted. • ~ • TISD is committed to providing opportunities for students to showcase their talents. • ~ • TISD is committed to meeting the academic and affective needs of gifted students from K-12.