Gifted

By recognizing the special needs of gifted learners, the School Board of Broward County is committed to providing programs designed to meet their unique talents and abilities.

Definition of Gifted Students:

The State of Florida defines a gifted student as "one who has superior intellectual development and is capable of high performance." (Rule 6A-6.03019 of the Florida Administration Code)

Goals of Gifted Education

In meeting the need of gifted learners, the district's goals are

• To provide a menu of gifted services which meet the unique needs of each individual student
• To foster a districtwide climate which recognizes and appreciates giftedness in all racial ethnic groups and socio-economic strata
• To provide gifted curriculum aligned with the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards that is standardized and qualitatively differentiated by content, process, product, and learning environment
• To facilitate opportunities for students to become self-directed, independent learners who achieve at high levels commensurate with their ability and potential
• To provide on-going staff development for both general education teachers and gifted teachers on effective strategies for meeting the needs of gifted learners
• To seek input from and work collaboratively with parents of gifted learners in order to provide a quality learning environment for students

Curriculum and Instruction

• Differentiated curriculum that facilitates the mastery of core academic skills at a pace and level appropriate to gifted learners and is consistent throughout the district
• Differentiated curriculum that replaces, supplements, or modifies existing curriculum.
• Instructional program that is flexible, and consists of advanced content and appropriately different teaching and learning strategies

Professional Development

• Teachers of the gifted must be appropriately endorsed or working on their endorsement.
• Teachers of the gifted will be provided with systematic, embedded, results-driven, on-going staff development that utilizes a coaching element.
• All teachers working with gifted students will be made aware of the nature and needs of gifted students.

Eligibility

Eligibility for gifted programming is determined by the State of Florida. According to Florida Administrative Code (Rule 6A-6.03019(2))A, a student is eligible for the gifted program if “the student demonstrates:

• Need for a special program
• A majority of the characteristics of gifted students according to a standard scale checklist
• Superior intellectual development measured by an intelligence quotient of two (2) standard deviations or more above the mean on an individually administered standardized test of intelligence.”

Districts are also mandated by the State to develop alternative criteria to increase the representation of underrepresented groups in gifted programs.

Student Identification

Schools have an obligation to identify their gifted students. The process used to identify students in need of gifted services must be ongoing, reliant on a variety of assessment measures, free of bias and non-exclusionary. Once identified, students must be provided appropriate services. Strategies must be employed to identify students from groups traditionally underrepresented in gifted populations.

Program Models

Services will be provided in the core content areas, depending on student’s need. Gifted services, however, are not limited to curriculum and learning environment. Other services must be provided based on the individual needs of the students.

If the school does not have the capacity to offer any of the district recommended models, the school will write a waiver to develop its own model. The district will review the waiver and, if granted, the program will be monitored and reviewed on an on-going basis. If the waiver is not granted, the school will work with the Department of Advanced Academic Programs to develop an alternative model, or gifted students at that school site will be clustered with those from another site in order to provide appropriate services.