SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
4.1 Actions to meet the affective needs of gifted
students
a.
Minimum Standards
Teachers, parents, administrators, and
counselors are provided with information and
training regarding the characteristics of gifted
learners and their related social and emotional
development.
Over 300 teachers have been trained in the
characteristics of gifted learners and the issues of
social and emotional development. These teachers
have gone back to their sites and have shared what
they have learned with their colleagues. Teachers
have also shared this information with parents.
Parents as well as teachers have attended the CAG
conference and been able to attend workshops on
social and emotional development of GATE
students.
Next year administrators will also be trained on the
social and emotional needs of GATE students.
b.
Gifted students are provided awareness
opportunities of career and college options and
guidance consistent with their unique
strengths. At the secondary level this includes
mentoring and pre-college opportunities.
All of our high schools have counselors and these
counselors are prepared to discuss college
opportunities. In addition, all of our high schools
have Academy programs that are career oriented
Commendable Standards
Teachers are trained and knowledgeable
regarding social and emotional development of
gifted students, and incorporate techniques to
support affective learning in their classrooms.
Teachers have been trained to support the
emotional needs of GATE students. One effective
technique has simply been the use of the cluster
model. Teachers have reported that GATE students
feel less isolated when they are able to interact with
their intellectual peers. Teachers demonstrate that
they are incorporating what they have learned in
their reports to the district. For example, a teacher
from La Escuelita wrote about what teachers at her
site are doing to be sensitive to the emotional needs
of GATE students. She writes that teachers should,
“be aware of the dangers of praising too much.
This can contribute to perfectionism….”
Almost all elementary sites in the district are using
the Second Step approach to discipline. Part of the
Second Step curriculum fosters a climate of
inclusion. Since GATE students are often socially
excluded, Second Step has been a helpful
curriculum to diminish social isolation.
a.
b.
Guidance and counseling services appropriate
to the social and emotional needs of gifted
students are provided by trained personnel.
Referral services to community resources are
a.
b.
Exemplary Standards.
Ongoing counseling services by teachers,
principals and counselors are provided and
documented as appropriate.
Teachers and guidance personnel are trained
to collaborate in implementing intervention
strategies for at risk gifted students.
Intervention options can take place in school,
at home, or in the community.
All of the high schools work with outside agencies
to provide social and emotional support for at risk
students. For example, Oakland High works with
the Asian Mental Health Center and the George
Scotland Center (which serves West Oakland).
These agencies are on campus up to three days a
week to provide one on one counseling and group
counseling. Many of our schools are also recipients
of SB65 which provides a caseworker on campus to
work with at-risk students.
The Student Study Team is also used to address
social and emotional needs of students, including
gifted students. At some sites the service is
outstanding. At Hoover Elementary for example,
the team meets once a week to address these
concerns.
Before funding was cut, Oakland had a special
program for students who were double identified as
Gate with Aspergers syndrome.
and are open to all students. These Academies, for
example the Engineering Academy or the Health
Academy at Oakland Technical High School offer
summer internships and other opportunities for
students to expand their awareness of the world
outside of high school.
At the secondary level there is a wide array of
programs that help with pre-college opportunities.
For example, all of our schools are part of SOAR, a
program geared to provide mentoring and academic
support for one of the high school classes (seniors)
Schools partner with colleges and universities in
other tutoring programs such as Upward Bound that
offers daily tutoring on campus as well as Saturday
and summer school programs. At most of our high
schools and at some of the middle schools, students
have taken tours of college campuses.
At the elementary level schools host a career day to
inform all students of future career possibilities.
4.2 At risk gifted students
Minimum Standards
Teachers are trained to recognize symptoms of
at-risk behavior in gifted and talented students
and to refer them to appropriate school
personnel.
GATE representatives and other teachers have had
some training in the social and emotional needs of
GATE students. The representatives report that
when they notice these problems they conference
with parents or inform an administrator. Articles
about the social and emotional needs of GATE
students are distributed to parents, GATE
representatives, and teachers attending GATE
training. Teachers are taught that giftedness and
behavior problems might go together. In fact, this
is part of the GATE brochure that is distributed to
a.
made when appropriate.
GATE representatives report that after parent
conferences they refer children to counselors or
community agencies if the child appears to need
additional emotional support.
Commendable Standards
The district develops a plan for teachers to
work in collaboration with guidance personnel
regarding at-risk intervention strategies
Oakland Unified Schools have Student Study
Teams (SST) at each site. These teams are trained
to intervene when a student appears to be suffering
in school due to social and emotional reasons. The
team includes administrators, teachers, and the
parent and child. A school psychologist is also
usually available.
a.
Exemplary Standards
At risk gifted students are provided with
specific guidance and counseling services that
addresses the related issues and problems, and
include development of an intervention plan.
The district is developing training for counselors
that focuses specifically on the needs of GATE
students. Through an examination of data the
district has recognized that there are gifted students
who are not enrolled in Advanced Placement
courses, or other courses of academic rigor in High
School. In order to ensure that these students do
not fall through the cracks in the future the GATE
office will work with the counseling department.
b.
parents and sites.
b.
Counselors and administrators are trained to
make appropriate referrals to internal and
external agencies when needed.
At the beginning of each school year the district
GATE psychologist will meet with site
administrators to discuss social and emotional
needs of students and to discuss how to make
referrals. These discussions are then duplicated at
the site level.
c. Gifted students considered at-risk receive
counseling and support services and are not
dropped from gifted programs because of
related problems.
No student is dropped from the gifted program due
to social and emotional problems.
d.
Information and support are made available to
parents regarding at-risk-gifted students.
The parent advisory committee is working to plan a
conference that will include workshops on the
social and emotional needs of gifted students,
including at-risk students.