Gifted & Talented Program

The Plumsted Township District believes that all students have the ability to thrive and grow to meet their own personal best within the appropriate learning environment.  All students learn from each other through an array of diverse experiences.  Our youngest learners flourish in learning environments that support creativity, problem-solving, hands-on experiences, and learning through play. As students progress through the years the learning environment should continue to facilitate creativity, critical thinking, problem-solving and academic risk-taking. Some students will begin to demonstrate exceptional academic abilities.  According to the NJDOE students who are gifted and talented are  “those students who possess or demonstrate high levels of ability in one or more content areas when compared to their chronological peers in the local district and who require modification of their educational program if they are to achieve in accordance with their capabilities.”(N.J.A.C. 6A:8-1.3) The district has programming options in place to support students who are identified through procedures and protocols which were designed to challenge students so they can excel and flourish. It is important to note that all district students are eligible to part of these programs if the criteria are met.  As new students enter the district enrollment records will be reviewed and district assessments will be used to determine if our criteria support enrollment in enrichment programs. 

**Currently the District is beginning a series of professional development for certain staff and is planning to review programming during the summer of 2021.

Programming & Student Selection

A Continuum of Services

At All Schools

The District provides a continuum of services to all students with an array of opportunities for all students within the regular curriculum.  A myriad of classroom assessments support teachers in identifying students who achieve beyond the core curriculum. Classroom teachers differentiate by content, process, product, and/or environment as well as by tiering instruction on an ongoing basis. Teachers accelerate and enrich when appropriate.  Assignments may be modified to meet the learning targets for advanced students.  Teachers may choose to increase pacing and provide access to higher-level materials.  All curricular units include modifications for gifted students.

Dr. Gerald H. Woehr Elementary School

   At the first and second grade levels, the gifted and talented teacher visits all classrooms on weekly basis.  In first grade, there are enrichment units that focus on geography and space.  The students are provided the opportunity to explore personal interests within each unit. The second-grade units focus on habitats and economics.  At both grade levels, the gifted and talented teacher as well as the classroom teacher observe students based on a set of criteria designed to identify talent.  The elementary gifted and talented pull out program begins in third grade. Selected students are pulled out of the home classroom across each grade level to meet as a cohort 2-3 times a week. As a cohort, the students are offered the opportunity to challenge each other and be challenged by the curricular materials with more depth and complexity. Collaboration, real-world skills, and independence are prioritized.  Third-grade units include Minitropolis (an economics-based unit) and a unit based around an age-appropriate adaptation of the classic Jungle Book. Fourth-grade units include an ecology unit focusing on habitats, a  unit based on the study of the book Four Against the Odds that incorporates a focus on local environmental issues and The Stock Market Game. The fifth-grade units focus on legal issues and situations along with a mock trial unit that incorporates two Theodore Boone books Kid Lawyer and The Activist comparative analysis is explored as well using The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

   In the primary elementary grades, teachers collect data using a variety of measures including but not limited to Fountas and Pinnell reading level, Fundations phonics scores, Bridges Math assessments, Creative Curriculum GOLD data, and observational anecdotal records.  Teachers use this data to create student instructional groups to best meet student needs.  It is within these groups that students may be introduced to concepts that at a deeper or more advanced level when the data indicates it's appropriate.  For grades three through five the following criteria are used to determine eligibility:  teacher survey, parent survey, CogAT scores, state assessment data, reading levels, and final grades.  After the data is collected it undergoes committee review to determine entrance.  

At the New Egypt Middle School

     At New Egypt Middle School, accelerated classes are designed to expose students to a path of study that meets their unique needs. Multiple measures are used to determine student placement accelerated classes. The use of multiple measures allows us to obtain a multifaceted view of the whole child.  Criteria utilized include: two years of reading and writing state assessment results, two years of mathematics state assessment results, teacher recommendations, Algebra readiness assessments, Lexile Reading Levels, Fountas and Pinnell Reading Level (where applicable),  On-Demand writing assessment scores (teacher scored), ELA and Math final cognitive skills grades or report card grade, Math Iowa Scores.  For fifth grade students entering 6th grade, additional criteria include:  enrollment in fifth grade G&T Program and teacher assessment of teacher observed evidence of the following learning attributes: goal setting, collaboration, self-regulation, persistence, and resilience. Additionally, all students have the opportunity to explore STEAM concepts in coding and engineering courses. 

 At the New Egypt High School

Honors and Advanced Placement Criteria

Current New Egypt High School Students:

All incoming 9th-grade students who wish to enroll in honors-level coursework during their 9th-grade year will be selected by using the following placement criteria:

• Science: Cognitive skills average in 8th grade Science, Content grade in 8th grade Science, Iowa Math test score, Quantile score from iReady
• Math: students in 8th Grade Math will move to Algebra I in 9th grade, students in Algebra I in 8th grade will move to Geometry or Geometry Honors in 9th grade.
• English:  Cognitive skills average in 8th grade English, Lexile level from iReady, Writing Task
• Social Studies: Cognitive skills average in 8th grade Social Studies, Lexile level from iReady, Writing Task

All students currently enrolled in, and who pass, honors or advanced placement courses will be automatically enrolled in the next sequential course.

Any student who wishes to move from college prep to honors course, or an honors course to an advanced placement course, will have to demonstrate success by having a final average of a 90 or above.  Student grades will be reviewed at the end of the year for placement. Advanced Placement and dual enrollment courses are available to students in the 11th and 12th grades.  Additionally, all New Egypt Students in grades 8 and 9 have the opportunity to apply to one of the District's 5 Academies: Business, Engineering, Law & Justice, Teachers for Tomorrow, and Communications.  The rigorous application process includes: an application, teacher recommendations, math assessment (engineering only), and timed writing assessment.  The application materials are assessed based on a matrix by a committee. 

Related Policies & Resources

Gifted & Talented Students Policy 
*Policy will be revised once the New Jersey Department of Education releases new guidance.

Equity in Educational Programs Policy 

National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC)

New Jersey Association for Gifted Children (NJAGC) 

Appeals

Should you wish to appeal a placement decision please use this FORM.