NPAGE Back to School Meeting

1. NPAGE Back to School Meeting Welcome to the 2008/2009 school year!

2. Overview Gifted Education • Gifted Education at the Elementary Level: • Small group instruction of gifted students • Enrichment within the classroom • Gifted Education at Secondary level: • Middle School • Advanced courses • Gifted Seminar 7 • Gifted Seminar 8 and Gifted Seminar 9 • High School • Advanced courses • Mentorship Program • Dual enrollment • Virtual High school

3. Overview of Gifted Review

4. Last NP Gifted Review was in 1993 • Current Gifted Review spanned 2006-07 and 2007-08 • Streamlined the process by developing this Organizational Chart

5. Organizational Chart for Gifted Review Committee

6. Committee Members PLEP Committee Dr. Gary Otto – Chair Isabel Resende David Decker Amy Ryan Faga Donna Mower

7. November 5: Hold GSC Meeting Items to cover: 1. Review 06-07 GSC work 2. Discuss Organizational Chart 3. Assign sub committee members and tasks 4. Establish dates and timelines for work of steering committee 5. Set up dates for Committee of the Whole April 11: GSC Meeting 1. Progress report from subcommittees due. 2. Final recommendations due. 3.Share final recommendations with K-12. February 1: GSC Meeting 1. Progress report from subcommittees due. 2. Report to K-12 on progress. March 7: GSC Meeting 1. Progress report from subcommittees due. 2. Report to K-12 on progress. May 9: Final GSC Meeting: 1. Present final recommendations 2. Make final report to ECP. January 4: GSC Meeting 1. Progress report from subcommittees due. 2. Report to K-12 on progress. November 19: Hold GSC Meeting Items covered: 1. Established Sub-Committee structure 2. Assigned chairs to sub-committees Subcommittee Work: Each subcommittee will meet and work on tasks. Progress report due to GSC at March 7 meeting. Subcommittee Work: Each subcommittee will meet and work on tasks. Progress report due to GSC at January 4 meeting. Subcommittee Work: Each subcommittee will meet and work on tasks. Progress report due to GSC at February 1 meeting. Subcommittee Work: Each subcommittee will meet and work on tasks. Final progress report due to GSC at April 11 meeting. Subcommittee Work: Each subcommittee will meet and process fianl recommendations for final report at May 9 GSC meeting. January 25: Committee of the Whole Meeting March 28: Committee of the Whole Meeting May 30: Committee of the Whole Meeting Gifted Review Flowchart Nov 07 Dec 07 Jan 08 Feb 08 Mar 08 Apr 08 May 08

8. Accomplishments • Developed Gifted Philosophy • Designed new identification process • Evaluated current status of gifted education • Revised process for determining present educational levels for GIEPs • Communicated new processes • Administration, K-12 • Guidance, Reading Specialists, Psychologists, Gifted support teachers • Recommended next steps

9. Commitment to Continuous Improvement • Further areas of study: • Instructional Strategies K-12 • Gifted Education Structure • Professional Development • Whole Child Perspective • Academic needs • Social and emotional needs

10. North Penn School DistrictGifted Philosophy

11. The North Penn School District recognizes the need to educate gifted students according to their abilities, interests, talents, and needs. Since “…no single focus program…can hope to adequately serve a population with such potentially complex profiles” (Lewis, 2002); we will provide a continuum of services which may include the following where appropriate: compacting, expanding, enrichment, and/or acceleration of curriculum and instruction. This will be evidenced in the differentiation of content, process, product, and learning styles. We also recognize that gifted students have unique patterns of social and emotional development. Given that “the balance between cognitive and affective learning outcomes is key to a functional program” (Delcourt, Cornell, and Goldberg, 2007); we aim to foster an environment that will develop their individual academic talents while simultaneously nurturing the whole child.

12. The North Penn School District will provide a continuum of services which may include the following where appropriate: compacting expanding enrichment and/or acceleration of curriculum and instruction.

13. This will be evidenced in the differentiation of: • content • process • product • learning styles

14. NEW GIFTED EVALUATION PROCESS

15. Advantages of New Process • Single tier of assessment • Academic assessment now includes written expression • Multiple measures of achievement in reading, written expression and math • Differentiated standards on achievement measures yield multiple criteria for eligibility

16. Advantages of New Process Continued • Reduction of gender, racial or ethnic bias • Weight of the IQ score for eligibility has been reduced • More sources of information for GIEP development • Process is compatible with proposed Chapter 16 regulations

19. Expanded Parent Information • Information for Eligibility Criteria • Traits of Gifted Learners • Please rate your child on each of the following items. • RARELY SOMETIMES FREQUENTLY • Is creative and imaginative    • Has insight into cause and effect    • Prefers complex ideas    • Recalls information easily    • Is capable of abstract thought   

20. Expanded Parent Information • Information obtained about the whole child to assist in GIEP development NPSD Gifted Evaluation Parent Information Form Examples: • In what areas does your child excel outside of school? • Please describe your child’s peer relationships and social skills. • Please rate your child in the following areas. My child: • Strives for perfection; can be self-critical • Is willing to try new things when unsure of success • Is individualistic and prefers to work alone

21. Expanded Parent Information Gifted and Talented Checklist for Parents (Sayler) • My child has quick recall of information (e.g. immediately remembers facts, series of numbers, events, words from songs or movies, or parts of conversation heard earlier) SA10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 SD Unsure or don’t know A personal example: • My child knows a lot more about some topics than do other children that age. (e.g. recounts facts about dinosaurs, sports, electronics, math, books, animals, music, art, etc; finds out a lot about a particular subject on his or her own; is very curious. A personal example: SA10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 SD

22. Changes in Regulations: Intellectual Measures • Chapter 16 Proposed Regulations: ”Deficits in memory or processing speed, as indicated by such tests, cannot be the sole basis upon which a student is determined to be ineligible for gifted special education”

23. General Ability Index (GAI) North Penn’s Procedure • Will use GAI with minimal required critical value • Difference of 6 points exists between GAI and Full Scale IQ • Not all gifted candidates will meet this requirement • Research with the Gifted/Talented population used for development of the WISC-IV indicates that 31.7% had a difference of 6 points

24. Gifted Evaluation Process • 100 possible points • 20 possible points for parent and teacher ratings • 30 possible points for academic achievement • 50 possible points for intelligence • 46 points required for eligibility • Students with IQ scores in the Superior range (120 to 129) can qualify for eligibility if they demonstrate superiority in academic achievement and ratings by parents and teachers

25. North Penn School DistrictPresent Levels of Education

26. PLEPs Present Levels of Educational Performance “Gathering enough data to know what the student needs”

27. Initial GIEP • Use data from the Gifted Written Report • As of Jan. 5, 2009, GWR will have more data to include

28. PLEP Process • Protocol has been established for maintaining GIEPs after the initial evaluation • Intellectual / Academic Assessments • Aptitudes/Abilities/Strengths/ Interest • Parent input, teacher input, student input

29. Commitment to Continuous Improvement • Questions • Please write an individual question on the cards. Or • Email: Don Venema, interim Director of Secondary Education