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St. Martin
Barry Amacker, Ed.D. Superintendent
WINGS
“Winning Instruction for Gifted Students”
Table of Contents
Message from Superintendent
4
Mission Statement and Philosophy
5
Program Goals, Definition, and Purpose
6
Student Identification Process
7
Referral and Phase I
8
Phase II, Eligibility Determination,
Parent Notification and Homework Policy
9
Work Make-Up Policy
10
Annual Reassessment and Reinstatement Procedure
11
Instructional Management Program
12
Continuum of Services
13
Gifted Classroom
14
Aspects of Gifted Children
15
St. Martin Gifted Center
16-19
Resources
20
2
Message from the Superintendent
3
Dear Parent,
It is my pleasure to welcome you to the Jackson County School
District’s Gifted Program. We are pleased to have you and your child
as participants in this outstanding program. Our district motto is
“Raising the Standard” and truly this program provides our students an
opportunity to do just that. My observation leads me to believe that
students in the gifted program are challenged beyond the core
curriculum to higher levels of thinking and application of knowledge. It
is truly an exciting educational experience.
Please feel free to contact your child’s school anytime you have
questions or need assistance. In addition, the district office staff
stands ready to assist you in any way possible. Have a great year!!
Sincerely,
Barry Amacker, Ed.D.
Superintendent
Jackson County School District
Gifted Programming County Administration
228-826-1757
Lisa McCartney, Ph.D……………….Gifted Program Contact Person
Lynda Van Winkle, M.Ed, NCC, NCSC.…........................Psychometrist
Jackson County School District Board of Education
Kenneth A. Fountain, Chairman
Randall B. Turner, Vice Chairman
Troy Frisbie, Member
David A. Sims, Member
Glenn A. Dickerson, Member
Jack Pickett, Attorney
MISSION
The mission of the Jackson County School District is to allow students
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that have been deemed intellectually gifted to reach their fullest
potential based on their exceptional abilities. Students will be provided
a differentiated program designed to address their individual needs.
We will provide learning experiences through self-motivated discovery
learning, and empower students with the knowledge and skills to
create their own futures; therefore becoming contributors to a diverse
and changing world.
PHILOSOPHY
The Jackson County School District is committed to an education
program that recognizes individual student differences, abilities,
interests, and needs. Our goal is to enrich the education of all
students through events and activities designed to expose them to a
variety of challenging and higher order critical and creative thinking
experiences.
A multi-dimensional curriculum will take into consideration the interests
and social/emotional needs of each student in order to encourage the
development of the total individual and his/her relationship to the
group. Methods, materials, and media used by the teacher will be
varied and challenging in order to add dimension to thinking and to
accommodate different learning styles. Providing students with
enhanced differentiated instruction will enable us to nurture the diverse
talents and abilities of the intellectually gifted student.
PROGRAM GOALS
To create a learning environment that facilitates and encourages
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thinking, creativity, metacognition, healthy relationships,
appropriate expectations, understanding of self, the development of
communication skills, and self-directed learning for students in
grades two through sixth who have been identified as intellectually
gifted.
To offer the intellectually gifted a qualitatively different educational
experience that is not available in the general education classroom.
To develop a differentiated program designed to address the needs
of the intellectually gifted student.
To provide intellectually gifted students with an opportunity to
maximize their personal potential.
DEFINITION
“Intellectually Gifted Children” shall mean those children and youth
who are found to have an exceptionally high degree of intelligence as
documented through the identification process.
PURPOSE
To ensure that gifted children who demonstrate unusually high
potential as described in the above definitions are identified and
offered an appropriate education based upon their exceptional abilities.
Because of their unusual capabilities, they require uniquely
qualitatively different educational experiences not available in the
regular classroom. These uniquely different programs are required to
enable gifted students to realize their abilities and potential
contributions to self and society.
STUDENT IDENTIFICATION PROCESSES
The student identification processes are separated into six steps for
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the Intellectually Gifted category: The six steps are: referral, (LSC)
review, parental permission for testing, assessment, assessment
report, and the eligibility ruling by the LSC.
The Jackson County School District identification procedures shall
consider the following:
The identification process shall consist of a combination of subjective
and objective measures to determine eligibility for the gifted programs.
No single evaluation method or instrument adequately identifies
students who are gifted. Thus, a multi-factored identification process
must be followed to insure a fair evaluation of each individual student.
The identification process shall provide an equitable opportunity for the
inclusion of students who are culturally diverse, underachieving,
disabled under IDEA guidelines, physically
handicapped, ADD/ADHD, as well as students who exhibit classroom
behavior such as extreme shyness, short attention spans,
disruptiveness, continual questioning, and anxiety. Throughout the
identification process, close attention and careful consideration shall
be paid to all information available and collected on each individual
student and how that information dictates the kinds of instruments and
measures that should be used to correctly assess that student.
All instruments administered and measures must have been validated
for the specific purpose for which they are being used. The
assessment criteria and minimal acceptable criteria to be used shall be
documented in writing in the district’s Gifted Education Program
Proposal submitted to the Office of Gifted Education Programs at the
Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) and approved by the State
Board of Education (SBE).
REFERRAL CRITERIA
A student shall satisfy two of the following criteria at this level before
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moving forward in the identification process: group measure of
intelligence that has been administered within the past twelve (12)
months, with the local minimal acceptable criteria of 90th percentile or
higher; a published characteristics of giftedness measure, with the
local minimal acceptable criteria In the superior range or at the 90 th
percentile; existing measure of individual intelligence that has been
administered within the past twelve (12) months, if warranted.
PHASE I ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
A full scale score at or above the 90th percentile on a normed group
measure of Intelligence is required at Phase I. In addition to a score at
or above the 90th percentile on a normed group measure of
intelligence, the student is also required to satisfy the minimal
acceptable criteria on any two of the following measures:
A score at or above the superior range on a normed characteristics
of giftedness checklist.
A score in the superior range on a normed measure of creativity.
A score in the superior range on a normed measure of leadership.
A student who has satisfied the minimal acceptable criteria shall move
forward to the individual test of intelligence.
If minimum criteria is not met:
A letter will be sent home to parents along with formal documentation
of decision. Parents may schedule a conference should they wish to
review the test results.
PHASE II ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
Once it has been determined that a student has satisfied minimal
criteria on three measures from Phase I of assessment, the student
shall move forward to the second phase of assessment, the individual
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test of intelligence. All individual tests of intelligence shall be
administered by a licensed examiner. In no case will the examiner be
related to the student being tested. The examiner shall review all
available data on the student, whether or not it satisfies minimal
identification criteria, and uses that information to select the most
appropriate test of intelligence. No more than one individual test of
intelligence shall be administered to the student without an appropriate
waiting period between administrations. The student must score at or
above the 90th percentile composite/full scale or the 90th percentile in
order to satisfy eligibility criteria.
ELIGIBILITY DETERMINATION
Once the Assessment Report is finished, the LSC shall meet to review
all data and determine if eligibility criteria has or has not been satisfied.
The LSC shall rule that the student is or is not eligible for the
intellectually gifted program.
PARENTAL NOTIFICATION
District personnel shall notify in writing the parents of each student
tested for the intellectually gifted program about the assessment
results by means of an assessment report.
HOMEWORK/CLASSWORK
As outlined in the Regulation for the Gifted Education Programs in
Mississippi 2006, gifted students in grades 2-6 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. Intellectually gifted students may or may not
consistently perform on classroom activities including graded daily
work and tests at the 90%ile or above. The best predictor of
intellectually ability is their ability to reason and use information in
unusual ways, not their classroom performance.
TIME AND MAKE-UP PROCEDURES FOR STUDENTS IN
GIFTED/TALENTED PROGRAM
It shall be the policy of this school district to comply with the guidelines
of the Mississippi Department of Education for the Gifted/Talented
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program. Therefore, the following procedures will be utilized: The
student will be taken from the regular classroom a minimum of five
hours a week. Scheduling difficulties dictate that different procedures
may be followed. These procedures include but are not limited to the
following: one hour daily to be during a designated period or a floating
hour, block periods of time divided between morning and afternoon or
floating block periods. The size of each class in grades 2-6 will be in
the range of 4-9 students. Once a class reaches 10, or more students,
the integrity of the program could be negatively impacted. If a daily
grade is taken during that hour, a G is placed in the grade book. The
student’s grades are then averaged by the total number of grades
actually taken. No penalty is given for having a “G” rather than a
grade.
When the regular classroom teacher introduces new materials while
the student is in the Gifted class, the teacher will provide the student
with the information in the form of a handout or by posting the page
numbers covered in a designated place in the classroom. The Gifted
student must accept the challenge of reviewing and learning the
information given to him or her. The student must be responsible for
checking the designated area for posted information or hand-out
information. The student must learn this information independently as
he or she will be responsible for mastery when the content is tested.
Actual paper work handed in during the student’s Gifted period will not
be required of the gifted student. Gifted class is a required part of the
student’s academic day. Students may not be held in the regular class
until work is completed. Students may not be held from the Gifted
class as a punishment for behavior, incomplete assignments, etc.
Withholding permission for a student to attend the gifted classes
should not be considered as a disciplinary measure. Failure to
complete WINGS class assignments can be used as grounds for
dismissal from the program.
ANNUAL REASSESSMENT
A committee shall meet at least annually to reassess each gifted
student’s continuation in the program. The committee must include at
least the student’s teacher of the gifted and a designated
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administrative representative.
Since participation in the gifted program in an entitlement under law,
the student should remain in the program as long as they are being
successful in the program. Grades and/or success in the regular
classroom should not be considered as a reason for removal from the
gifted program.
In the event a student has difficulty keeping up with the regular
classroom work, a conference will be held with the parent(s),
classroom teacher(s), teacher of the gifted, and the student to discuss
the problem and to determine an appropriate course of action. The
conference and plan of action will be documented and follow-up
conferences will be held as needed.
If the committee recommends that a student be removed from the
gifted program, the student’s parents must be notified and given an
opportunity to discuss the decision before the student is removed.
Should the parents not agree to the removal of the student, the local
district shall grant the parents a hearing. The hearing process is
detailed in Jackson County School District Board Policy IDDD.
REINSTATEMENT PROCEDURES
Students will be considered for reinstatement in the gifted program at
the request of the parents and with the recommendation of the
classroom teachers. Consideration and arrangements for
reinstatement in the program will be made through the LSC, with
parent(s) in attendance, and documented in the minutes. Parent’s
signatures on the minutes will provide documentation of parental
permission to reinstatement of the student in the program.
INSTRUCTIONAL MANAGEMENT PLAN
Students in the WINGS program work under specific Instructional
Management Plan (IMP) objectives and time frames. The IMP is
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compellation of six process skills and 42 objectives. These process
skills are organized by scope and sequence and introduced,
developed, and extended over a period of time. The goal of instruction
is to guide students to develop higher order critical thinking skill that
transcend curricula.
In accordance with the Mississippi Department of Education
recommendations, the Intellectually Gifted Program is evaluated
annually by a variety of stakeholders (parents, students,
administrators, and teachers) through a survey process. The
information gathered is used to improve and strengthen the program
and to assist in providing quality programming for Intellectually Gifted
Students. The Instructional management Plan is reviewed and
updated annually based upon the results of the gifted program
evaluation. A copy of the Jackson County School District IMP can be
located on the district website.
Please visit your child’s school library for more information regarding
the gifted child and gifted programming. Each library contains a
“Gifted Resource” notebook, maintained by your child’s gifted teacher,
which contains valuable resource information.
Continuum of Services
Grades 7-12
12
In order to provide a continuum of services for high ability students in
the secondary schools, a variety of advanced level and honors classes
are offered. Most of these courses are available to all students who
meet the criteria, including those who have been identified as gifted.
Students may also enroll in Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College
to earn elective or dual-enrollment credit while still in high school.
Seventh graders, who qualify based on grades and teacher
recommendations, are offered the opportunity to take pre-algebra.
Eighth graders, who qualify based on grades and teacher
recommendations, are offered the opportunity to take Algebra I at all
Jackson County School District middle schools. One of the Jackson
County School District Middle Schools offers accelerated English to
eighth graders.
High School Students are offered the opportunity to enroll in
accelerated classes, advanced placement classes, and honors classes
based on grades and teacher recommendations. The accelerated
classes offered are: English 1, English 2, English 3, U.S. History, and
World History. The advanced placement classes offered are:
Government 1 and 2, Calculus, English 4, US History 1 and 2, World
History 1& 2, Biology, and Chemistry. Honors classes offered include:
US History, Government, World History, and Geometry.
What You Should See in Your Child’s Gifted Classroom
Focus on specific and unique identified needs of the gifted students
Focus on the identified learning styles of the student
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Focus on CREATING new ideas and products
Focus on analysis, synthesis, and evaluation
Focus on discovery, open-endedness, and reasoning
Focus on specific interests of the gifted child
Focus in identification of real problems, real investigation, and real
audiences
Focus on self-understanding
Focus on self-directed learning
Focus on self-initiated, lifelong learning
Focus on creativity
Focus on process skills
Focus on Metacognition
Focus on development of individual strengths and individual
interests
Focus on small group and individual investigations
What You Should Not See in the Gifted Classroom
More of the same kind of work from the regular education program
Focus in the use of activity books and/or the “worksheet” of the day
Focus on recall of facts, information, and knowledge
Focus on pre-packed units and/or mini-units that have no relevance
to the needs of the gifted students being served
Focus on hobbies and interests of the teacher of the gifted
Focus on competitions and educational games
Focus on cookbook approaches to classroom activities
Focus on “things” simply because they are not covered in the
regular education program
Traditional classroom setting
Focus on a single learning style
Adapted from “What You Should Not See and What You Should See in the Gifted Classroom”,
by Conrad Castle, PhD. Past coordinator of MDE Gifted Education
Characteristics of Gifted Children: Positive Aspects and Difficulties
There are many commonly cited characteristics of giftedness. One cannot expect
every child to have all of these, but it is helpful for adults to be aware of them. In
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certain conditions, we may see a characteristic as being positive. In another light, it
may appear to present a difficulty.
Characteristics
Perfectionism
Positive Aspects
Works hard to do a good job.
Pays attention to detail.
Independence,
nonconformity
Thinks for self, does not need
approval of group to act.
Perseverance
Strong power of concentration.
Stays with an activity until it is
completed.
Comes up with new and creative
ideas.
Originality
Ability to Analyze
Strong perception of relationships
between ideas and events. Seeks
to interpret and understand what
is learned and experienced.
Verbal
precociousness
Able to effectively articulate
thoughts.
Curiosity
Strong desire to learn & explore
Sense of humor
Strong wit & unique way of
looking at life.
Difficulties
May have unrealistic
expectations, “perceived failure”,
super-sensitivity to criticism, work
is unfinished because it never
seems good enough
May have a seemingly rebellious
or disruptive nature, tend to
challenge & question indiscreetly,
resent the constraining structure
of the classroom.
May be resistance to interruption
or to a schedule, inflexible.
Behavior may be “off task”.
Desire to investigate and invent
for oneself. Not motivated by
traditional textbook approach to
learning, rote learning, excessive
group instructions, and teacher
control.
May tens to dominate discussions
or activities or to resist curriculum
& skill work that is repetitive. May
become quite skillful in
manipulating and controlling
others.
May have difficulty restraining
desire to talk and develop
listening skills and habits.
May ask so many questions that it
becomes annoying to others.
May be the class clown.
Prufrock.com 2/5/2005
St. Martin Center For Gifted Excellence
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Jackson County School District Elementary and
Middle School Handbooks
Students will abide by the policies and procedures as outlined in the
Jackson County School District Elementary and Middle School
Handbooks. In addition, the following procedures will be followed
when students are in attendance at the St. Martin Center for Gifted
Excellence.
Check-in and Check-outs
All student check-in and check outs must be made at the student’s
home school. After securing the proper notification from the home
school, the parent must present the verification to the Gifted Center
Office.
Medical Procedures
Fever
When school officials are aware that a child’s temperature is 100
degrees, an attempt will be made to contact the parent/guardian. If the
temperature reaches 101 degrees, a school official will request that the
parent/guardian pick up the child after checking out at the home
school. This procedure is followed to insure the safety of the child and
the well being of the other students
Medications
NO STUDENT will be allowed to bring medicine to school.
In the event a medication is brought to the school by a student, the
medicine will be immediately confiscated and the student may be
referred to the building administrator for disciplinary action.
THE PARENT/GUARDIAN SHALL:
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1.
Provide the school with a health plan for their child who has a
special medical problem. (i.e. allergic reactions, asthma, etc.)
2.
Present a medical consent form signed by the parent to the
principal or his/her designee.
3.
Bring medication in the original prescription bottle properly
labeled by a registered pharmacist as prescribed by law. The
medication should be given to the school official at the Gifted
Center responsible for administering the medication to the
child. Pills will be counted in the presence of the parent. The
number of pills received shall be documented. Prescription
liquids should be documented as to amounts of cc’s and ml’s.
Medications will not be given after the expiration date.
4.
The school will administer only the over-the-counter medicine
provided to the school by the parent/guardian or for which the
parent/guardian gives consent for the school to administer.
Medical personnel licensed by the State of MS employed by
the school district must have a written physician’s order to
administer medication to the student.
5.
Forgotten doses of medication which were to be given at
home may not be administered at school.
6.
If a physician orders a dosage other than indicated on the
label, the physician’s orders would be required. An updated
prescription bottle will be required at the time the new
prescription is filled.
7.
Documentation from the doctor must be provided if the child is
to be given sample medications.
A “Medical Release/Consent Form” may be requested to allow
communication between the medical provider and the school nurse or
designee.
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Legal Ref:
MS Code 37-7-301(i); 41-23-37
Guidelines Mississippi State Board of Health.
The Jackson County School District reserves the right to refuse to
administer any medications to students when circumstances warrant
this action. Such circumstances might include reaction, response,
incomplete instructions for the administration of the medication, noncompliance by parents/guardian with school system policy for the
administering of medications or other extenuating circumstances.
Medical Emergencies
In the event of an emergency during which a child may need to be
transported to the hospital, the school will attempt to contact the
parent/guardian. If the parent/guardian cannot be contacted, the
school will have the child transported to the hospital and will continue
to try and contact the parent/guardian. Any expense incurred will be
the responsibility of the parent/guardian
Phone Use
Students will not be permitted to call home, except in an emergency
and under supervision of the administrator or Gifted Center secretary.
Student Emergency Information
A student’s personal information should be kept up to date at all times.
The parent’s correct home and work telephone numbers, parent’s
place of employment, home address, etc., is extremely important in
helping the student in an emergency situation. Please inform the
school office in writing whenever there is a change.
Emergency Procedures
In the event of an emergency, all students and staff at the Gifted
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Center will be transported by bus to St. Martin Middle School.
Lunch Information
Students in grades 2, 3, and 6 will be eat lunch at St. Martin Middle
School while attending the Gifted Center. Students in grades 4 and
grade 5 will eat lunch at St. Martin Upper Elementary while attending
the Gifted Center. Students will eat prior to the regular lunch rotation
at each site.
Notes:
Resources
http://www.gifted.uconn.edu
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National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented
http://www.gifteddevelopment.com
Gifted Development Center, Dr. Linda Silverman
http://www.hoagiesgifted.org
Information for parents, students, teachers,
and administrators
http://www.nagc.org
National Association for Gifted Children
http://www.magc.org
Mississippi Association for Gifted Children
http://www.prufrock.com
Books for teachers, parents, and students
http://www.giftedbooks.com
Books for parents, teachers, and students
http://www.gifted.org
The Gifted Child Society
http://www.criticalthinking.com
Books for teachers and students
http://www.usm.edu/~gifted
Frances Karnes Center for Gifted Studies
University of Southern Mississippi
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