Gifted student eligibility a complete package

to be part of a gifted program. Some students are accepted with a slightly lower IQ depending on socioeconomic concerns.

JAY HEATER MANAGING EDITOR

Every parent knows his or her child has special gifts. Whether those gifts qualify a student for a gifted student program is another story, often requiring an extensive evaluation by school personnel.

Do straight “As” qualify a student as gifted? Can a student with lower grades who is exceptional in one specific area qualify? Is IQ a factor?

The school districts in Manatee and Sarasota counties focus resources on identifying gifted students and developing educational plans for those students.

Identifying Gifted Students

The School District of Manatee County has a nomination form that sets the process of evaluation in motion. Teachers, parents and students themselves can nominate a student for the gifted program.

Cheryl Hughes, the exceptional student education gifted coordinator for Manatee said the district is constantly training teachers so they identify students who would be a good fit for a gifted program.

In Sarasota County Schools, referrals should primarily be made by “classroom teachers or parents’ request.”

State guidelines also have specific requirements when it comes to placing students in a gifted program.

At the top of the list is IQ.

Nicole Cox, the head of the exceptional student education program, said the School District of Manatee County requires a 130 IQ for a student

Cox said the IQ score is vital, but having a high IQ and great grades doesn’t mean a student automatically is enrolled in a gifted program. They look at other characteristics such as motivation and leadership.

Evaluation Process

After the nomination is received, the “screening” process begins, often by a school counselor in Manatee County. After a screening in Sarasota, students are referred to a school psychologist for an evaluation.

In Sarasota, all gifted evaluations are performed at a student’s zoned district no matter whether that student attends another district school, a private school or is homeschooled. Each school has an Exceptional

Written by WILLIAM SHAKESPEAR

Student Education liaison.

Motivation, leadership and critical skills are examined. A psych examination is performed to see if the student is a good fit. An IQ test is performed. A consultation with the parents is scheduled. When all the information is gathered, teams meet to discuss the student and the possibilities.

The identification and evaluation process has nothing to do with exclusion but rather finding ways to allow students to reach their full potential.

“Entering a student in a gifted program gives them the opportunity to interact with their like-minded peers,” Cox said. “It challenges them. These students often look at things differently than other students. When they are together, they challenge each other. We don’t want a student sitting in a class thinking, ‘I am smarter than the teacher.’

“But we don’t want to pull those students out of their (regular) class all the time. They have to live in the real world.”

Entering The Gifted Program

If the student appears ready in Manatee County, a parental consent form needs to be signed. Then an education plan is developed. The plan might be implemented with the student only being taken out of a regular class once or twice per week.

“A lot depends on the number of gifted students in a classroom,” Cox said. When they do come out of a regular class, they might get together with gifted peers to delve more deeply into a subject.

Sarasota has a gifted or accelerated magnet program where students meet in a classroom on a daily basis with all gifted students, taught by a teacher qualified to work with gifted students. The program “focuses on accelerated curriculum — grade-ahead instruction in English, language arts and math.”

Gifted magnet schools are Fruitville, Venice and Toledo Blade elementary schools;

Gifted 101

From the National Association for Gifted Children

The characteristics that parents often notice first include:

■ Advanced vocabulary, heightened sensitivity, remarkable memory and rapid learning

■ Gifted and talented children are constantly learning from their environment, seeming to know things without the effort required to learn it

How do I support my child at home?

■ Collect resources on your child’s topics of interests.

■ Make time to talk to your child every day and encourage active questioning. Find peers or groups who share similar interests.

■ It can be easy to forget your child is just a child because the child might be able to have adult conversations about advanced topics.

■ Allow your child the freedoms or responsibilities appropriate for his or her individual emotional or social development.

■ Gifted children are often highly observant and sensitive to social issues and fairness. Model the behavior and respect of others you expect of your child.

■ Find opportunities for your child to participate in acts of service.

■ Provide challenges outside of school. Enrichment is incredibly beneficial whether it supplements school content or explores interests or passions.

■ Encourage your child to take risks.

■ Celebrate mistakes as learning opportunities. When you make mistakes, model positive ways to problem-solve and grow.

Booker, Sarasota and Woodland middle schools; and Pine View School and Laurel Nokomis School.

Traditional schools in Sarasota can offer a class where gifted students are placed in a classroom with other gifted children and a qualified teacher. At this level, Sarasota County Schools will allow a student who doesn’t meet the gifted requirements, but who has excelled academically, to be paired with gifted students. The program focuses on enrichment activities and instruction on a grade-level curriculum.

Other programs include a gifted student who remains in a normal classroom being pulled out at times to receive specialized instruction from a qualified teacher.

There also is a “consultation” program where a teacher who is certified to work with the gifted works with the general education teacher in meeting the needs of a gifted student.