Gifted
Special Services for School-Age Gifted Children
Southern Fulton School District provides individualized educational services to students identified as gifted. To qualify as a gifted student, the student must be of school age, possess outstanding intellectual and creative ability, the development of which requires specially designed programs and/or supportive services not ordinarily provided in the regular classroom.
To identify students who may be eligible for gifted education, the district conducts ongoing screening activities that include a review of various student performance data such as standardized tests, curriculum-based assessments, rating scales, and teacher observation. When screening results suggest a student might be gifted, the district seeks parental consent to conduct a gifted multidisciplinary evaluation. Parents who suspect that their child is gifted may request an evaluation in writing one time per school year. Services designed to meet the needs of gifted students include annual development of a Gifted Individual Education Plan (GIEP), support services and specially designed instruction based on the student’s needs and ability.
Prior to the initiation and implementation of services, parents of a gifted student are presented with a “Notice of Recommended Educational Assignment” (NORA) with which the parent may agree or disagree. If parents disagree with the program being recommended, they have the right to request a pre-hearing conference, mediation, and/or a due process hearing.
Gifted programs are highly individualized based on student-gifted IEPs and interests. The Gifted Support program challenges students in non-conventional areas—extensive work in problem-solving coupled with creativity. The classroom provides an intellectual outlet for students with numerous enrichment activities and challenges to engage critical-thinking skills. For acceleration, students have an opportunity to accelerate in subjects as needed. Enrichment programs are delivered in various methods and may allow all students to explore interests going to greater depth and breadth of a topic, create individualized projects, or do additional high-interest exploration. Some students do a combination of acceleration and enrichment.
Parents may obtain additional information regarding gifted services and programs by reaching out to the Principal, School Counselor, or Director of Special Education at 717-294-2203.
Gifted Evaluation Eligibility Guidelines Rubric
National Association for Gifted Children
Guiding Questions to Apply the Pre-K to Grade 12 Gifted Programming Standards
Gifted and Talented Resource Directory