The goals of the Gifted Services Program for Woodridge School District 68 are as follows:

• Provide direction, time, encouragement and resources to gifted students to develop their potential.
• Provide a coordinated, continuous, district-wide gifted education program.
• Provide differentiated, enriched instruction and curriculum for identified students, which develops high level thinking skills and problem solving abilities.
• Provide appropriate staff development for faculty and administration in the areas of identification and instructional delivery to identified students.
• Provide ways to deliver information to parents of students in the gifted program.
• Systematically evaluate the program.

Gifted program at elementary schools

• Gifted Differentiated Engagement Block for grades 3-6 
• GDEB focuses on higher level thinking skills within a problem-based learning framework.

Gifted program at junior high

• Accelerated course options will be available to identified students:
  • Advanced ELA/Social Studies
  • Advanced Science
  • Advanced Math (by level)

When developing gifted curriculum for advanced learners, it is important that the following areas are addressed within curricular units. While not a unit in and of itself, social emotional learning does need to be addressed throughout the curriculum.

Acceleration

includes but not limited to:

• Fewer tasks to mastery
• Standards clustered by higher level thinking skills
• Pre-assessments used

Complexity

includes but not limited to:

• Thinking and process skills
• Use of complex texts
• Use of multiple sources

Depth

includes but not limited to:

• Concepts from multiple applications (math, language arts, social studies, etc)
• Original research (in area of passion as well as other areas)
• Product development

Challenge

includes but not limited to:

• Reasoning skills
• Advanced resources (above grade level)
• Cross-disciplinary
• Stimulating and sophisticated content
• Technology

Creativity

includes but not limited to:

• Oral and written communication
• Real world audience and application
• Alternatives for tasks/products (generate original responses, not choosing from choices)
• Problem solving
• Technology

There are four steps for identification and an appeals process. The following steps occur in grades 2 and 6 in the spring of each school year.

Step 1: Nomination

Parents, peers, staff, and/or community members may nominate a student in grades 3, 4, 5 & 7 who is not currently receiving gifted services for gifted services evaluation by completing the nomination form. Nomination forms are available online  or from the gifted coordinator or gifted specialist in each building. Completed forms should be given to the building gifted specialist. The nomination window is typically November 30 through January 8 of each school year.

Step 2: Screening

Students nominated and students in grades 2 & 6 will take the Cognitive Abilities Test 7 (CogAT 7). The CogAT 7 measures students' verbal, quantitative and nonverbal reasoning skills. Parents of students with propensity one or more standard deviations above the mean, and teachers of these students, will complete a district-designed rating scales survey.

Step 3: Review

Data collected on screened students will be evaluated by the identification and placement review panel consisting of district staff members trained in gifted education. The panel will determine appropriate placement for gifted services.

Step 4: Placement

Parents and students will receive notification regarding placement and gifted services.

Appeals

Parents or staff may appeal the identification panel's decision by completing the Appeals Form and returning it to the gifted coordinator by the date on the form. The appeal committee will consist of the gifted coordinator, district administrator and a district parent. The appeal committee will review all pertinent information and notify parents by mail. The decision of the appeal committee is final.

Appeals Form