Admissions Process for Middle Schools Academically Talented (A.T. Program)
The Norwalk Middle School A.T. program engages in a curriculum of depth and breadth that will stimulate critical thinking, develop comprehension of complex concepts, and give emphasis to the connections within, between and across disciplines. The curriculum is divided into four distinct quarters taught by four different teachers covering Arts and Humanities, Language Arts, Science and Mathematics.
Students
involved in the middle school A.T. program are pulled from the two period block
Language Arts schedule.
Question:
What are some of the characteristics of a middle school AT student?
Answer.
A.T.
students demonstrate :
| Creativity
and independence. |
| Tenacity
when posed with a challenge. |
| Clear
expression of ideas orally and in writing. |
| Effective
questioning skills. |
| The
ability to grasp underlying principles and abstractions. |
| Task
commitment. |
| Eagerness
and enthusiasm for learning. |
Question: How are middle school students selected for September entrance for the Academically Talented program?
Answer.
| Grades
6, 7 and 8 – At the end of third quarter completed nomination forms from
parents, students and teams are given to the A.T. teacher. |
| May
– Students are administered the Structure of Intellect (SOI) Test. (Parent
permission necessary.) |
| August
– A committee of teachers and administrators identifies students eligible
for the program. Parents are
notified by mail of candidate status, and A.T. classes begin in September. |
Question:
How are students in middle school identified for the Academically
talented program?
Answer.
| The
middle school team meets and discusses students who display the
characteristics important to an AT program.
The team then fills out a nomination form and comments in writing on
student’s performance. |
| Parent
and student each fill out a nomination form. |
| A
matrix has been developed to aid the selection committee using various tools
such as the Connecticut Mastery Test, Structure of the Intellect Test,
Degrees of Reading Power, and grade point average. |
Page 2
Question: What is the nomination sequence for students new to the system after the school year has begun?
Answer.
·
September-November
(of the entrance year): parents may obtain the Parent Nomination Form (available
in the school office), or the classroom teacher may fill out an Assessment
of Characteristics form to initiate the process.
·
Submit the
completed Parent Nomination Form to
the A.T. teacher in your child’s school.
·
November: Classroom
teachers return the completed nomination forms to A.T. teacher.
A.T. teacher will gather all student information and will send home a Permission
to Test form.
·
December:
A.T. teachers administer the SOI or DRP to nominees if these scores are not in
student’s transcript.
·
January:
Committee identifies eligibility. The
A.T. teacher administers Slosson Test to borderline students.
·
February:
Parents of eligible children are notified, and A.T. classes begin.
Question:
May I appeal the committee’s decision if my child is not admitted to
the program?
Answer.
Yes.
If your child is not accepted, you may appeal the committee’s decision
once during middle school. You have
the right to send a letter of intent to appeal to Joan Glass, Instructional
Specialist in charge of the A.T. program. Norwalk Public Schools, 125 East
Avenue, Norwalk, CT 06852. This
letter must be received by the A.T. office no later than the date cited in your
child’s letter. You will then be
scheduled to meet with a committee of teachers and administrators to discuss
your child’s eligibility for the program.
Following the appeals process, the committee’s decision is final.
*For
further information, please refer to the A.T. section of the Norwalk Public
Schools Middle School Handbook.