State Guidelines
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Shelby County School System complies with
Alabama Act 106 that mandates school systems identify and serve
gifted students. Shelby County Schools follow the guidelines
set forth in the “gifted” section of the Alabama Department
of Education – Administrative Code - Chapter
290-8-9-.12 for: Referral, Consent, Evaluation, Eligibility
Determination, Placement and Service Delivery Options, Gifted
Education Plan, Administration, Caseload, and Procedural
Safeguards. |
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Definition of Gifted
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Intellectually gifted children and youth are those who perform at
or have demonstrated the potential to perform at high levels in
academic or creative fields when compared with others of their
age, experience, or environment. These children and youth
require services not ordinarily provided by the regular school
program. Children and youth possessing these abilities can
be found in all populations, across all economic strata, and in
all areas of human endeavor. Gifted students may be found within
any race, ethnicity, gender, economic class, or nationality.
In addition, some students with disabilities may be gifted. |
| The Shelby County
School System prohibits discrimination against any student on the
above basis with respect to his/her participation in the gifted
program. |
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Philosophy
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Gifted students are those who perform at high
levels in academic or creative fields when compared to others of
their age, experience, or environment. These students require
services not ordinarily provided by the regular school program.
Students possessing these abilities can be found in all
populations, across all economic strata, and in all areas of human
endeavor. |
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Contrary to popular opinion, the gifted do not ordinarily excel or realize their potential
without assistance. As a matter of fact, unique abilities can atrophy without proper nurturing. Thus it is essential that gifted
students be identified and provided with continued challenges, stimulation, and encouragement. |
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Education for the gifted should involve both: |
- Appropriate academic provisions in grades K-12 (modified
curriculum, advanced classes,
compacting, contracting, cluster grouping, differentiated
curriculum offerings, independent
study), and
- Services
by specialists trained to understand the nature and needs of
gifted students and trained to offer a
differentiated education which focuses on
developing higher level thinking skills and exploring
topics at higher levels of
conceptualization.
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| Children who are gifted form a diverse group
with a variety of needs, therefore, requiring a range of service
options. Gifted children learn at a different rate from other
children and crave depth in areas of learning.
Accommodations of rate, pace, and depth of
learning, are crucial in order to meet the learning needs of
gifted students. Children who are gifted share the ability
to think with more complexity and abstraction than other children
of the same age, therefore, requiring a differentiated
curriculum. Because of their different learning and social needs,
children who are gifted require time with others who are similar
to them in order to establish cognitive relationships and to
facilitate their academic and social growth. |
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Goals
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The following Program Goals are outlined in
the most recent Shelby County LEA Plan: |
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to provide
training for all staff on the procedures for referring and
identifying students for gifted education services
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to
continue working toward racial equity in the gifted education
program
- to continue conducting Child Find Activities
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ensure that there are comparable services throughout the system
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to work towards a true continuum of services for high-end learners
- to provide curriculum for gifted
learners that is concept & problem based.
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Gifted Education Services
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Referral Process
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