Gifted Home

The Meyersdale Area School District is committed to providing the best educational opportunities for ALL learners and recognizes the need to provide Gifted Education services to students in grades K-12 who have exceptional achievement potential. The Gifted Education Program is designed to enhance and extend the current curriculum. Any student may be referred for a Gifted Evaluation. Students must qualify given the Pennsylvania state guidelines in accordance with Chapter 16 of the Pennsylvania School Code.

 

Program Goal for Gifted Learners

• The goal of the Meyersdale Area School District is to develop a consistent, stable, and educationally sound Gifted Education Program that will both encourage and expand the intellectual development of our academically precocious students.

 

Definition of a Gifted Learner

• Outstanding intellectual and creative ability which requires specially designed programs or support services, or both, not ordinarily provided within the Regular Education Program.
• In order to meet eligibility for Mental Giftedness, one must have an IQ of 130 or higher, and meet multiple criteria indicating gifted ability, as indicated by Chapter 16 Regulations.

 

Multiple Criteria Considered

• A year or more above grade achievement level for the normal age group in one or more subjects as measured by nationally normed and validated achievement tests able to accurately reflect gifted performance.
• Subject results shall yield academic instructional levels in all academic subject areas.
• An observed or measured rate of acquisition/retention of new academic content in one or more academic areas as evidenced by excellence of products, portfolio or research, as well as criterion-referenced team judgment.
• Early and measured use of high level thinking skills, academic creativity, leadership skills, intense areas, communication skills, foreign language aptitude, or technology expertise.
• Documented, observed, validated, or assessed evidence that intervening factors such as English as a Second Language (ESL), disabilities, gender, race, and socio/cultural deprivation, are not masking gifted abiltiies.

 

Gifted Evaluation

• Both teachers and parents may make referrals for a Gifted Multidisciplinary Evaluation.
• Parents may request an evaluation of their child at any time, but requests may not exceed one time per school year.
• Once a parent request is received, the school will issue a Permission to Evaluate within 10 days, for the parent to sign, granting written consent to proceed with the gifted evaluation process.
• Copies of parent rights and confidentiality issues are provided to parents when the gifted evaluation process starts.
• From the date the parent's signed Permission to Evaluate is received by the District, the school will have 60 calendar days to complete the evaluation and present the parent with a written report of the evaluation results.

 

Gifted Program

• The Meyersdale Area School District Gifted Program focuses on accelerating and/or enriching students based on their aptitude, interests, talents, needs, and goals.
• Gifted Programming is operated by the school district.
• Instructional services are provided through direct instruction, consultation and classroom enrichment.
• Programming recommendations for acceleration and/or enrichment are based upon the student's performance.
• Enrichment activities that are offered to students are intended to supplement regular classroom work with more challenging assignments in the gifted student's area of identified strength(s).
• Acceleration in reading, math, and English are done with the support of the Gifted Support Teacher and/or a Blended Learning environment, when necessary.