Gifted Education Program

Gifted Services

The school-wide cluster model, as identified by Winebrenner & Brulles 2008, will be utilized. A general education teacher at your child's home school will teach clustered grade-level classes. The cluster gifted model is available at all schools. The cluster teacher provides differentiated instruction in the way of an enriched curriculum that is more challenging, offers extension activities, and/or independent research projects. Projects require higher-order and creative thinking skills. Gifted services are provided throughout the day.

The multi-age gifted classroom serves 4th-8th students in a self-contained setting at the Westar school campus. Selection is based on a primary area of giftedness with a score of 97 or better on at least one area (verbal, nonverbal or quantitative) on the Cognitive Abilities Test. The multi-age classroom groups gifted-only students to provide an alternate setting to the cluster gifted classrooms to ensure highly gifted student needs are met. Gifted instruction is provided throughout the day. Students may attend some classes with other non-gifted students throughout the day.

Gifted Scope and Sequence

The Governing Board approved the scope and sequence on July 11, 2022. Click here to view the document .

The mission of the Liberty Elementary School District’s gifted education program is to meet the social-emotional and academic needs of each of our identified gifted and talented students by providing rich learning opportunities to enhance their potential to become innovative thinkers, community leaders and lifelong learners through a continuum of differentiated services.

Gifted Referral Process and Schedule

Gifted testing is offered three times per academic year. Recommendations for testing may be made by a parent, teacher, or administrator. All testing requires parent permission. If you would like your child tested, please complete the form here. Your child will be tested at his/her school during one of the three regular testing periods using the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) or the Naglieri. Students may only test once per academic year.

Testing Period	Test	Form Due by
Testing Period 1: September 5-11	CogAT Gifted	August 17
Testing Period 2: January 10-18	CogAT Gifted	November 30
Kindergarten: March 22-28	CogAT Pre-Screener	*Opt out February 29
Kindergarten: April 22-25	CogAT Post-Screener	N/A
Testing Period 3: April 29 - May 2	CogAT Gifted	April 4

Philosophy

The Liberty Elementary School District recognizes that gifted students have unique educational needs that are met by educating the whole child through a variety of services and options. The role of the gifted program is to identify gifted students and to challenge them at their individual academic level while teaching creative and higher-level thinking skills.

Program Objectives

Enhance critical thinking and reasoning abilities
Utilize differentiated strategies for learning
Build and extend cognitive language skills
Facilitate opportunities for learning
Establish and promote scholarly behavior
Develop social and emotional skills

Gifted Students

A gifted student is a student who scores at or above the ninety-seventh (97th) percentile on national norms in any one of three areas: verbal, nonverbal, or quantitative, on any test from the State Board-approved list.

Alternative Pathway to Services
Transfer Students

Alternative Pathway to Services

A Gifted Review process has been created as an additional instrument to determine student eligibility for gifted education. Those students scoring between the 94th and 96th percentiles will be considered for Gifted And Talented Education (GATE) services upon parent request in writing and a teacher recommendation letter. This request will be reviewed by the Campus Gifted Review Committee.

The Campus Gifted Review Committee is made up of GATE Cluster teachers and the GATE Coordinator. This committee meets three times a year to review service requests submitted by the parent and the teacher. The GATE Coordinator will notify the parents of the final decision. Parents of students who qualify for GATE services sign a permission form in order for the student to participate in the GATE program.

Transfer Students

Provisional placement for students who have been previously identified and served in another district using different criteria - that may be different than scoring at the 97th percentile in any one of the three areas on a State Board of Education approved test will be placed for gifted services. The placement is then evaluated after 30 days by the Campus Gifted Review Committee, along with the parents, to determine if the placement was appropriate.

Learning Environment

The Liberty Elementary School District offers several gifted models to ensure that all gifted students receive appropriate instruction.

Kindergarten

1st-8th Grade Cluster Schoolwide Grouping

1st-8th Grade Cluster Schoolwide Grouping model, as defined by Winebrenner & Brulles 2008, will be utilized. A general education teacher will teach clustered grade-level classes on all campuses. Gifted services are provided throughout the day. The cluster teacher provides differentiated instruction through enriched curriculum that is more challenging, offers extension activities, and/or engages students in independent research projects. Projects require higher-order and creative thinking skills.

Self-Contained Multi-age Gifted Classroom

Self-Contained Multi-age Gifted (MAG) Classroom settings are offered at Westar Elementary School. The MAG program serves students in a self-contained setting in (4-6) and (7-8), which is a more restrictive environment that provides students less interaction with their general education peers. It is designed to provide an alternative learning setting for highly gifted students whose needs may not have been met in a Cluster gifted classroom. Selection is based on a primary area of giftedness with a score of 97 or better on at least one area (verbal, nonverbal or quantitative) on the Cognitive Abilities Test. Gifted instruction is provided throughout the day. Students may attend some classes with other non-gifted students throughout the day.

If you have further questions regarding the program, please feel free to speak with your child's teacher, school principal, or you may contact the Educational Services Department at (623) 474-6600.

Resources for Parents

Note: Links are provided as resources and inclusion herein does not constitute endorsement of the programs or content.

Contact Information

If you have further questions regarding the program, please feel free to speak with your child's teacher, school principal, or you may contact the Educational Services Department at (623) 474-6600.