Introduction and Overview

Definition of Giftedness

The Exceptional Children's Educational Act (ECEA) defines gifted children as:

Those persons between the ages of four and twenty-one whose aptitude or competence in abilities, talents, and potential for accomplishment in one or more domains are so exceptional or developmentally advanced that they require special provisions to meet their educational programming needs. Gifted children are hereafter referred to as gifted students. Children under five who are gifted may also be provided with early childhood special educational services. Gifted students include gifted students with disabilities (i.e. twice exceptional) and students with exceptional abilities or potential from all socio-economic, ethnic, and cultural populations. Gifted students are capable of high performance, exceptional production, or exceptional learning behavior by virtue of any or a combination of these areas of giftedness:

General or specific intellectual ability

Specific academic aptitude

Creative or productive thinking

Leadership abilities

ECEA defines twice-exceptional as:

A student who is:

Identified as a gifted student pursuant to Section 12.01(9) of these Rules; and

Identified as a child with a disability pursuant to Section 4.02 of these Rules; or

A qualified individual pursuant to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C.A. §794.

Visual arts, performing arts, musical or psychomotor abilities 12.01(16)

District Goal

It is the goal of the district to provide a quality learning experience for each and every child.  These experiences will be geared to meet the unique needs of the student and allow them to develop and maximize their potential.

• Identify the learning needs of academically gifted students to include the academic abilities of youth within culturally diverse groups who display potential for outstanding performance.
• Develop educational experiences that provide appropriately differentiated learning opportunities for identified students.
• Provide staff support and training to improve services to students.
• Conduct ongoing reviews of the program plan and outcomes for students to make modifications for improvement.

District Responsibility for Gifted Services

Students identified as being gifted require differentiated educational services beyond those normally provided by the regular school program. These services shall be outlined in an Advanced Learning Plan (ALP) constructed with each student and reviewed annually by student, parents, teachers, principal, etc.

Gifted Coordinator: Role and Responsibilities

Qualifications: The district's Gifted Coordinator must hold a valid teaching licensure and an endorsement or Master's degree in gifted education. Paraprofessionals are not funded with gifted grant funds and are not sole instructional providers. 

Role: The Gifted Coordinator shall be an advocate for gifted students in the school district as well as an instructional resource for educators. 

Responsibilities: The Gifted Coordinator’s responsibilities include but are not limited to: managing the program plan, allocating financial resources to various programs and activities, providing gifted education professional development, and maintaining proper documentation in compliance with Colorado law. Many staff members are involved in providing appropriate instruction, counseling, and programming for gifted students. While it is the coordinator's responsibility to coordinate these efforts with appropriate staff members (classroom teachers, school counselors, and enrichment instructors), delivery of these services is a collaborative effort. 

Reporting

Morgan County School District has a current annual plan through the UIP Gifted Addendum on file at the Department of Education.  As such, the district also complies with the requirements of accreditation with regard to gifted student achievement, identification of disparities in data, instructional goals, growth, and reporting. As part of annual reporting, Morgan County School District Re-3 also submits an annual budget proposal and expended budget report to the Department of Education and maintains accurate records for annual reporting including information such as: number of identified students by grade, gender, ethnicity, free and reduced lunch, area(s) of giftedness, twice exceptionality, and percent of students in the district that are identified for gifted services.