Hughes Springs Independent School District

Philosophy

The Program for Gifted and Talented students of Hughes Springs Independent School District is committed to the intellectual and creative development of students to their fullest potential. It is recognized that gifted students need a learning environment which will provide them continuous opportunities to discover, to develop, and to expand their perceptual, cognitive, and creative skills in a variety of areas at all academic levels. To achieve this, the curriculum is designed with an emphasis on awakening and fostering creativity, and providing divergent thinking opportunities through creative problem solving, demonstration of leadership skills, increased awareness of current happenings, and development of creative thinking skills.

Goal

Students who participate in the GT program at HSISD will develop and demonstrate advanced skills in the following areas:

Self-directed learning
Critical thinking, creative thinking, and problem-solving
Research skills in one or more disciplines
Communication and leadership

Students who participate in the GT program at HSISD will demonstrate their advanced skills through the development of innovative products, performances, and demonstrations that reflect creativity, individuality, and professional-level quality.

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Federal

The United States Commissioner of Education defines gifted and talented in accordance with Public Law 91-230, Section 806, as:

Gifted and talented children are those identified by professionally qualified persons who are by virtue of outstanding abilities are capable of high performance. These are children who require differentiated educational programs and/or services beyond those normally provided by the regular school program in order to realize their contribution to self and society.

Children capable of high performance include those with demonstrated achievement and/or potential ability in any of the following areas, singly or in combination:

General intellectual ability

Specific academic aptitude

Creative or productive thinking

Leadership ability

Visual and performing arts

Psychomotor ability

State

Texas Education Code 29.121

A child or youth who performs at or shows the potential for performing at a remarkably high level of accomplishment when compared to others of the same age, experience, or environment and who:

exhibits high performance capability in an intellectual, creative, or artistic area;

possesses an unusual capacity for leadership; or

excels in a specific academic field.

Identification Procedures

The identification process for the Program for Gifted of the Hughes Springs ISD consists of four stages:

referral of potential candidates

collection of data

selection

dissemination

Referral of Potential Candidates

Referrals of potential candidates (K-12th grade) for the Program for Gifted may be made by members of the faculty, administration, students, parents, and members of the community.

After the deadline for accepting referrals has passed, teachers and principals are given the names of the referred students, and parents are asked to fill out a Permission for Testing form and return it to the Department of Gifted Education. The completed form must be on file before identification can proceed for the student.

A student can be tested once per school calendar year.

Collection of Data

Before the collection of data process begins, each student is assigned a personal code number which is used for identification throughout the selection process. Criteria for placement should be based upon observed performance on schoolwork, standardized examinations, or other measures of achievement that indicate that the student is performing at or has the potential to perform at a remarkably high level of accomplishment.

Available data collected for each referred student consists of the following, but not limited to:

Teacher Rating Scale

Parent Evaluation Scale

Additional Data:

Intellectual Ability Tests

Reading Tests

Creativity Tests

Selection

No identifying student information is used until after the selection committee has made its decision. Only then are the names entered on each individual Identification Profile Sheet. This assures impartiality by all parties involved in the selection process.

Raw scores are then plotted according to a rubric, ranging from Below Basic to Advanced.

After completion of an Identification Profile sheet for each student referred for evaluation, a Gifted and Talented Screening Committee (GTC) is assembled to make final selections. This five-person committee consists of one or more of the following who have received required training:

School Administrator

Counselor
Classroom Teacher
GT Coordinator

Dissemination

Following the decision of the Screening Committee, results are disseminated to the following:

Parents of ALL evaluated children, regardless of the outcome of the identification process.
Administrators and teachers.

All parents are invited to make an appointment for a conference with the GT Coordinator or a designee to further discuss the results of the screenings.

2020-21 GT Testing Information:

January- February: Kindergarten and new student Placement

March- May: Current students for 2021-22 Placement

Please click the referral link below to initiate the Identification Process:

20-21 HSISD GT Referral Form

Gifted Learner vs. Bright Learner.pdf