Gifted & Talented
About
The Manville School District is currently revising our Gifted & Talented program during the 2021-2022 school year. If you'd like to offer suggestions to improve our program, please contact Kelli Eppley, Assistant Superintendent.
Concerns or Complaints?
An individual who believes the school district has not complied with the provisions of the Strengthening Gifted and Talented Education Act may file a complaint with the board of education. The board shall issue a decision, in writing, to affirm, reject, or modify the district’s action in the matter. The individual may then file a petition of appeal of the board’s written decision to the Commissioner of Education through the Office of Controversies and Disputes in accordance with N.J.S.A.18A:6-9 and the procedures set forth in State Board of Education regulations [N.J.A.C. 6A:3-1.3 and 1.4].
Services
The educational program offered to gifted and talented students will encourage and challenge them in the specific areas of their abilities. The program offered to a gifted and talented student may be infused into the student’s regular instruction with challenging alternatives in addition to services offered outside the school day.
Depending on a student's grade level, ability level, or specific area of exception, he or she may participate in one or more of the following:
- Enrichment activities in a subject area
- Extended projects and challenges in a subject area
- Participation in research on areas of specific interest
- Independent study
- Differentiated instruction/tiered assignments/flexible groupings
- Mentoring
- Service-learning
- After-school activities
- Honors/Advanced Placement Coursework
Identification Criteria
Identification
The following are indicators used to determine eligibility for gifted and talented services, including the multiple measures used in the identification process to match a student’s needs with services:
- Parent Recommendation
- Teacher Recommendation (rubric)
- Academic Achievement based on Report Card Grades
- ELA Teacher Rating (rubric)
- Writing Sample (rubric)
- enVision Assessment
- DIBELS Assessment
- NJSLA
- PSAT/SAT
Timeline
Students are preliminarily identified based on objective data measured in the prior year. During the fall, the recommendation process continues and the Identification Criteria is reviewed. Gifted and Talented Programming begins between November and January.
Policy
Resources
NJ Dept. of Education Resources
The NJDOE outlines Gifted and Talented Services as follows:
- [E]ach school district [must] provide services to meet the needs of students who have been identified as gifted and talented. Each school district must establish a process to identify students as gifted and talented using multiple measures. These students require modification to their educational program if they are to achieve in accordance with their capabilities (N.J.A.C. 6A:8-3.1).
- [NJDOE] has not adopted standards for gifted and talented programs. However, there are standards that have been developed by the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC). Districts may find them useful in developing curriculum and planning classroom instruction. National standards have been created for specialized programs and services. For teacher preparation in gifted education, knowledge and skills for all teachers and advanced standards in teacher preparation will help guide and improve teaching and deepen student learning.
Pre-K to Grade 12 Gifted Programming Standards
Additional Resources:
District Policy 2464- Gifted and Talented Students
National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC). (2021).https://nagc.org/page/equity
New Jersey Association for Gifted Children (NJAGC). (2021). https://www.njagc.org/
Strengthening Gifted and Talented Education Act. (2020). (N.J.S.A. 18A:35-34 through N.J.S.A. 18A:35-39)
NJDOE. New Jersey Student Learning Standards. Gifted and Talented. https://www.nj.gov/education/standards/gifted/