NEW PARENT ORIENTATION

GIFTED & TALENTED

AUGUST 21, 2026

INTRODUCTIONS

Beth Dennis

Cain Elementary

Higgins Elementary

Susan Sanchez

Brown Elementary

Stanton-Smith Elementary

Madison Rowe

GT Coordinator

3-5 Content Specialist

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WISD

Gifted and Talented

Program and Policies

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A gifted/talented student is a child or youth who:

• Performs at or shows the potential for performing at a remarkably high level of accomplishment when compared to others of the same age, experience, or environment and who:
• exhibits high-performance capability in an 

      intellectual, creative, or artistic area;

• possesses an unusual capacity for leadership; or
• excels in a specific academic field. 

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Texas Education Agency, Gifted and Talented Education webpage

(Texas Education Code §29.121)

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Texas State Plan for the

Education of Gifted/Talented

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Core beliefs

• differentiated academic programming, peer interactions, balanced cognitive and emotional development, lifelong learning skills

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Program Philosophy & Goals

State goals:

• participants demonstrate self-directed learning, research, communication via advanced, innovative products and performances

District-level goals:

• effective communication, independent learning, creative thinking, confidence, and original products

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GT Referral and

Identification Process

Quantitative Data

• CogAT
• verbal (Reading)
• Nonverbal(Reasoning)
• Quantitative (Mathematics)
• iReady

Qualitative Data

• Parent Survey
• Teacher Survey

Additional Data

• Student Samples

District Placement Committee members meet to review student

data to make recommendations for GT placement.

Parents are notified of decision and GT placement.

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GT Windows

GT #1

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September 8-18

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Open only for students who are new to the district from out of state or a private school.

GT #4

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May

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Referred Students in Grades 1 and 3-5. *The referral window is open for two weeks after spring break.

GT #3

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March 16-25

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Second Grade Universal Screening

GT #2

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January 11-22

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Kindergarten Universal Screening

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What does it mean

to be GT?

Understanding your GT child

Profiles of Giftedness

• Successful 
• Challenging 
• Underground 
• Dropouts 
• Twice-exceptional 
• Autonomous

When a child’s

• cognitive,
• emotional, and
• physical development

develop on a trajectory that it outside of norms and at an uneven rate

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Program Design

• Kindergarten: spring identification with pull-out class beginning before March 1
• Grades 1–5: weekly half-day pull-out; research projects, peer clustering
• Grades 6–12: honors, AP courses, academic acceleration, enrichment
• Grades 11–12: encouragement toward dual-enrollment options

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Service Design by Grade Level

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The purpose of the GT classroom is to provide a safe place where students will be challenged to think deeply, take risks, and grow through productive struggle.

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Through accelerated content and cross-curricular activities, we'll strengthen academic skills, leadership, creative problem solving and social-emotional growth.

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Elementary - what it looks like

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Elementary - what it looks like

Unit Showcases

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Elementary - what it looks like

Field Trips and Events

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Elementary - what it looks like

Parent Involvement

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Elementary - what it looks like

How do we help kids achieve

their full potential without

settling for what’s normally accepted?

BALANCING

UNDERACHIEVEMENT

AND PERFECTIONISM

ENTER

THE EFFORT SCALE...

DONUT STYLE

PURPOSE:

To help students understand why effort matters, how to self-assess honestly, learn how to match their work ethic with their true potential by setting realistic expectations

Progress Monitoring is a temporary 6–9 week support period designed to determine whether GT services are meeting a student’s needs.

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Factors to initiate progress monitoring may include:

• Frequently off task
• Struggling to complete GT work
• Not showing growth over time
• Having difficulty demonstrating deeper level thinking
• Showing that learning needs may be better met another way

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During this time, we provide additional support and monitor growth in:

• Engagement, Work Completion, Critical Thinking, Writing

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Our goal is growth, not perfection. Parents will be notified if students will be place on progress monitoring.

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Progress Monitoring

• Furlough: A temporary leave of absence from GT services may be requested at any time by parent, student, teacher, or admin and then reviewed by committee

Reasons:

• Unable to maintain satisfactory performance within the structure of the gifted/talented program
• Educational needs are not being met within the structure of the gifted/talented program
• Specific personal or life circumstances

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• Exit Process: initiated by student, parent or district, includes conference and committee review
• Re-entry: possible after furlough
• Transfers: incoming GT students are reviewed, assessed, and appropriately placed

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Changes & Flexibility

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QUESTIONS

Thank

You

2026