2216 - GIFTED EDUCATION 

Mission Statement

The mission of the Board’s Gifted and Talented Program is to provide meaningful and enduring experiences that nurture and support the strengths and needs of all gifted learners.

Vision Statement

Nurturing gifted students potential, one learner at a time, through promoting skills, talents, passions, and future career pathways

1. District Goals 
    
   1. To provide a menu of gifted services which meet the unique needs of each individual student. 
   2. To foster a District-wide climate which recognizes and appreciates giftedness in all racial ethnic groups and socioeconomic strata.
   3. To provide gifted curriculum aligned with the State standards that is standardized and qualitatively differentiated by content, process, product, and learning environment. 
   4. To facilitate opportunities for students to become self-directed, independent learners who achieve at high levels commensurate with their ability and potential. 
   5. To provide on-going staff development for both general education teachers and gifted teachers on effective strategies for meeting the needs of gifted learners. 
   6. To seek input from and work collaboratively with parent/legal guardians of gifted learners in order to provide a quality learning environment for students. 
2. Gifted Program Standards 
    
   1. Curriculum and Instruction
       
      1. Differentiated curriculum that facilitates the mastery of core academic skills at a pace and level appropriate to gifted learners. 
      2. Differentiated curriculum that replaces, supplements, or modifies existing curriculum. 
      3. Instructional program that is flexible, and consists of advanced content and appropriately different teaching and learning strategies. 
   2. Program Models
       
      1. Gifted services will be available to all gifted students. 
      2. Gifted programming will be planned as a result of consultation with experts. 
      3. Gifted programming models will be consistent and an integral part of a child’s program. 
   3. Guidance and Counseling
       
      1. Gifted learners will be provided career guidance consistent with their unique needs. 
      2. Curriculum for gifted students will have an affective dimension. 
      3. The needs of underachieving gifted learners will be addressed. 
      4. The unique social and emotional needs of gifted students will be addressed. 
3. Student Identification 
    
   1. Schools have an obligation to identify their gifted students. The process used to identify students in need of gifted services must be ongoing, reliant on a variety of assessment measures, free of bias and non-exclusionary. Once identified, students must be provided appropriate services. 
   2. Strategies must be employed to identify students from groups traditionally underrepresented in gifted populations.
4. Eligibility
    
   1. A student is eligible for the gifted program if “the student demonstrates:
       
      1. Superior intellectual development measured by an intelligence quotient of two (2) standard deviations or more above the mean on an individually administered standardized test of intelligence;
      2. Need for a special program; and
      3. A majority of the characteristics of gifted students according to a standard scale or checklist.”
   2. Districts are also mandated by the State to develop alternative criteria to increase the representation of underrepresented groups in gifted programs, see F.A.C. 6A-6.03019(2).
5. Transfer Students
    
   1. Students entering the Board school system from outside the state of Florida who do not produce complete documentation or gifted eligibility, that meets the same criteria used in Brevard County Public Schools, will be placed in general education classes pending receipt of full documentation and/or testing within six (6) months. Every effort should be made to obtain missing documentation as soon as possible.
   2. Transfer students from within the state who have full documentation of gifted eligibility will be immediately eligible for gifted services.
   3. Students who have no tangible proof of eligibility will be placed in general education classes until all documentation is received. Telephone verification of gifted eligibility shall be followed by written documentation (electronic, fax or other hard copy). Written documentation must precede placement in the gifted program.
6. Program Models
    
   1. Schools will develop and implement a comprehensive plan to meet the needs of their gifted students. As part of this plan, schools will adopt a district-approved model or models that meet the needs of their gifted students. Every school will have at least one teacher who is gifted-endorsed.  
   2. Services will be provided in the core content areas, depending upon a student’s need. Gifted services, however, are not limited to curriculum and learning environment. Other services must be provided based on the individual needs of the students.
   3. Students in elementary who may need to spend more time in the general education classroom may be grouped in that classroom with a gifted endorsed teacher or they may be offered a resource content-based thematic program. Students who have more intense needs for gifted services will be addressed on an individual basis.
   4. For high school, honors, Advanced Placement, Dual Enrollment, International Baccalaureate, and magnet programs often serve the needs of gifted students.  However, gifted services must be available to high school students whether or not gifted content area classes are offered.  Services may take the form of gifted electives, gifted seminars, and consultation with a gifted endorsed teacher.  Gifted students are entitled to remain under the gifted umbrella as long as the educational plan is current, and a matrix of services is completed annually.

Reviewed 4/25/23
Revised 12/12/23

© Brevard County Public Schools 2023