Blending Gifted Education and School Reform

1. Blending Gifted Education and School Reform Dr. Betsy Gustafson, Assistant Superintendent Special Education Leadership Academy July 2011

2. If you are planning for a year, sow rice; if you are planning for a decade, plant trees; if you are planning for a lifetime, educate people. Anonymous

3. School reform initiatives • Standards Aligned System (SAS) • Accountability of NCLB • Changing demographics • Increasing diversity of student populations • Limited fiscal resources The needs of our highest achieving students must be identified and challenged within this broad arena. Changes and Challenges

4. Total Enrollment - 10,689 Free/Reduced Lunch - 49.1% Special Education - 22% (increase from 15% in 2008-09) Gifted Education - 2.6% (increase from 1.3% in 2006-07) Diversity of Student Body • White – 53.5% • African American – 23.8% • Hispanic – 21.3% English as a Second Language – 400 students Homeless– 82 students (increase from 9 in 2009-10) PMSD Demographics

5. Research • Current Practices • Education Needs Assessment/Action Plan

6. Other districts • IU 20 Networking Group • Data Collection – achievement, former evaluations, teacher/parent input • Correlation Studies • Past Referrals and Outcomes – patterns, student records, screening consistency, etc. Research

7. Reassigned existing staff – School Psychologists • Provided support, guidance, and resources to all staff • Developed consistency district-wide – referral process, screening instruments, evaluations, forms and formats • Collected data – student records, teacher input, parent input, etc. • Developed Guidelines and Procedural Manual for Gifted Education • Updated Board of School Directors and the community Revised Current Practices

8. Professional Development • faculty • administrators • Board of School Directors • community • Gifted Education Advisory Council • Observation and Networking • Conferences and Workshops Education

9. Number of Gifted Students

12. Review the 2010 PreK-12 Gifted Programming Standards • Conduct Professional Development activities per building on updated laws and regulations • Implement Gifted Guidelines and Procedural Manual • Administer a universal screener • Plan and implement RtI for Gifted Education • Continue progress monitoring initiative • Review Compliance Monitoring results and recommendations Sustainability and Continuous Improvement

13. Pennsylvania Department of Education Gifted Guidelines August 2010

14. Indicators of high achieving students should be drawn from a wide variety of sources. The evaluation should address information relevant to the student’s suspected above average abilities including academic functioning, learning strengths, and educational needs. Indicators of Giftedness/High Achievers

15. School districts are primarily responsible for identifying all exceptional children and developing educational programs to meet their needs. (24 P.S. §13-1371) • Pennsylvania School Law includes gifted students as “children with exceptionalities” who need specially designed instruction. • Appropriate specially designed instruction should be based on the gifted student’s unique needs and abilities and not solely on the student’s classification. (22 Pa. Code §16.41(b)(1)) Guiding Principles for Gifted Education

16. Placement should provide learning opportunities that go beyond the program the student would receive as part of regular education. (22 Pa. Code §16.41) • Gifted education programming must be an integral part of the instructional school day. • Gifted students benefit from being grouped with their intellectual peers for a significant part of their instructional day. Guiding Principles cont.

17. The Gifted Individualized Educational Program (GIEP) should be based on information obtained from formal and informal comprehensive needs assessments, including input from parents. (22 Pa. Code §16.22 and §16.32) • Placement of a gifted student should ensure that the student is able to benefit meaningfully from the rate, level, and manner of instruction. (22 Pa. Code §16.41) Guiding Principles cont.

18. Educational placement decisions must be based on the student’s unique needs and not solely on the classification. (22 Pa. Code §16.41(a)) • Chapter 16 requires that the educational placement of gifted school-age exceptional students in Pennsylvania includes specially designed instruction that is individualized to include acceleration or enrichment, or both, as appropriate. (22 Pa. Code §16.2(d)(3), §16.41(b)(3)) How is Educational Placement Determined?

19. An effective approach would include all of the following: • Acceleration, in which instruction is matched to the competence level of the student; • Enrichment, in which opportunities for the investigation of appropriate materials are given and • Individualization, in which instruction is matched specifically to the student’s achievement abilities and interests. Delivery of Services and Support

21. Gifted education must be responsive to current trends and issues impacting all children (i.e. RtI). • Educators must be aware of how the larger educational picture impacts students who are gifted. • Educators must ensure gifted education is not isolated as new educational initiatives emerge. • Must balance theory, practice, and policy. School Reform

23. A framework that focuses on student outcomes. • Assists school districts in examining the quality of their programming for gifted learners. • Used as mileposts for improving programs and services. • Used as rubrics for evaluation. • Endorsed by The Association for the Gifted of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC-TAG). Access below: NAGC 2010 PreK-12 Gifted Programming Standards

24. Websites: • www.nagc.org • www.giftedpage.org • http://journals.prufrock.com Books: • The Development of Giftedness and Talent Across the Life Span by Frances Degen Horowitz, Rena F. Subotnik and Dona J., Ph.D. Matthews • Education of the Gifted and Talented (6th Edition) by Gary A. Davis, Sylvia B. Rimm and Del Siegle Resources