Service Design
According to the Texas State Plan for Gifted Education, service design for gifted learners is a flexible system of viable service options providing a research-based learning continuum that is developed and consistently implemented throughout the district to meet the needs and reinforce the strengths and interests of gifted/talented students. It is recommended that gifted learners be grouped together for instruction in the four core content areas, at both the elementary and secondary levels.
Elementary
|
Grade |
Minimum # of minutes for pull-out/week |
|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 90 minutes |
| 1st Grade | 90 minutes |
| 2nd Grade | 90 minutes |
| 3rd Grade | 150 minutes |
| 4th Grade | 180 minutes |
| 5th Grade | 180 minutes |
GATES teachers also push in to the GT cluster classrooms to provide additional support to gifted learners and classroom teachers.
In addition to services through the GATES class, students are also served in the regular classroom through differentiation (content, process, product) in Language Arts, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies by a teacher with his/her 30 GT Hours and the annual 6 Hour Update.
Secondary
Secondary services are provided through a combination of GT, Honors, and Advanced Placement courses. The array of learning opportunities emphasizes content in the four core academic areas and is commensurate with the abilities of gifted learners. Although Northwest ISD emphasizes content in all four core academic areas (ELA, Math, Science, Social Studies) for gifted learners, students do not necessarily participate in all four areas. Students should participate in those areas in which they have individual strengths. That may be all four core areas, but it could be one, two, or three of the contents.
Gifted learners in middle school can also have an elective, GT Explorations, that they can take. In Explorations, students discover what it means to be gifted and how their gifts impact their relationships with others. Students will also discover how they can influence their community and have an impact on the world around them.
Gifted learners in NISD’s secondary schools are clustered together for instruction in the four core content areas with teachers who have the 30 GT Hours and the annual 6 Hour Update.
Recommended coursework for gifted learners:
| English | Math | Social Studies | Science | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6th | GT ELA | GT Compacted Advanced Math | Honors World Cultures | Honors Science |
| 7th | GT ELA | GT Advanced Math | Honors Texas History | Honors Science |
| 8th | GT ELA | GT Algebra 1 | Honors U.S. History | Honors Science |
| 9th | GT English 1 | GT Geometry | GT AP Human Geography | Honors Biology |
| 10th | GT English 2 | GT Algebra 2 | GT AP World History |
Honors Chemistry AP Biology |
| 11th | GT AP Lang | AP PreCalculus | GT AP U.S. History |
AP Chemistry AP Biology AP Physics |
| 12th | GT AP Lit |
AP Calculus AP Statistics |
GT AP Government GT AP Economics AP European History |
AP Chemistry AP Environmental Science AP Physics |