Gifted Education
GIFTED REFERRALS
Referral form deadlines:
- Grades 2-12: Oct. 26, 2022
- Grades K-1 (CCPS-enrolled students only): March 1, 2023
WELCOME
Gifted learners demonstrate the potential for advanced thinking and reasoning, creativity and high achievement when compared to others who are the same age with similar prior learning experiences and comparable home environments and cultures.
Programs and services must be designed to meet their unique cognitive strengths and socio-emotional needs.
Each CCPS school has a gifted education facilitator who addresses gifted education concerns.
INFORMATION FOR FAMILIES
Detailed information and resources on gifted education processes, procedures, programs and services are available below.
The online Gifted Program Services Referral and Review Form must be submitted to begin the gifted evaluation process. Verbal or email communications do not serve as a substitute for this form.
Evaluation for gifted services occurs during specific time periods each year. This ensures students are tested at the most appropriate time for their grade level and allows results to be considered in Center-Based Gifted Academy decisions.
- A student may be evaluated only once per school year.
- A fall assessment opportunity is available for students in grades 2-12 who are not enrolled in CCPS but are residents of Chesterfield County.
Referral form deadlines:
- Oct. 26, 2022: students in grades 2-12
- March 1, 2023: students in grades K-1 (CCPS-enrolled students only)
A student may be referred for evaluation by:
- A parent, legal guardian or community member;
- A teacher or other professional staff member; or
- The student or a peer.
Referrals are processed after the referral period ends. Once this occurs, parents/guardians receive:
- A notification from the school that their child has been referred for evaluation for gifted education services;
- Information about gifted education services and the assessment process;
- Contact information for staff members who can answer questions;
- An opportunity to opt their student out of evaluation process; and
- Instructions for completing the online CCPS home perception inventory.
Once a student is referred, the evaluation is conducted and eligibility and placement are determined. Any new placement begins at the start of the following school year.
DATA COLLECTED
The following data is collected and reviewed:
- Parents/guardians complete the online home perception inventory.
- Teachers complete the online teacher perception inventory and submit samples of student work in English, math, social studies and/or science.
- Students complete the online student perception inventory, creativity assessment and thinking and reasoning test;
- Grades from the three most recent marking periods are also used in the evaluation.
Gifted testing must be administered in person, and all testing occurs in the student’s school. If qualifying assessment data or previous areas of academic strength exist, certain portions of the testing may not be required.
ELIGIBILITY DETERMINATION
Each component of the CCPS operational definition of giftedness is considered in the holistic evaluation of the child. In order to be identified as eligible for gifted services, students must have two evident gifted indicators and at least one identified area of academic strength.
GIFTED INDICATORS
- Advanced thinking and reasoning measured by a standardized, norm-referenced measurement of aptitude
- Creative and imaginative expression indicated by a standardized, norm-referenced creativity assessment
- Gifted characteristics apparent in student, parent and teacher perception inventories
ACADEMIC STRENGTH
- Strength in English, math, social studies and/or science evident in academic strength indicators such as subject-area performance measurements, student work samples and perception/interest inventories. Academic areas of strength are determined by two evident indicators present in a particular content area.
Students who are not eligible for gifted services but display notable gifted indicators, regardless of the number of demonstrated academic strength areas, may be eligible for monitor status. This means students are placed in classes with a cluster of identified gifted students, and they are monitored and re-evaluated in two years.
Program placement for identified gifted students is determined at the time of the gifted eligibility decision. To ensure fairness, the review goes beyond test scores to include holistic evaluations.
The following data points are used to determine eligibility for Center-Based Gifted (CBG) Services:
- Recent aptitude test scores
- Recent creativity assessment scores
- Overall grade average that includes available grades in reading, writing, English, math, social studies, science
- Number of areas of academic strength
- Other gifted indicators used in the identification process
Students found eligible for CBG services will retain eligibility. If a student does not participate in CBG Services they may choose to do so in a subsequent school year.
Students may enter CBG Services only at the beginning of a school year. However, parents may choose to exit students from CBG Services at any time.
DECISIONS
Because a tremendous amount of information is gathered during the evaluation process, it takes time to complete data collection, scoring and processing. Families can expect to receive eligibility results in early February for grades 2-12 and late May for grades K-1.
CCPS families will receive electronic results via ParentVUE. Non-CCPS referrals receive results through the mail. Results include a decision letter and a Gifted Education Eligibility Report (GEER). Learn more about the GEER here.
APPEALS
Parents/guardians with questions about an eligibility decision should contact the school’s gifted identification facilitator using the contact information provided in the decision letter. Parents/guardians with questions about a CBG Academy decision should contact the gifted support staff member at their child’s school.
Parents/guardians may submit an appeal within 10 instructional days from receipt of the decision through the online form linked in the student’s decision letter. Appeals should include specific concerns or circumstances that are believed to impact the eligibility decision. Appeals are reviewed by the Office of Gifted Education and the division’s appeals committee.
The division-level appeals committee reviews all information used in determining student eligibility and considers issues raised in the letter of appeal. A written notification of the decision is provided to parents/guardians and school-level personnel within 15 instructional days after the decision is made. Decisions made by the committee are final.
Chesterfield County Public Schools provides services in the areas of English, math, social studies and science for identified gifted students in grades K-12.
Gifted elementary and middle school students are cluster-grouped as possible with other identified gifted learners. Teachers consider readiness, achievement and interests to modify curriculum and instruction while striving to provide appropriate challenges. This may include curriculum enrichment and extension, differentiated assignments, increased rigor and advanced pacing. Identified gifted students in grades 3-8 may also further qualify to participate in a CBG Academy.
CBG Academy teachers use advanced content, pacing and instructional strategies that provide additional depth, complexity, rigor and challenge for gifted learners. Core content area classes are composed entirely of students eligible for CBG services. Eligible students are assigned to an academy based on their home address.
The high school honors program in English, mathematics, science and history/social sciences provides rigorous curriculum experiences for gifted students in grades 9-12. Additional offerings include advanced placement courses and dual enrollment opportunities. Additionally, Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School, Appomattox Regional Governor’s School, CodeRVA, and CCPS Specialty centers provide comprehensive services for students with high ability and interest in specific areas.
Eighth grade students who reside in Chesterfield County may apply to participate in two regional governor’s school opportunities.
APPOMATTOX REGIONAL GOVERNOR'S SCHOOL FOR THE ARTS AND TECHNOLOGY (ARGS)
MAGGIE L. WALKER GOVERNOR'S SCHOOL FOR GOVERNMENT AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES (MLWGS)
Beginning in mid-October, students may apply to these regional programs through the CCPS Online application portal.
Applicants should review the information provided on this page before applying. This information is specifically for applicants from Chesterfield County and may differ slightly from information provided on the governor’s school websites.
When enrolling children in a Chesterfield County public school, parents/guardians need to notify the enrolling school if the student was identified for gifted services in the previous school system so the appropriate records may be obtained. Necessary documentation includes:
- Letter or school document clearly noting eligibility for gifted services;
- School document providing information on the type of program placement made; and
- Scores from aptitude, achievement and/or creativity assessments given in a school setting.
After confirming gifted identification and placement from the previous school system, the student will be provisionally placed in services most comparable to those received in the student’s last school. The child will then be evaluated using Chesterfield County criteria prior to the end of the school year when possible. A previous identification in another school system does not guarantee eligibility for CCPS gifted services.
A fall assessment opportunity is available for students in grades 2-12 who are not enrolled in CCPS but are residents of Chesterfield County. A student in grades 2-12 who resides in Chesterfield County and who attends a non-CCPS school may be referred for gifted evaluation in the fall testing window. An online submission may be made through the online Gifted Program Services Referral and Review Form.
The referral will be processed by staff at the school in the student’s attendance zone. Any required testing will occur at this location based on the testing schedule established by that school. The parent/guardian is responsible for transporting their student to testing sessions. Other required components of the identification protocol such as grades, work samples and teacher perception inventories will be requested from the student’s current, non-CCPS school. These components must be provided to determine eligibility for services.
This School Board advisory committee reviews the Local Plan for the Education of the Gifted each year and determines the extent to which the previous year’s plan was implemented. It is composed of parents of identified gifted students, community members, teachers, administrators and identified gifted students.
Meetings are open to the public. Information on meeting dates and locations may be found on the Chesterfield County School Board site. To navigate to the materials, select LIBRARY in the upper right corner and select Gifted Education Advisory Committee from the dark gray list of items that appears on the left.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Office of Gifted Education
13900 Hull Street Road
Midlothian, VA 23112
(804) 639-8620
[email protected]