Gifted/Highly Capable Services

PURPOSE

The academically gifted are a unique population differing greatly from their age group in abilities, talents, interests, and psychological maturity.  The gifted need to work with content and ideas appropriate for them but beyond most of their age peers.  Gifted students need and thrive in an educational program which will increase their involvement and interest in learning.

Central Kitsap School District is committed to offering a variety of options to gifted students as part of a network of services supporting the District Mission Statement and the recommendations of the Parent Advisory Committee as adopted by the School Board in the Spring of 1994.  The District recognizes that curriculum for gifted students must be differentiated by faster pace, greater complexity, and earlier introduction of knowledge and skills.  They also recognize the need for gifted students to explore interests in depth and spend time with their intellectual peers.

Venture Building Mentor Services

Please use this link to view individual school's Gifted Web sites or to contact the Mentor.

Elementary        Secondary  

The Mentor Program at CKSD operates at the building level.  Each elementary school has one Mentor for the Gifted.  This is a stipend position with additional money available for implementing a building plan.  Each junior high and high school has two staff members who receive a stipend and additional hours to implement a building plan.  

In the fall, each elementary mentor, with the support of a building team, create a plan for meeting the academic needs of the gifted population in their school.   These building plans are individualized to meet the unique needs found in the different schools.  All plans must include a way for the mentor to:

  • become familiar with identified gifted students
  • provide resources to staff
  • communicate with parents
  • coordinate student enrichment opportunities

The essence of the mentor position is to be an advocate for the gifted child.  The mentor works with both teachers and curriculum to make the school experience relevant and meaningful for a child who  needs learning at a faster pace and more complex level.  Clustering gifted students at grade level is done whenever possible to maximize time with intellectual peers.

At the elementary level, the mentor provides support for the classroom teacher to create a Highly Capable Learning Plan (HCLP) in an identified child's intellectual strength area.  This HCLP is used for curriculum planning and is a helpful tool during parent conferencing.  Mentors regularly network with one another at District level meetings.  These meetings are led by the Coordinators for Gifted Education.  They evaluate the success of their building plan with the purpose of improving services for the next school year.

Elementary Self-Contained Gifted Classroom 2-6

Central Kitsap's self-contained gifted classrooms are designed to serve second through sixth grade.  The class consists of approximately 90 students with four full-time teachers.  These classrooms offer a rigorous academic curriculum while meeting the specific affective needs of gifted students. 

Students receive instruction and guidance in study, research, and organization skills; social and real world application of learning; critical and creative thinking skills; and goal setting.  Core curriculum is modified to allow in-depth explorations.  This is a District program currently housed at Emerald Heights.

Junior High Magnet Block

The magnet block for gifted seventh and eighth grade students is a two year integrated course for language arts, social studies, and science within the junior high structure. The team consists of 50 gifted students and three teachers. This block class is a District program currently housed at Central Kitsap Junior High School. Students attend Central Kitsap Junior High full time; three hours in the magnet courses and the remainder of the day in other classes.

This magnet offers a rigorous academic curriculum while meeting the specific affective needs of gifted students. Students receive instruction and guidance in study, research, and organizational skills; social and real world application of learning; critical and creative thinking skills, and goal setting. Core curriculum is modified to allow in-depth explorations in student interest areas to encourage student autonomy and self-direction.

All qualified sixth grade students have access to the 7-8 Gifted Magnet. Students will be invited to the magnet class based the recommendations of the District Multidisciplinary Selection Team from their review of a Student Profile Packet which includes the results of the district-wide Cognitive Abilities Test given to all sixth grade students, WASL data, teacher and parent checklists and recommendations from Building Selection Teams. Students are placed in the magnet class based on highest need.

 

For more more information on the Gifted/Highly Capable programs at Central Kitsap School District, please contact:  

Claudia Rengstorf (360) 662-1738 - Elementary 
Kathy Dwyer (360) 662-1763 - Secondary