"Gifted and talented children" are those identified as possessing outstanding abilities who are capable of high performance. Gifted and talented children are children who require appropriate instruction and educational services commensurate with their abilities and needs beyond those provided by the regular school program.

Gifted and talented children include those children with demonstrated achievement or potential ability, or both, in any of the following areas or in combination:

Spencer Community Schools has further built their belief system on this definition by adding to it our local definition of "giftedness". This definition originates from the results of an alumni survey collected in 1992-1993 and reads as follows: "Giftedness" is summarized as "People who possess above average to brilliant intellectual ability and/or talents along with special thinking skills ( ie. synthesis, originality, farsightedness, abstract thought, conceptualization, see the ability to draw relationships); the correct attitude (i.e. desire/willingness to work, learn and excel); and the character traits (i.e. self-discipline and leadership) necessary to learn more, learn faster, or learn with ease or through hard work."

Rationale:
Qualitatively differentiated program for the gifted and talented entails creating a learning environment where students are challenged to deal with the curriculum in more complex ways and at higher levels of abstraction, whether the content is academic or nonacademic.

Identification:
A multiple criteria selection process is used so that the student is given several opportunities for his/her ability to be analyzed. Such assessment tools include:

Standards and Benchmarks Philosophy Statement:
The Talented and Gifted Program (TAG) of Spencer Community Schools incorporates the district standards and benchmarks at a rate and level commensurate with the identified student's learning abilities. Some strategies used to assist students in achievement may include independent study, classroom adaptations, acceleration, enrichment and community mentors.

Valid and systematic procedures, including multiple selection criteria, are used in identifying TAG students from the total student population. To insure that a qualitatively differentiated program is provided, gifted and talented education shall include curriculum to meet the cognitive and affective needs of students. Support services, including materials and staff will be provided.

Program Goals:

1. To help students gain an understanding of themselves, their abilities, and giftedness

2. To provide an extensive learning environment which will enable each child to fully develop his/her intellectual and creative abilities through challenging instructional activities

3. To develop and utilize the students thinking abilities, creativity, research skills and problem solving techniques

4. To accept responsibility for self-directed learning

5. To recognize and develop gifted student's cognitive and affective skills

6. To provide additional extended learning opportunities, support, and resources, to enhance the education of gifted students

Elementary Level Program Opportunities / Requirements:

Book Club / Small Group Reading discussion groups combine thinking skills, literacy circle group responsibilities and group discussion for avid high ability readers. Reading and discussion topics are presented at higher grade and maturity levels. Students are identified through the guided reading grouping philosophies.