• Haworth School District Tiered Programs for Gifted and Talented


    Haworth School District recognizes its responsibility to identify gifted and talented students within the school district and to provide these students with appropriate instructional adaptations and services to meet their varied needs.  To meet this requirement, we utilize the PK-12 Gifted Programming Standards from the National Association for Gifted Children as a basis of meeting the needs of our gifted learners.  These standards are woven throughout our various programs and service continuum as outlined below.  Our three tiers are designed to start with the least disruptive enrichment to an accelerated program that allows students to progress into more advanced content areas at an accelerated pace and beyond their chronological years. 

    NJ Process for Filing a Complaint:  An individual who believes that the district has not complied with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 18A:35-34 et seq. may file a complaint with the Board of Education.  This policy for filing a complaint shall be linked to the homepage of the Board’s Internet website.  Form for filing a complaint.  The Board shall issue a decision, in writing, to affirm, reject, or modify the district’s action in the matter.  The individual may then file a petition of appeal of the Board’s written decision to the Commissioner of Education through the Office of Controversies and Disputes in accordance with N.J.S.A. 18A:6-9 and the procedures set forth in State Board of Education regulations.  


    PROGRAM VISION
    Haworth School’s gifted and talented programs are built around FOSTERING EXCELLENCE.   Each student will have a balanced experience between opportunities to explore INDIVIDUAL PASSIONS, as well as continue to GROW INTERPERSONALLY through group challenges and projects.

     

    For information about all of our Gifted and Talented programming, please visit our Gifted and Talented Handbook, linked here. 

     

     

    The Advanced School Program in Innovation, Rigor and Excellence (A.S.P.I.R.E.) Program:  This is the formal pull-out program for identified gifted and talented students in grades 4 - 8.  A.S.P.I.R.E. is led by teachers that work with identified gifted and talented students to engage in extracurricular challenges intended to inspire students in new ways and push them BEYOND THE GENERAL EDUCATION CURRICULUM.  

     

    The Aspire curriculum is designed to be challenging for students. It incorporates events and activities from the Northern Valley VIA Program and competitions arranged by the New Jersey Consortium for Gifted and Talented Programs. 

     

    Projects will be based on a combination of student-selected and teacher-guided activities to ensure that each group of students has their unique needs addressed.  In this way, curriculum development will be done collaboratively between the teacher and students. 

     

    Selection Criteria for ASPIRE: The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights estimates that six (6) percent of public school students are enrolled in gifted and talented programs. Outside of special circumstances, selection will begin in June of each year.  

    Stage 1:  CogAT Administration

    The Cognitive Achievement Test (CogAT) will be administered to each 3rd grade class. The Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) is a multiple-choice age and grade normed assessment that measures reasoning skills with different types of verbal, quantitative, and nonverbal questions. Much like state testing, there is no need for students to study ahead of time. Students whose scores fall within the Above Average and Very High range (grade percentile rank of 88 or above) will be moved on to Stage 2. 

    Stage 2:  Committee Review of Data
    Students who are identified during Stage 1 will be brought to the ASPIRE committee for further consideration. The ASPIRE committee is composed of the school principal, school psychologist, classroom teachers, and a minimum of one ASPIRE teacher.  Data points will be reviewed and points awarded as follows: 

    • Link-It Form C ELA (Exceeding) - 1 pt

    • Link-It Form C Math (Exceeding) - 1 pt

    • F&P Reading Level (above grade level in June) - 1 pt

    • Go Math End of Year Assessment (90% or higher) - 1 pt

    • CogAT (88th percentile or above)  - 1 pt

    • Teacher rating scale (80% or above)-1 pt

    A minimum of 5 points must be earned to gain entry to ASPIRE.

     

    Stage 3:  Acceptance

    Placement will be based on point accumulation and committee review.  Parents will be notified in writing of acceptance into the ASPIRE program by July 1. 

     

    Appeal Process:  If families feel their student was not identified appropriately through the selection process, they may appeal to the school principal. The parent must submit a written statement explaining why he or she feels their child should be granted admittance in the Gifted and Talented Education program. In addition the student may be asked to submit a portfolio of work.  A meeting will be held between the parents, classroom teacher, enrichment teacher, principal and school psychologist to discuss and review student performance. 

    Each appeal portfolio requires a cover letter explaining and detailing the reason for the appeal. Portfolio may include:

    • Outside testing results conducted at parents' expense, such as an ability, achievement, or aptitude test from a licensed school psychologist or psychologist in a private practice, administered in the last 24 months

      • Wechsler Scale-WISC, WAIS,WPPSI

      • Woodcock-Johnson Cognitive Test

      • Stanford Binet

      • Kaufman Intelligence Test

    • Student work samples, which must be examples of work done independently without any assistance, and could include copies of artwork, original stories, projects or performance assessments, not to exceed five items.


    Continued Matriculation: Once identified as meeting the criteria of Gifted and Talented, students are automatically matriculated each year to remain in the program.  

    Move in students: If a student moves into Haworth and he or she was in the Gifted and Talented program in their previous district, their profile will be considered for acceptance into the ASPIRE program. Move-in students fourth grade and up will be given the opportunity to take the CogAT.