Gifted & Talented

The White Settlement ISD philosophy and goals for Gifted and Talented education are to:

Broaden the scope of the GT program to include all students, while maintaining a commitment to meet the needs of the identified gifted and talented population.
Encourage parent involvement in the GT program through training, orientation and educational resources.
Provide continuous support for Gifted and Talented specialists as well as general education teachers through shared planning, training, modeling and consultation opportunities so that all students in White Settlement ISD can enjoy the benefits of a successful and challenging education.

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Program Design

Services for Gifted and Talented students are provided through our Gifted Learning Opportunities program for Kindergarten through sixth grade. Our GLO program provides a creative and invigorating learning environment to nurture the unique academic and social-emotional needs of gifted and talented students. The focus of the Gifted and Talented program is to design educational alternatives that promote affective, intellectual, and academic growth. The learning experiences in these classes center on higher order thinking skills, critical thinking skills, creative-productive thinking skills, and 21st century College and Career Readiness. Identified students will leave their general education class for several hours each week for specialized instruction that utilizes the National Association for Gifted Children Programming Standards.

Students in grades seven through twelve are served through Honors, Advanced Placement (AP), and dual credit courses. These courses provide students with the opportunity to pursue college-level studies while still in high school. Students can earn advanced placement, college credit, or both.

NAGC Programming Standards

Testing Procedures

Kindergarten students may be nominated by teachers, parents, or community members in the Spring semester for Gifted and Talented identification and participation in GLO classes, with testing completed in April & May each year.

Students in first through sixth grade may be nominated by teachers, parents, or community members in the fall semester for Gifted and Talented identification and participation in GLO classes. Testing will be completed in January and February of the spring semester.

All second grade students will be screened using the CogAT screener in the fall semester.

Testing includes qualitative data from parent and teacher observations and quantitative data from Renzulli-Hartman readiness screeners, Torrance Test for Creativity and the Cognitive Abilities Test.

Students who have previously tested but not qualified must wait one calendar year before retesting.

Students identified as Gifted and Talented in other school districts will be given an assessment opportunity within 6 weeks of enrollment.

Please contact the Gifted Specialist at each campus to request testing information.