Gifted & Talented

MISSION
The mission of the West St Paul - Mendota Heights - Eagan Area Schools Gifted and Talented Program is to nurture exceptional abilities of Gifted and Talented students by providing challenging and purposeful educational opportunities to all students. 

Attract and support Gifted and Talented Students by providing high level, challenging curriculum and enrichment during and beyond the school day

• Curriculum adoption process seeks high levels of rigor and challenge to provide pathways for students to excel and remain challenged.
• Teachers are trained and supported in their implementation of differentiated instruction and developing differentiated learning opportunities. 

Provide opportunities, community, resources, and support for families of Gifted Students

• Through the use of the West St Paul-Mendota Heights-Eagan Area Schools Gifted and Talented webpage, information is posted for families to explore local opportunities and resources. Many schools also include information in newsletters. 
• The Gifted and Talented Advisory Council (GTAC) meets several times each school year to explore a variety of topics that pertain to the gifted community. GTAC includes parents, teachers and administrators in the district.

Assist with smooth transitions for students from elementary to middle school and from middle school to high school

• Through the relationships that are established between the Gifted and Talented Teachers in each Elementary and Middle School and our identified gifted student population, students have regular access to an adult in their educational lives that provides familiarity and serves as an advocate on their behalf during and beyond their transitions.

Teach and encourage gifted students how to negotiate and advocate for their academic needs

• During opportunities to work with groups of our identified students, our teachers model this skill set to further equip students with the tools they need to respectfully request increased challenge and rigor. 
• This is also addressed through the encouragement of project based and inquiry-based learning and the further development of higher order questioning skills.   

Employ a comprehensive and inclusive identification process that provides multiple entry points

• Our identification process includes a variety of factors including both quantitative and qualitative measures.
• We examine Cognitive Abilities Test scores as well as NWEA Measures of Academic Progress results and teacher checklists.
• We consider parent, teacher, and student nomination through the use of our web-based survey options.

 

If your child will not be five by September 1st of you may apply for Early Entrance to Kindergarten. You can find information on this process in the forms below. Please contact the Curriculum Department at 651-403-7026 with any questions. No applications for the following school year will be accepted after the May 15th deadline. 

• Early Entrance Procedure - English
• Early Entrance Procedure - Spanish
• Early Entrance Application - English
• Early Entrance Application - Spanish

 

Minnesota Statute 120B.15 indicates that a school district must adopt procedures for the academic acceleration of gifted and talented students. These procedures must include how the district will:

• Assess a student's readiness and motivation for acceleration
• Match the level, complexity, and pace of the curriculum to a student to achieve the best type of academic acceleration for that student.

School District 197 has three ways in which students have an opportunity for academic acceleration.  These methods are listed below, and you can learn more about each by clicking on them.

• Early entrance into kindergarten or first grade.  
  • Click here for frequently asked questions for families contemplating early entrance.
  • Click here for a checklist of materials to be submitted to complete the application process
• Single subject acceleration
• Whole grade level acceleration

 

 

IDENTIFICATION PROCESS
At the end of each school year, the academic performance of students in grades 2-7 is evaluated to identify children who should receive Gifted and Talented (GT) services for the following year. Performance measures include, but are not limited to, the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT), reading and math assessments from the Formative Assessment System for Teachers (FAST).

Alternate Identification is an additional option for students who may be very high academic performers but do not qualify for GT services using the standard measures. Please contact the program coordinator for more information regarding Alternative Identification.

PROGRAM APPROACH

Tier 1 of the Gifted and Talented Program focuses on the training and support of all teachers in differentiated instruction. This impacts all students, especially those achieving high levels, as it offers different learning opportunities beyond the general classroom expectation. Elementary teachers also receive whole class enrichment co-taught by the GT and classroom teacher in grades 2 and 3.

Tier 2 of the Gifted and Talented Program focuses on clustering GT students in specific Math and Literacy courses in middle school and  elementary students working with the Gifted and Talented teacher in small groups at their school.

Criteria for Tier 2 Identification is a combination of:

• Cognitive Ability Test - Composite Score of 123+
• Cognitive Ability Test - Single Subtest Score (Verbal, Non-Verbal, Quantitative) of 125+ scores at the 96th percentile or higher in both reading and math on the FAST assessments.
• Teacher Recommendation
• Parent Recommendation

Tier 3 of the Gifted and Talented Program focuses on the implementation of curriculum extension projects such as participation in The Confluence. These projects serve as curricular extensions that allow students to grow in order to develop their academic and social skills through problem solving, higher level thinking skills  and creativity. In order to offer students appropriate academic challenges, clustering is also used for Tier 3 students.

Criteria for Tier 3 Identification is a combination of:

• Cognitive Ability Test - Composite Score of 123+
• Cognitive Ability Test - Composite Score of 125+ and scores at the 98th percentile or higher in both reading and math on either the FAST assessments.
• Teacher Recommendation
• Parent Recommendation

MISSION: The mission of the Gifted and Talented Advisory Committee (GTAC) is two-fold;

• Promote and enhance the goals and objectives of Gifted Education programming.  

• Build positive partnerships among schools, teachers, gifted education staff, administration, parents, and the community to support current gifted education services and to advocate for future programming needs. 

MEMBERSHIP:  The Gifted and Talented Advisory Committee is composed of representatives from stakeholder groups with interest and expertise in gifted and talented education.  Minimally, there is to be one representative from each elementary (five in total), two from each middle school (four in total), two from the high school level and up to four student representatives at the middle and high school level.  The community representatives shall currently have a child that is either;

• formally identified as Gifted and Talented at the school

• or that has been approved for one of the three types of acceleration under Gifted and Talented programming (Early Entrance to K/1st grade, whole grade level acceleration, or single subject acceleration beginning in 5th grade). 

In alignment with our Strategic Framework, we have prioritized creating a diversified committee as the primary goal annually while establishing the committee.  Diverse perspectives representative of the various school levels and schools will be sought.  Diverse perspectives representative of our student population will be sought, including but not limited to:

• Race

• Gender

• Orientation

In addition to these minimal requirements, there are opportunities to include at-large positions, which are to be determined by the Gifted and Talented Coordinator on a yearly basis.  These at-large positions provide existing members with a temporary extension of their service in order to assist in developing continuity within and across the committee.  Overall, there will be no fewer than 11 members and no more than 21 members. 

TERMS: Initial commitments are for no less than two years and no more than four years.  The Gifted and Talented Coordinator will initially set one third of the position terms to end in two years, one third to end in three years, and one third to end in four years.  All subsequent terms will be three years unless replacing a member who leaves their position prior to their term ending. District administration may remove a member at its discretion.  Time commitment includes some review of materials and reading outside of the meetings. 

MEETING SCHEDULE.  Typically, GTAC meets five times annually.  All GTAC meetings are open to the public as observers. 

All meetings below will be held in the District Office Conference Room, from 5:30 - 7:00.  

• October 9, 2023

• November 6, 2023

• January 29, 2024

• March 11, 2024

• May 13, 2024

EXAMPLES OF DISTRICT LEVEL TOPICS GTAC PROVIDES INPUT TOWARDS INCLUDE:  

• District-wide curricular review processes

• District-wide strategic planning 

• District level policy reviews

• Reviewing Gifted and Talented models at each level

• Enrichment opportunities available to students (e.g., Spelling Bee, Odyssey of the Mind)

CLICK HERE to Link to District Advisory Committees

The Confluence The Confluence is an opportunity for students in grade 4. It is a student literary publication which features the writing and artistic gifts and talents of School District 197's students.  The Confluence is an annual publication that we share with families and the broader community.  By exploring the theme of elevating and amplifying student voice, we hope this publication might become a way for our members of our community to learn about, and appreciate our diverse student population.

Click here for this Edition 3 (Spring 2024) of the Confluence.  The 2023 edition's theme was Building Bridges, One Story at a Time. Bridges are remarkable. We admire these structures for their strength, grace, reliability, and power to tie communities together.  Our stories have these same amazing qualities. When we share our thoughts, feelings, and experiences, we are building a bridge that has the remarkable ability to connect us with each other.  Our strength as writers is in our collective stories.

Past Editions are below:
Confluence Edition 2 (Spring 2023)
Confluence Edition 1 (Spring 2022)

Odyssey of the Mind is a creative problem-solving competition for students of all ages. Teams of students select a problem, create a solution, and then present their solution in a competition against other teams in the same problem and division. There are many nuances of the program that are explained further in this presentation

In competition, every team solves a spontaneous problem. Teams are only made aware of what they'll have to do to complete the problem upon entering the competition room. The spontaneous problem is a great way to develop critical thinking and problem solving skills.
Spontaneous problems are "top secret." Teams participating in the same long-term problem and division will solve the same spontaneous problem. To ensure fairness, it is critical that no one discusses the problem outside of the room until all teams have competed.

Click here for more information on Odyssey of the Mind

Contact site G&T Specialists for more information

Resources

Elementary GT opportunities and resources

Reading Lists
There are many lists available for recommended reading by Gifted and Talented students.

• Hoagies' Gifted Education
• Young Adult Library Services Association

Summer Program List
Minnesota Institute for Talented Youth- Elementary 

College and Career Readiness 
NUMATS: Northwestern University's Midwest Academic Talent Search

Secondary GT Opportunities and Resources 
University of Minnesota Talented Youth Mathematics Program (UMTYMP)

Summer Program List
Minnesota Institute for Talented Youth- Middle
Minnesota Institute for Talented Youth- High School 

 

Garlough Environmental Magnet- Kristine Goldade

Mendota Elementary- Megan Mogelson

Moreland Art & Health Sciences Magnet- Sheila Schwirtz

Pilot Knob STEM Magnet- Lauren Knoepfler

Somerset Elementary- Krista Schulz & Valerie Peterson Brandt 

Heritage E-Stem Middle School- Adam Hegg

Friendly Hills Middle School- Melissa Maas