Challenge and Enrichment

Hebron Public Schools offers opportunities for students to participate in challenge and enrichment opportunities based on resources available in district. Interest or content specific enrichment opportunities are available for students who qualify. A referral team is used to determine who may be eligible for these limited opportunities. If a student qualifies for C&E they will be offered an opportunity to participate in challenge and enrichment opportunities during the school year. Not all students will be able to participate in all opportunities but every effort will be made to create at least one enrichment opportunity for an identified student to participate in each year.

GIFTED AND/OR TALENTED (G&T)

Hebron Public Schools follows the guidelines established by the Connecticut State Department of Education for the identification of gifted and talented students. Research by Joseph S. Renzulli, Director of The National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented out of University of Connecticut has summarized research which states the best practices for identification of gifted and/or talented students includes analysis of three areas: above average ability, task commitment and creativity.

PROCEDURES FOR IDENTIFICATION

The Hebron Public Schools uses the following procedures for identification of students.

  • Students must be nominated by their classroom teachers or district administrators based on one or more of the following criteria:
    • Students achieving advanced levels on reading, writing and math on nationally normed assessments: iReady and/or SBAC. If additional information is needed the NNAT-2 and/or OLSAT-8 will be administered.
    • Academic Achievement and Task Commitment: a student's strong work ethic and daily academic achievement. (grades, universal screen results, and other data may be used)
    • Outstanding creativity in the area of arts on the basis of demonstrated or potential achievement in music, the visual arts or the performing arts.

REFERRALS

Teachers, administration, parents, students or peers who would like to nominate a student must provide a written nomination to the building principal for review by the building level C&E/G&T identification team. The team will review characteristics of the student as a learner, review achievement data and confirm daily strong work ethic and motivation based on report cards, other formal assessments as needed and teacher feedback.

Referral forms may be found on the district form page.

ADDITIONAL ASSESSMENTS

The identification team, teachers and/or parents may be asked to complete the SIGS (Scales for Identifying Gifted Students) forms. The SIGS results will be scored and evaluated by the Teacher of the Gifted and Talented and shared with the team.

IDENTIFICATION

The identification team will review all referrals and determine eligibility based on data. The team will determine if the student should be identified for C&E opportunities and notify parents. This notification will be placed in the student's cumulative file.

A smaller percentage of students may be considered for identification of Gifted and/or Talented. Students deemed gifted and talented will be referred to a planning and placement team for identification. Parents will be notified of the team's consideration for identification and will be invited to attend a group planning and placement team meeting. Parents will have the option of requesting an individual planning and placement team meeting in writing.

Following the planning and placement team meeting, if students meet the criteria, students may receive the identification of gifted and talented. This identification will be indicated in the student's record and shared with staff. Opportunities for differentiated lessons to challenge students will be available.

Students identified as gifted and talented are reported to the State Department of Education in the student count.

Any questions regarding the process can be directed to Don Briere, Director of Educational Services at (860) 228-2577 or at [email protected] .

Renzulli, J. S. (1986). The three-ring conception of giftedness: A developmental model for creative productivity. In Sternberg, R. J., & Davidson J. (Ed.)Conceptions of Giftedness (pp. 53-92). New York: Cambridge University Press.

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