Breathitt County Schools

Breathitt County Schools Debbie R. Haddix – Gifted Coordinator/Teacher

PRIMARY TALENT POOL

“Talent Pool” means a group of primary students informally identified as “high potential learners”.

“High Potential Learners” means that a student who typically represents the top quartile of the entire student population in terms of achievement and frequently requires special enrichment opportunities to remain educationally challenged.

Those areas for which a student may be placed in the Primary Talent Pool are general intellectual aptitude, specific academic aptitude, creative or divergent thinking, leadership and the visual/performing arts. Students should be placed in the Primary Talent Pool as evidence is collected during their primary years, which indicates exceptional talent or the potential for exceptional talent. While all children are to be taught creative thinking skills, leadership skills, the visual and performing arts, and to achieve at high levels in the content areas, some children will learn at a faster pace and more complex level in one or more of these areas. The revised Administrative Regulation of Gifted Education: 704 KAR 3:285 states that these children are to recommended for services which are qualitatively differentiated to meet their individual needs in the specific area(s) in which they demonstrate exceptional talent or the potential for exceptional talent. To place a student in the Primary Talent Pool, a minimum of three informal assessments in each area that a primary student exhibits demonstrated or potential ability must be presented. Some students selected for the Primary Talent Pool may display ability in more areas, while other primary students may display high potential ability in only one area. All primary students with three or more informal measures indicating high ability in one or more areas will receive services addressing those specific areas that were informally identified. Students may be placed in the Primary Talent Pool as evidence is collected during the primary years, which support the need for differentiated services. A primary review committee composed of primary teachers, Gifted/Talented Coordinator, and/or the school counselor, familiar with the child’s potential or demonstrated ability should determine eligibility for services. It would be helpful to use the term “high potential” student when referring to students in the talent pool rather than saying they are gifted. Students are not formally identified as gifted until the end of the primary program. Informal measures may place several students in the talent pool in the specific academic area of math. Once these high potential math students are placed in the Primary Talent Pool for that specific academic area, formal measures such as individual math achievement tests may be used to help determine the level of student achievement and the appropriate level of instruction. These measures should allow the student to demonstrate the level at which he/she can perform and the formal measures should not be limited by grade level ceiling. Formal identification measures, however, may not be used to deny services or to eliminate a student from the Primary Talent Pool. The data from these formal measures may be used to help determine the type of service delivery option most appropriate for meeting the individual needs of each math talent pool student. Cluster grouping, curriculum compacting and tiered assignments are three examples of strategies that might be used to meet the individual student needs. It is important to remember there should be multiple service delivery options at each grade level and that services should be matched to each student’s needs, interests and abilities. Students identified in the visual/performing arts will be served by the art and/or music teacher in addition to the regular classroom teacher.

Primary Talent Pool Service Options

 Various acceleration options  Collaborative teaching/consultation  Special counseling services  Differentiated study in the regular classroom  Distance learning  Enrichment services(not extra curriculum)  Independent study  Mentorships  Resource/pull-out classroom  Seminars  Cluster grouping  Itinerant services  Academic competitions Breathitt County Schools Debbie R. Haddix – Gifted Coordinator/Teacher

Traits Commonly Found in High Potential Learners

Advanced Communication Skills  Speaks clearly and distinctly  Uses advanced vocabulary  Has sense of humor (understands riddles, puns, etc.)  Likes to debate/argue

Thinking Skills  Has excellent memory  Retains information easily  Understands complex concepts  Has keen power of observation  Thinks abstractly  Academically often works two grade levels above his peers  Has vivid imagination

Behavior  Is intensely curious  Can concentrate for an extended period of time on a project of interest  May build interesting and intense designs  Is often critical of others and self  May produce drawings with many details