Gifted Identification Procedures

There are five steps to the gifted identification procedures in Arlington Public Schools. These steps include screening, building a pool, data gathering, screening committee meetings, and final identification decisions. The identification process is led by the advanced academics coach (AAC) at each school, however teachers, counselors and parents are included throughout the process to ensure that all relevant information and data is collected on each student. Arlington Public Schools has a talent development model for gifted services. This means that students can be identified in music, art, math, science, social studies, or English. The services provided in elementary school are delivered through the cluster model, which can vary in practice depending on the school. There can be clusters of students identified in all areas, or there can be clusters of students who share identifications in just one area. In middle school, students can enroll in intensified courses that reflect their identification or their area of strength. These classes are open enrollment, however the AAC contacts all parents of gifted students to ensure that they have information to enroll in intensified courses. Once students are in 7th and 8th grade, the AAC creates clusters of students that emerge in the top tier of each content level.