Revised 4/7/16
NORTH PIKE SCHOOL DISTRICT GIFTED EDUCATION
INSTRUCTIONAL MANAGEMENT PLAN
CLUE
Creative/Challenging Learning in a Unique Environment
Superintendent:
Dennis Penton
Gifted Education Teachers:
Melanie Whitaker, District Contact Person
Kristi Bird
Tammi Chester
Sharon Pittman
Defining Intellectually Gifted:
The North Pike School District’s CLUE program provides services to identified intellectually gifted students in grades 2-6. The Mississippi Department of Education defines intellectually gifted students as “those children and youth who are found to have an exceptionally high degreeof intelligence as documented through the identification process.”
The North Pike School District supports gifted education as an integral part of the district’s overall educational offerings. Participation in the Gifted Education Program is NOT a reward. It is an entitlement under state law (Mississippi Gifted Education Act of 1989, Mississippi Code Sections 37-23-171 through 37-23-181).
Purpose:
The purpose of the CLUE Program is to identify and serve identified students in a uniquely different educational program not available in the regular classroom.This program is in addition to and different from the regular program of instruction provided by the district’s schools. Properly endorsed gifted education teachers serve students for the MDE minimum of 240 minutes per week and up to 300 minutes.
Mission/Philosophy Statement:
The mission of the CLUE Program is to maximize student potential through instructional modifications that targets the special needs of intellectually gifted children and empower students with skills necessary to become lifelong learners.
Program Goals and Objectives:
- to cultivate self-direction and autonomy in students
- to enable students to integrate the gifted process skills into their lives
- to provide challenging opportunities for students to learn from one another
- to ensure a safe environment with a curriculum that meets individual needs
- to develop life-long learners
- to increase understanding of self and others to develop healthy, positive, and enriching relationships
Qualitatively Differentiated Curriculum:
The CLUE curriculum emphasizes the MDE suggested curriculum strands of thinking skills, creative problem solving, research, group dynamics, creativity, leadership, communication, affective/personal growth skills, and self-directed learning. Instructional practices used in the CLUE classes include, but are not limited to, simulations, service learning, group and individual projects and presentations, concept units, the arts, and experiments.
Referrals:
A teacher, counselor, administrator, parent, peer, self, or any other person having reason to believe that the student may be intellectually gifted may refer a student in grades 2-6. A referral must be initiated by written request to the teacher of the gifted or the Gifted Contact Person. Once a referral has been initiated with the dated and signed referral form, only the Gifted LSC or parents can stop the identification process.The identification process consists of a combination of subjective and objective measures to determine eligibility for the gifted programs and includes an equitable opportunity for the inclusion of students who are culturally diverse, disabled under IDEA guidelines, physically handicapped or ADD/ADHD.
Referral for the gifted education program is based on consideration of performance in the regular classroom, potential ability, test performance, maturity, creativity, and leadership potential. While grades and/or achievement test scores might be an indicator of giftedness, by MDE Regulations, neither classroom behavior, grades, or achievement test scores may be used to eliminate a student from the identification process.
At the request of a parent, a student who does not satisfy the criteria for placement in the gifted program can be re-tested by the district after a waiting period of at least six months. The school district will evaluate a student only two times.
All data collected as part of the identification process are protected by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Access to this information is restricted to those personnel working directly with the identification process, working directly in the gifted education program, or that have a documented need to access. Parents have the right to view their children’s records at any time.
Phase 1: Screening:
Students must meet the minimum criteria on at least 3 of the following:
The group intelligence test will be administered first before deciding to go on to the other two subjective measures.
- Norm Referenced Group Intelligence Test ( superior rating )
- Norm Referenced Achievement Test (superior rating)
3. Normed measure of characteristics of giftedness checklist at superior rating
4. Normed measure of creativity checklist at superior rating
5. Normed measure of leadership checklist at superior rating
Minimum criteria must be met on at least 3 of the above measures PRIOR TO the administration of an individual intelligence test (phase 2 of the identification process).
*When a complete grade is mass-screened, no parental permission needs to be obtained.
All first graders will be mass screened during second semester of each school year. This data will be forwarded to the Gifted Contact Person. Mass screening will not be the only means of referring first graders. Students who do not meet mass screening criteria can be referred individually.
Local Survey Committee Review
Upon receipt of the referral form, the Local Survey Committee (LSC), chaired by the Gifted Contact Person, will review the information submitted. The teacher of the gifted (as an LSC member) will notify appropriate individuals of the LSC decision. Documentation will include the student’s name, meeting date, members present, and the determination.
Parental Permission Obtained for Testing:
The parent permission form, Gifted Pupil Personal Data Sheet or GPPDS, must be signed by the parent/guardian and returned to the school before a child can proceed to the assessment phase. Parents must be informed of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. (FERPA)
Phase 2:Individual Intelligence Testing
An appropriately certified or licensed psychometrist will administer an individual norm-referenced intelligence test after reviewing all data collected. A student must score 91st percentile or above in the composite area/full scale or 91st percentile on approved subtests (as per publisher) on an individual intelligence test to be eligible for services. The psychometrist will use the data collected from phase 1 to select the most appropriate intelligence test (the instrument that most closely matches the strengths of the individual child).
Emerging potential students:
Those students who satisfy the “Emerging Potential” criteria in Phase I are allowed to score at or above 84th percentile to be ruled eligible for gifted services as established by MDE gifted regulations.
Potentially twice-exceptional students:
In compliance with MDE gifted regulations, students who already have an eligibility ruling under IDEA and are being assessed for an intellectually gifted eligibility, and who did not satisfy the minimal acceptable criteria on the individual test of intelligence shall have their results reviewed by the LSC and school psychometrist. If the student scores at or above the 84th percentile on the nonverbal scale, or who in the opinion of the reviewing committee would benefit from participation in the intellectually gifted program, the student may be granted a provisional eligibility in the gifted program for one year. At the end of the year, the student’s teacher of the gifted shall meet with the review committee to discuss the student’s performance in the program. If the student has demonstrated success in the program, the LSC shall change the eligibility status from provisional to regular eligibility. If the student has not been successful in the program, the provisional eligibility shall be revoked.
Eligibility Determination/Assessment Report:
The district Local Survey Committee will determine whether or not to recommend eligibility of a student, based on all data collected. District examiner will write the Assessment Team Report, including all necessary components. Parents will be notified in writing of the LSC determination. Parents will get a copy of the Assessment Team Report and an explanation of the results in a meeting with the contact person and/orteacher of the gifted.
All data collected shall be placed in an individual eligibility file and maintained in a locked with access restricted to personnel with a documented need to know.
Placement:
A student can be placed in CLUEonly if the following paperwork is on file at the school:
1. Eligibility ruling on the Gifted Pupil Personal Data Sheet
2. Written parental consent for placement.
Students with a Mississippi eligibility ruling as Intellectually Gifted shall be accepted and placed appropriately once written parental consent is obtained. No additional testing is necessary. However, the Gifted Pupil Personal Data Sheet (GPPDS) must be on file before parental consent for placement can be obtained.
Out of State Gifted Eligibilities:
A student moving to Mississippi with a gifted eligibility from another state must satisfy Mississippi eligibility criteria. The district Local Survey Committee will meet to determine what data is needed. The eligibility ruling from another state may be used to initiate the referral process.
Homework /Classwork:
As outlined in the MDE Gifted Regulations, gifted students may not be required to make up class work missed when they are scheduled to be in the gifted classroom. Gifted students shall be held accountable for demonstrating mastery of concepts and information on regularly scheduled tests. Homework assigned to the regular classroom students for the evening of the CLUE day should be completed.
Annual Reassessment for Continued Placement:
A committee will meet at least annually to reassess the need for each student’s participation in the gifted program. These members will decide whether or not a student remains in the program.
The committee must include:
•The student’s CLUE teacher
•The school principal or designated administrative representative
•Optional - the student’s regular classroom teacher
If the committee decides that a student should exit the program due to lack of progress or unsatisfactory participation, the gifted teacher will contact the child’s parents to discuss the decision. The parents will be given the option of a meeting to discuss the recommendation in detail prior to program removal. Options for an intervention plan for 6-9 weeks will be put into place. The committee will make a decision and recommendation after that period. Should the parents not agree with a decision for the removal of the student from the program, the district shall grant the parents a hearing.
The hearing process can be found in the district’s school board policy.
Parent Withdrawals of CLUE Students:
Parents have the option of taking their child out of the CLUE program at any time they so choose. The
CLUE Withdrawal Form must be signed at the time of withdrawal. The gifted teacher is responsible for
securing the parent signature and the signature ofthe administrator as well. The local surveycommittee
will review requestsfor re-entry into the CLUE program.
Instructional Management Tracking of Student Achievement:
The North Pike Gifted Instructional Management plan includes a scope and sequence of process skills in compliance with MDE gifted program outcomes and is regularly modified to meet student needs. Teachers will assess student growth toward the process skills in the Instructional Management plan. Each CLUE teacher is responsible for maintaining the management of the Scope and Sequence Tracking Sheet on each individual student on his/her class roll. This form is completed at the end of the school year and is kept in the student’s CLUE records folder. It will be passed to the subsequent teacher as the student progresses through the CLUE program. The following pages are the North Pike School District’s Scope and Sequence used for tracking student progress in the gifted program: