Gifted Education

This course allows students to pursue self-initiated, academically advanced study projects in their identified special interest areas. Students identify a problem, conduct an investigation, and present their findings for evaluation. Participants may be scheduled one bell a day in their home school to work on their projects or all activity on the project may take place outside of the regular school hours. Interested students must obtain the required forms from the gifted resource teacher. The application requires students to support the interest in the project with very specific data, to find a sponsor, teacher, or mentor knowledgeable in the field of study, and to maintain a detailed time log. A minimum of seventy hours work must be documented in order to obtain credit for the course. The principal must review and sign the proposal, indicating understanding and support of the Independent Study prior to the student beginning work.

This program utilizes an interdisciplinary approach where students will learn to research, assimilate, and respond through individual and group work. The instructional focus will require students to think critically about social, political, economic, and environmental issues of our day. This class is offered at each high school, is taught by the gifted resource teacher, and is in an online, blended format.

The SPARKS course will allow selected students to participate in a course designed to encourage the discovery and discussion of new and invigorating ideas, the development of critical thinking skills, and synthesis of complex issues. The course is offered in an online, blended format, allowing students to research and discuss selected topics. Instructional approaches are varied and student-centered. Online and face-to-face discussions will encourage students to make connections and explore relationships among different disciplines. All Think Tank for Super Thinkers and SPARKS classes are offered at the individual high school and the gifted resource teacher is the instructor for those courses. Credit for semester courses is awarded upon the successful completion of each course. In the blended format, students meet in an online environment as well as in the classroom setting to fulfill the 70-hour course requirements. Students may take a Think Tank for Super Thinkers or SPARKS class only once each year