By Michael Edwards
Starting this fall, Provo School District will have a new school for gifted and talented elementary students.
The school, called the Center for Accelerated Studies, was approved as a pilot program to teach 75 children in the fourth, fifth and sixth grades at an accelerated level more appropriate to their capabilities.
“I”m very excited that we have a new focus,” said Stacey Briggs, assistant principal at Provo High and former teacher for gifted students. “Provo is a really high quality school district. This goes along with our ongoing push to meet more of our students needs.”
Briggs was asked to help with the program because she has extensive experience teaching in accelerated classrooms and training teachers on how to instruct gifted students.
“The Provo School District mission statement says that the district will provide the whole continuum of services to meet students at their level,” Briggs said. “Up to this point, we haven”t had services at that high end of the continuum.”
This program differs from previous efforts in the district because this will be a school devoted entirely to instructing gifted students, as opposed to the previous systems of pulling gifted children out of classes into accelerated classrooms.
“A lot of parents would like to have pull-out classes, but they”re very expensive because you”re paying for the endorsed teacher, and for the kids to be out of class,” said Ginny Smith, the Provo School District gifted student coordinator.
The Center for Accelerated Studies won”t replace efforts at each school to help accelerate talented individuals, but will work in conjunction with school programs already in place.
In order to attend the gifted school, students need to go through a screening test to establish their needs. The first round of testing, which took place recently, yielded hopeful results, Smith said.
“We had children from every school and from every different ethnic background,” Smith said. “There were high scores across the board.”
One of the challenges is to limit the school to an enrollment of 75 students, Smith said. The reason for the limit is it”s hard to find teachers endorsed to teach gifted children.
According to work done by Joseph Renzulli, a psychologist who works with gifted individuals, about 15 percent of the population could be considered “gifted” in at least one aspect. Smith estimated about 3 to 5 percent of the student population is gifted in multiple areas.
Students with the greatest potential based on test scores are given first priority with the other spots being filled until resources run out, Smith said. “There”s no child gifted or otherwise whose needs are exactly the same.”
The program will be housed in the newer portions of Grandview Elementary School, which will be vacated when students are moved to other newer schools in the area. Older portions of the building will be demolished this summer, leaving just the Center for Accelerated Studies.
How to distinguish a bright child vs. gifted learner
Bright Child:
* Knows the answers
* Is interested
* Is attentive
* Has good ideas
* Works hard
* Answers the questions
* Top group
* Listens with interest
* Prefers peers
Gifted Learner:
* Asks the questions
* Is highly curious
* Is mentally and physically involved
* Has wild, silly ideas
* Plays around, yet tests well
* Discusses in detail, elaborates
* Beyond the group
* Shows strong feelings and opinions
* Prefers adults
