K-1 Gifted Program
Kindergarten and first grade students are considered members of the school division's talent pool where the focus on gifted services is on the recognition and development of student potential. Students in kindergarten and grade 1 (K-1) are provided gifted curriculum and instruction by the gifted resource teacher. Differentiated curriculum and instruction is also developed by the classroom teacher in collaboration with the gifted resource teacher. Gifted lessons are designed to develop student abilities to think critically, creatively, logically, and to reason and problem solve. All gifted resource lessons are based on the Virginia Beach City Public Schools regular education curriculum but are differentiated to increase the level of challenge for students.
While the gifted resource teacher models strategies and conducts lessons, the classroom teacher actively participates by observing students' responses or co-teaching lessons. All kindergarten and first grade teachers are trained in recognizing and recording evidence of gifted behaviors. Ongoing assessment of student performance is used to differentiate the K-1 curriculum in order to appropriately challenge and engage high ability students. The gifted resource teacher supports the kindergarten and first-grade teachers by offering support in the ongoing differentiation of the regular curriculum, by providing resources, and by training teachers in gifted education curriculum models and instructional strategies. In first grade, all students enrolled in Virginia Beach City Public Schools are screened to ensure consideration for gifted program services. With parent/guardian permission for continued assessment, students who score at the 90th percentile or higher on the screening instrument are referred for additional testing. All students referred for testing are reviewed by the Gifted Identification and Placement Committee. Any student can be referred for continued assessment, regardless of their score on the screening instrument. Parents, guardians, teachers, counselors, or anyone with knowledge of the child's abilities may refer the student for continued assessment and consideration by the Gifted Identification and Placement Committee. We will host a 1st grade parent training that features the gifted referral process, the gifted cluster model, and the Old Donation Center option (now named Brickell Academy). All first grade parents will receive an invitation to this training scheduled for early January 2017. In September, we begin with introductory lessons introducing the gifted themes of exploration for kindergarten and patterns for first grade. We look forward to working our K-1 students to see the amazing potential in each and every one of them. |