HANDBOOK
For
The
ACADEMICALLY
TALENTED
PROGRAM
Norwalk Public Schools
Grades 3-5
x
Table of Contents
I. General Information
Philosophy
and Goals
Concept
Overview
II. Admissions Process
III. Teacher and Parent
Forms
IV. Sample Curricula
The
Human Brain (Systems) – Grade 3
Pioneers
of the 1840s (Communities) – Grade 4
Architecture
of Home Design (Creativity) – Grade 5
V. Contact Information
x
I.
General Information
x
ACADEMICALLY TALENTED
PROGRAM
NORWALK PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Philosophy and Goals
Norwalk
Public Schools are committed to educating our children to their highest
potential, affirming that outstanding talents are present in children and youth
from all cultural groups and across all economic strata. The Academically
Talented Program emphasizes a differentiated Humanities curriculum for students
who demonstrate academic talent. The program offers opportunities for peer
groups to challenge and learn from one another and develops a desire for
excellence and a sense of individual responsibility to the school community and
to a changing society.
The
goals of the Academically Talented Program are:
1.
To engage 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.
2.
To involve
academically talented student in challenging learning experiences that are not
ordinarily included in the general education classroom and afford them the
opportunity to engage in intellectual stimulation from contact with other highly
motivated students.
3.
To create a
learning atmosphere that will enable the academically talented child to develop
critical thinking, creative thinking, and communications skills (visual, oral,
and written).
4.
To assist
students in becoming independent learners who are able to take self-initiated
action, accept responsibility for that action, and make intelligent choices.
Norwalk
Public Schools
Elementary Academically Talented Curriculum
• How do the choices that we make and their consequences influence our social, intellectual, and physical development?
• In what ways does the development of the individual’s identity affect society as a whole?
• In what ways do personal responses to internal and external societal influences shape each person’s identity?
• All cultures share certain traits while maintaining unique characteristics.
• Human beings adapt in order to survive.
• What forces promote the development of cultures/society?
• What qualities allow people to overcome obstacles and take risks?
• What motivates individuals to try to change themselves, their culture, or society?
• All cultures share certain traits while maintaining unique characteristics.
• Human beings adapt in order to survive.
Aborigines/Eskimos Westward Expansion Student Mission Statement
• Creativity is intrinsic to the human spirit.
• Creative products reflect the values of the cultures that produce them.
• How and why do people create?
• What is the role of creativity in adaptation, diversity, and survival?
Stories and Storytelling Process and Product Design and History
• The world is organized by natural and man-made systems.
• Understanding the laws of systems helps us solve problems in a variety of domains.
• What is a system?
• How do systems function?
The Brain and Learning Entrepreneurship American System of Justice
x
II.
Admissions Process
x
Admissions Process
for the
Elementary Academically
Talented (A.T.) Program*
1.
Question:
How are grade 2 students identified for the Academically Talented Program?
Answer:
·
March – Classroom teachers administer the
Structure of Intellect (SOI) Test and the Degrees of Reading Power (DRP) Test to
all second graders.
·
Aug. /Sept. – A committee of teachers and
administrators identifies students eligible for the A.T. program. A.T. Teachers
distribute to parents permission slips to conduct further testing for borderline
students.
·
September/October – Parents of eligible students
are notified by mail, and A.T. classes begin in third grade.
2.
Question: How are students in
grades 3, 4, and 5 identified for the Academically Talented program? How do
parents nominate a child?
Answer:
·
September – January: If parent wishes to nominate
a child, a completed Parent Nomination
Form, available in your school office, should be submitted to the
Academically Talented teacher.
·
Parents may nominate a child only once in
elementary school.
·
Parents new to the district may submit the form
between September and November (see Question 3).
·
September – March: Teachers wishing to nominate a
student submit the Assessment of
Characteristics Form to the A.T. teacher.
·
March: All records are gathered, and the Permission
to Test form is sent home for students who need additional testing.
·
April: A.T. teacher administers DRP and/or SOI
tests to nominees as needed.
·
June: A Central Office PPT is held to identify
fifth grade students, and A.T. teachers administer Slosson IQ Test to nominees
with borderline scores.
·
June: Parents are notified, and accepted students
will begin A.T. classes in grade 6.
·
June: A.T. teachers give the Slosson Test to fifth
grade nominees with borderline scores.
·
August – September: A Central Office PPT is held,
and third/fourth grade students are identified as Academically Talented. The
Slosson IQ Test is administered to third and fourth grade nominees with
borderline scores.
·
Start of School Year: Parents are notified of
candidate status by mail, and A.T. classes begin.
3.
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 the Slosson test to borderline students.
·
February: Parents are notified of candidate status
by mail, and A.T. classes begin.
4.
·
Question:
How is my child evaluated for acceptance into the elementary Academically
Talented program?
Answer:
·
There are three components: (1) Assessment of Characteristics Form, (2) Structure of Intellect Test
(SOI), (3) Reading portion of the Connecticut Mastery Test (CMT) or the Degree
of Reading Power Test (DRP).
5.
Question:
May I appeal the committee’s decision if my child is not admitted to the
program?
Answer:
·
If your child is in fourth or fifth grade and is
not accepted, you may appeal the selection committee’s decision once during
elementary school. You have the right to send a letter of intent to appeal
addressed to Joan Glass, Instructional Specialist in charge of the A.T. Program,
Norwalk Public Schools, 125 East Avenue, Norwalk, CT 06852. 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 Elementary
Handbook.
Grade 2
Nomination
Sequence
For
Academically Talented
| < |