Goshen Community Schools

High Ability Program

Mission Statement

Goshen Community Schools will nurture students with high abilities by inspiring their innovative thinking, empowering them to reach their potential, and enabling them to enrich our work with their unique abilities.

Goshen Community Schools acknowledges the following:

• Students with high abilities have unique cognitive, social, and emotional characteristics.
• Students with high abilities need accelerated curriculum differentiated instruction, and/or social-emotional supports to meet individual needs.

Goshen Community Schools recognizes and commits to identifying students with high abilities in all racial, ethnic, and socio-economic populations.

Student Definition

A student with high abilities (HA) as defined by Indiana Code (IC) 20-36-1-3 is a student who:

• performs at, or shows the potential for performing at, an outstanding level of accomplishment in at least one domain when compared to other students of the same age, experience, or environment; and
• is characterized by exceptional gifts, talents, motivation, or interests.

High Ability Learning Plan (HALP)

The High Ability Learning Plan (HALP) is a document tool that outlines instructional supports for identified high ability students and is used as a guide for educational planning and decision-making. Goshen’s HALP is developed for every high ability student according to the student’s determined area(s) of high ability, interests, and academic and affective needs. The HALP is a collaborative effort between parent(s)/guardian(s), the student, and school personnel. It includes academic achievement and affective goals reflecting the development of a child’s personal, social, communication, leadership, and/or cultural competencies.