Building a Talent Pool

The first students included in a talent pool come from the automatic referrals, those who score 120 or above on any battery of an ability test. However, referrals can come from staff, community members or parents in the form of a written referral, even if the student does not meet the cut score of 120. Each year the AAC presents staff and parents with referral information that opens the screening process to any student demonstrating talent or high ability. This supports the idea that ability is NOT fixed and while universal screeners in elementary school are best practice, it is possible that students grow and develop strengths that can be identified and nurtured later in their academic careers. Staff and parent referrals are combined with the automatic referrals, creating a talent pool. Parents are notified that their child has been referred for screening and they must give permission for their child to go through the referral process. All forms and permissions are sent in the student’s home language and processed by the AAC. Referrals are entered into Synergy, the student information database so that the referral process becomes official for each student in the talent pool.