Comprehensive GT Manual

Identification Process
 

• Parent Awareness Survey
  • Parent Awareness Session Completion Survey
• All students may be referred for testing and consideration in the Gifted and Talented Program by teachers, counselors, parents, or other interested persons. 
• All WISD students in kindergarten and grade two are automatically considered for Gifted and Talented services. A referral is not required; however, parent input is requested. 
• The referral includes 10 survey questions about the student.
• Written parental consent will be obtained before any special testing or individual assessment is conducted as a part of the screening and identification process. 
• All student information collected during the screening and identification process will be educational record subject to the protections set in policies.
• A recorded parent information session about the WISD G/T program will be shared district-wide for parents who are interested. This optional session will cover the identification procedures and available services. Parents will receive a link to the presentation through ParentSquare by March 1.

 
 
Kindergarten and Second Grade Screening

• All kindergarten and second-grade students are given a verbal, quantitative, and nonverbal reasoning test. 
• All kindergarten and second-grade students are given an academic achievement test. 
• A performance task will be given to all students.
• Teachers and parents will complete a survey on all students.
• Second-grade students previously identified as GT will not participate in the screening. 
• GT Parent Survey for Second Grade Students (English) (English)  (Open February 16, 2025)
• Encuesta para padres de GT para estudiantes de segundo grado (abierta del 16 de febrero de 2025)
• English:  Whitehouse ISD GT Parent Survey for Kindergarten Students  (Open February 14-March 14,2025)
• Spanish: Whitehouse ISD GT Parent Survey for Kindergarten Students  (abierta del 10 al 24 de enero de 2025)

Grades 1, 3-12 screening 

• All referred students will have the opportunity to participate in the screening process.
• The window for parent and teacher nominations for the Gifted and Talented Program opens March 25 through April 9. To nominate a student, complete the survey in English or Spanish. Only students in grades 1 and 3-12 are eligible for nomination at this time. 

Selection Committee

• A selection committee will evaluate each referred student according to the established criteria and will identify those students for whom placement in the gifted and talented program is the most appropriate educational setting. 
• he committee will be composed of at least three professional educators who have received training in the nature and needs of gifted students.

Assessment Schedule
 

• GT Window #1: Only open to WISD students new to the state or new to public school. Related assessments are administered during the fall semester, and results are communicated by the end of October. If qualified, services begin immediately.
• GT Window #2: All kindergarten students in WISD are evaluated for gifted and talented services. Related assessments are administered in the late fall and early spring semester, and results are communicated by the end of February. If qualified, services begin by March 1. 
• GT Window #3: All second-grade students in WISD not currently served in the GT program are evaluated for gifted and talented services. Related assessments are administered during the spring semester, and results are communicated by the end of April. If qualified, services begin the following school year.
• GT Window #4: Only open to WISD students in grade 1 and grades 3-12 not currently served in the GT program. To be eligible for window #4, students cannot participate in windows #1, #2 or #3 during the same school year. Related assessments will be administered in the late spring semester, and results are communicated by the end of May. If qualified, services begin the following school year.

Notification 

• The District will provide written notification to parents of students who qualify for services through the District's gifted and talented program. 
• Participation in any program or services provided for gifted students is voluntary, and the District will obtain written permission from the parents before placing a student in a gifted and talented program.
• Families and staff will be informed of student placement and given opportunities to schedule conferences to discuss assessment data.

The term Cluster Teacher refers to a classroom teacher with identified GT students assigned to his/her classroom.

Qualifications:

Cluster Teachers will have successful teaching experience and be willing to accept training and guidance in gifted education.  Self contained teachers must have 3 successful years of teaching prior to serving the GT students.  Teachers with GT students in their classroom must have completed the 30 hour training by the completion of the first semester.  After initial training is complete, all cluster teachers need to obtain 6 annual hours of update training.

Selection of Cluster Teachers:

The building principal is encouraged to collaborate with the GT Coordinator and GT Specialists to select Campus Cluster Teachers.  The number of Cluster Teachers selected at a given grade level may vary from year to year based on the number of identified students at that grade level.

A minimum of three GT students must be clustered in a classroom.  If there are only four or five students at a grade level, they should be assigned to the same classroom and not split. 

Responsibilities of Campus Cluster Teachers:

1. Cooperation - The Cluster Teacher will maintain a positive and cooperative attitude toward the WISD GT program structure.
2. Students - The Cluster Teacher will strive to meet the unique needs of the GT students by providing an appropriate learning environment through differentiation of content, product, process and/or affective needs of the GT learner.
3. Team Member - The Cluster Teacher will work with the GT specialist to support gifted education.
4. Collaboration - The Cluster Teacher will attend meetings to discuss ideas for differentiating.
5. Training - The Cluster Teacher will attend 6 hours of update training required each year.

Cluster Teachers should be individuals who are willing to meet the challenges of working with gifted children.  Some of their qualities should include an eagerness to:

• Understand and accept the unique attributes and needs of GT students;
• Be intellectually alive and creatively productive;
• Be flexible and open to varying the content, process, and products;
• Be attuned to the child, not just the curriculum;
• Serve as a role model for children;
• Cultivate positive feelings among students and faculty toward G/T programs;
• Structure realistic, solvable problems that are consistent with the student’s interest;
• Utilize divergent questioning strategies;
• Learn the differentiation skills and processes appropriate to the education of gifted children;

KINDERGARTEN 

• Students who are identified in spring are served in a pull-out class for ½ day per week on or before March 1.

FIRST – FIFTH GRADES 

• Identified students receive year-long services through a pull-out program at least ½ day per week. 
• Research projects, products, and technology requirements differentiate this program from the regular instructional program. 
• Students will be clustered into classrooms to increase time for collaboration with peers. 
• Students are responsible for regular class content missed while attending the GT pull-out class, but are not required to make up classwork that occurs during the pull-out time.

Grades 6-12

• Gifted/talented students are served through Honors and AP level courses in the four core academic areas. Academic acceleration and enrichment distinguish this program from the regular program of study.

Grades 11 and 12 

• Gifted/talented students are encouraged to accept the challenge of Dual enrollment college courses. 

FURLOUGHS, EXIT, RE-ENTRY, and TRANSFERS

FURLOUGH 

• Furlough (leave of absence) may be initiated by the District, the parent, or the student. 
• Furlough will be reviewed by the Campus Review Committee and a recommendation made. 
• The purpose of Furlough is to allow the student to meet academic, behavioral, or other goals. 
• At the end of a furlough, the student may reenter the program, be placed on another furlough, or be exited from the program.
• State policy prohibits furlough for longer than one consecutive year.

EXIT

• A student in the Gifted and Talented Program may be exited due to his/her nonperformance in the program or at the request of the parent. 
  • Step 1: Student/Parent is notified. 
  • Step 2: Conference is held with parent and student. 
  • Step 3: Dismissal will be requested by G/T committee with parent and student notification.

RE-ENTRY 

• If a student has been exited by the school through the exit procedure as outlined above, he/she may re-enter through the referral process and re-qualify, no earlier than the beginning of the next school year and only after he/she has been out of the program for at least one complete semester. In some cases, this will mean that a student will reenter the program at the beginning of the second semester of the following year. 
• If a student decides to exit himself/herself from the Gifted and Talented Program, he may reenter the program through the referral process, no earlier than the beginning of the next school year by requalifying in the Identification Process.

TRANSFERS

• When a student identified as gifted by a previous school district enrolls in the District, the committee shall review the student's records and conduct assessment procedures when necessary to determine if placement in the District's program for gifted and talented students is appropriate.

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