Summary Presentation

Evaluation

of

Gifted Services

in

Oswego School District 308

Carolyn M. Callahan

University of Virginia

Evaluation Process: Stage I

Focusing the Evaluation

Interviews

• Key informants

AT Teachers, Honors Teachers, AP Teachers

General Education Teachers

Parents

Administrators

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TALENTED AND GIFTED (TAG) PROGRAM

SCHOOL DISTRICT # 41, GLEN ELLYN, IL

Evaluation Process: Stage 2

Data Collection Interviews

• Key informants

Teachers

Students

Parents

Principals

Superintendent

Central Office Staff

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50

100

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2nd Qtr

3rd Qtr

4th Qtr

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1st Qtr 2nd Qtr 3rd Qtr 4th Qtr

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TALENTED AND GIFTED (TAG) PROGRAM

SCHOOL DISTRICT # 41, GLEN ELLYN, IL

Evaluation Process: Stage 2

Data Collection • Observations in classrooms (AT, Honors, AP, General

Education)

• Review of program documents

• Surveys: Separate surveys by

level

• Parents (AT, Honors, AP)

• Teachers (AT, Honors, AP)

• General Education Teachers (elementary)

• Principals

• Review of demographic and performance data

Key Features Of The Program

Examined in the Report

Presented as independent, but highly

inter-related!

• Philosophy and Definition

• Program Standards of the National Association

for Gifted Children

• Evaluation

ORGANIZATION OF THE REPORT

•COMMENDATIONS

•PROBLEMS, ISSUES

AND CONCERNS

•RECOMMENDATIONS

SUMMARY AND HIGHLIGHTS

WITH CAVEATS

• The gifted program is embedded in a school context

• Changes suggested extend beyond the current gifted

program

• No “instant fixes”

• Presentation focuses only on recommendations

• There are many complex recommendations embedded in

the full report—this oral report is just a means to open

discussion

Program Philosophy And Definition

• Recommendation

• Assemble a small, but representative task force

• Affirm or revise definition of gifted

• Consider subject specific giftedness, underachievement, twice-exceptional

• Consider implications for underserved populations of gifted students in

Oswego (minority, low income, ELL students)

Program Philosophy and Definition

• Develop a vision, program philosophy statement, and student

outcome goals based on current research and theory that can guide

program decision-making

Program Philosophy and Definition

• Consider a talent development program for those students who are

entering school without the same high level of opportunity to learn as

their peers

Learning and Development

• Invest in developing teacher and administrator

understanding of student differences at the high end of

performance and potential

• Differentiation of the general education curriculum and the

curriculum offered as part of gifted services is critical

Learning and Development

• Develop programming options that provide opportunities

for mentorships and experiences with experts in the

disciplines –particularly at the secondary level

Learning and Development

• Develop a scope and sequence of programming options

and curricular offerings

Learning and Development

• Focus more energy on college and career awareness for

gifted students

Learning and Development

• Develop a clear and firm cluster-grouping policy to make

differentiation feasible in the general education classroom

Student Identification

and Assessment

• Centralize the identification process

• Develop a comprehensive assessment system that

relates to services

• Continue efforts to ensure issues of racial and socio-

economic diversity are addressed in the identification

process

• Invest in a talent development program grades k-2

Student Identification and Assessment

• Identify students as needing specific services rather than

identifying students as gifted

• Place emphasis on labeling services rather than labeling

children

• Base identification on profiles that identify student

learning needs rather than an arbitrary number that

signifies giftedness

Curriculum: General

• Develop distinct content, process and

product goals and curriculum across

grades K-12 for gifted students

• Establish an articulation committee of

elementary, junior high and high school

teachers

• Ratchet up the curricular standards and

instruction in the general education

program

• Develop defensible curriculum based on

goals

Curriculum and Instruction: Elementary

• Provide greater differentiation in the general education

classroom and in the AT classrooms for gifted learners

based on student assessment data

• Develop a curriculum scope and sequence for the AT

program that extends beyond emphasis on process skills

• Units designed based on extensions of the Common Core

Standards

• Focus on big ideas and important concepts of the disciplines

• Move away from the fictional novel base. For example in AT

reading, move to analysis of and creation of a wider variety of

fictional and non-fictional informational text to include a much

wider scope of engagement in the reading and writing process

(e.g., journalism, autobiographies, biographies, short stories,

poems, songs).

Curriculum and Instruction: Elementary

• Consider incorporating appropriate elements of NAGC’s

Parallel Curriculum, Problem Based Learning, Kaplan’s

Depth and Complexity, the CLEAR curriculum model, and

Renault's Multiple Menu Model or Enrichment Triad Model

• Curriculum development should reflect opportunities to

differentiate according to the learners’ levels of aptitude

and achievement, interests, and products

• Develop scaffolding to assist learners with high, but

unrealized potential to transition to the AT curriculum

Curriculum and Instruction: Junior High School

• First, decide on who should be served in honors classes with consistency across disciplines and schools

• Develop a clear set of goals and objectives focusing on the big ideas and major concepts of the disciplines

• Develop a curriculum • Units designed based on extensions of the Common Core

Standards

• Consider incorporating appropriate elements of NAGC’s Parallel Curriculum, Problem Based Learning, Kaplan’s Depth and Complexity, the CLEAR curriculum model, and Renault's Multiple Menu Model or Enrichment Triad Model.

• Curriculum development should reflect opportunities to differentiate according to learners’ levels of aptitude and achievement, interests, and products

Curriculum and Instruction:

High School

• Consider pre-AP courses designed to provide more

scaffolding and support for prospective AP students. Staff

should discuss and develop student writing skills, time

management, and curriculum differentiation

• Develop an external support structure and support system

for less well-prepared students

• Develop other options at the high school level for gifted

students (independent study, externships, internships and

advanced electives as well as dual enrollment)

Learning Environments

• While the District cannot back off from the mandate to

achieve AYP, strategies for encompassing that goal within

an overall mandate for excellence for all students should

become a priority of the administration

Program Design: Elementary

• Reframe the service delivery model to

provide more instructional time devoted to

appropriate curriculum for gifted learners

• Expand language arts AT to one hour per day with

AT having full responsibility for language arts for

identified students

• Combine math and math investigations into one

program for one hour per day with AT having full

responsibility for mathematics for identified

students

Program Design: Elementary

• Develop a schedule that will allow the AT teachers to

provide “push-in” services to help the general education

teacher differentiate for gifted students in science and

social studies.

• Continue the option of acceleration, but carefully re-

consider the criteria and the goals of the acceleration

process as well as strategies for evaluating its

effectiveness with students who opt for acceleration.

• Acceleration should be used only when other options cannot meet

the needs of identified students

• Acceleration should be considered in conjunction with all other

options for services during the assessment process

Programming: Junior High

• Implement Honors classes in science and social studies at grade 6

• Develop alternatives to Honors classes such as Enrichment Clusters (see Renault) that will provide students opportunities to explore and develop interests and to access community resources

• Develop a guidance and counseling component for the Junior High that helps all students identify individual strengths, interests, and values that can guide career considerations and high school course planning

• Develop a parent committee that can lead a “Community Resource Mining” initiative for the gifted program elementary through high school

Programming: High School

• Develop a guidance and counseling component for the

High School

• Expand options for secondary school students to include

internships, mentorships, and advanced exploratory

courses in summer school

Program Administration and

Management • Designate clear administrative

responsibility at the central office level for

all aspects of gifted and talented services

• Make all AT teachers full time staff

• Hiring and assignment of AT teachers

should be a collaborative decision of the

central office and building level

administrator

Program Administration and

Management • Re-define the gifted teacher specialist as a direct

service and collaborative teacher

• Develop deep, sustainable partnerships

between gifted teacher specialists and other

educators so students have additional support in

order to reach high standards

Program Administration and

Management

• Develop a collaborative team environment that uses

student performance data to drive differentiated

instructional practice evident at every school every day.

Professional Development

• Develop a strong professional development strand for all

educators and administrators focused on the needs of

gifted children, variations among gifted children, curriculum

development, and best practice

• After staff development opportunities are provided,

teachers who are willing and able to differentiate should be

assigned gifted clusters.

• Administrators must be willing to assess both skill and will

of teachers before assigning the cluster groups of children

to teachers’ classrooms

Professional Development

Develop a set of criteria and process for hiring teachers based on the

NAGC standards for teacher competencies. Use the criteria in joint

hiring (school administrator and Director of Special Programs).

Professional Development

Develop clear and aligned standards for evaluating AT

staff, honors and AP teachers

Develop supplemental evaluation protocols that will

provide feedback to all teachers on their success in

adapting curriculum and instruction to the needs of the

students. Provide building level administrators skills in

using these tools.

Evaluation

• Assign an individual within the system with the

responsibility for developing a data warehouse and a

long-term, evaluation plan coordinated with that database

• Include strategies to collect outcome data related to

specific goals and objectives of gifted services

• Include comprehensive and longitudinal student and

program data

CLOSING/SUMMARY NOTES