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Ceilings Are For Rooms, Not Students
With more than 700,000
students, the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is the
second largest school district in the nation. The district’s Gifted
and Talented Program has been a leader in gifted education since its
development in 1951 offering a wide range of programs that allow
gifted students to reach their full potential.
LAUSD Gifted
and Talented Program’s mission is “Gifted/Talented Programs create
high end learning opportunities which allow students to flourish in
stimulating academic and social environments. In designing
challenging educational opportunities, we strive to raise the floor,
remove the walls and eliminate the ceiling on learning.”
Students are identified in four categories:
- Intellectual
ability - for students whose general intellectual development is
markedly advanced in relation to their chronological peers
- High
achievement - for students who consistently function for two
consecutive years at highly advanced levels in reading, English,
and mathematics
- Specific
academic ability - students who consistently function for three
consecutive years at highly advanced levels in either reading,
English or mathematics
- Ability in the
performing or visual arts - for students who originate, perform,
produce, or respond at exceptionally high levels in either dance,
music (voice), drama, or in drawing or painting
Admission
into the Program begins with referrals from classroom teachers,
followed by screening by a school administrator, a review by the
gifted screening committee, then verification by district
administrators. LAUSD places a special emphasis on searching for and
including students from diverse, underrepresented populations.
Once students have been admitted into the Program, there are
several educational alternatives featuring extremely high levels of
abstract thinking, motivation, interest, achievement, peer
interaction, and a radically accelerated pace of learning, such as:
- Regular
community schools include a cluster program for gifted students
- Schools for
Advanced Studies
- Magnets for
gifted and highly gifted students
- Conservatory of
Fine Arts
Honors and Advanced
Placement classes (for middle and senior high school students)
LAUSD adheres to a rigorous standard requiring instructional
programs be planned and organized as an integrated, differentiated
learning experience throughout the regular school day, and may be
augmented with differentiated activities related to the core
curriculum. The Program is comprehensive, structured, and sequenced
between, within, and across grade levels, K-12.
The
Program’s structure and services provide a balance between cognitive
and affective learning. Gifted students learn about career and
college options, and guidance consistent with their unique
strengths. At the secondary level this includes mentoring and
pre-college opportunities.
By recognizing the unique
educational needs of the gifted and talented, LAUSD continues to
remove barriers and create appropriate opportunities for these
students.
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MYTH BOX
Myth: Mathematically talented
students are computation whizzes.
Fact:
Research has shown that many mathematically talented students can
have an excellent understanding of advanced mathematical concepts
while simultaneously having relatively less developed computation
skills (Lupkowki-Shoplik, Sayler, & Assouline, 1994; Rotigel, 2000).
For example, Barb has an excellent understanding of how to multiply
fractions, but she often makes mistakes when adding a column of
figures. In this situation, teachers are often tempted to hold
students back from learning advanced concepts until their “basic
skills” catch up. This is unfair to the student and may actually be
detrimental to his or her mathematical development.
Developing Mathematical Talent: A Guide for
Challenging and Educating Gifted Students.
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The Davidson Institute for Talent Development
Supporting
our nation's brightest young minds.
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