Virginia Beach City Public Schools (VBCPS) offers gifted education services at all levels through a combination of school-based options and division wide programs. Through a variety of experiences, gifted students engage in rigorous learning opportunities through differentiated instruction that is responsive to the academic, social and emotional needs of the student.
VBCPS identifies giftedness in the following areas:
General intellectual aptitude (GIA): Such students demonstrate superior reasoning; persistent intellectual curiosity; advanced use of language; exceptional problem solving; rapid acquisition and mastery of facts, concepts, and principles; and creative and imaginative expression across a broad range of intellectual disciplines beyond their age-level peers. Such students demonstrate the potential to be successful in a rigorous general intellectual gifted aptitude program.
Visual or performing arts aptitude: Such students demonstrate superior creative reasoning, imaginative expression, persistent artistic curiosity, advanced acquisition and mastery of techniques, concepts, and principles beyond their age-level peers. Such students demonstrate the potential to be successful in a rigorous visual or performing arts aptitude program.
In alignment to Virginia Code 8VAC20-40-60A.1, VBCPS does not use any single criterion to deny or guarantee eligibility for gifted education services.
Middle School Gifted Resource-Cluster Program (Grades 6-8)
Students identified as intellectually gifted in grades six through eight receive services through the gifted resource-cluster program in their comprehensive neighborhood school. The gifted resource-cluster model provides differentiated instructional and curricular experiences with gifted cluster teachers who work with gifted-identified students and a GRT.
Students have the opportunity to take advanced classes in English, science, and mathematics and may begin a foreign language. The pace in advanced and/or gifted cluster classes is rapid, with students exploring subjects in greater depth, with additional intensity, and through a conceptual lens. Successful completion of advanced courses in middle school enables students to take advanced classes in high school, whether as part of advanced placement coursework or at one of the high school's advanced academic or academy programs.
Old Donation School (Grades 6-8)
Old Donation School (ODS) is a school that houses an intellectually gifted program in grades 6-8 for gifted learners who demonstrate advanced levels of performance and evidence of potential to be successful in a rigorous learning environment where the core curriculum and pacing provided are compacted and accelerated. Limited seats are available; therefore, enrollment at ODS is application-based. No single criterion determines an applicant's rating, and there is no guarantee a specific rating will result in a student being selected to attend ODS.
Curriculum and instruction encompass all objectives found in the Virginia Standards of Learning, expanding and extending specifically to meet the needs of gifted learners. The content of the courses is compacted and extended so students are not only accelerated but are also covering material in more depth, when appropriate. More information can be found on the ODS school website.
Gifted Dance Program (Grades 6-8)
Admission into the Gifted Visual Arts Program is determined through an application process. The Gifted Visual Arts and Gifted Dance Education Application Management System begins accepting applications in the fall of each year, and the deadlines for submission will be posted on https://danceandartapplication.vbcps.com and on www.VBSchools.com.
Education in the art of dance teaches kinesthetic learners how to access knowledge through movement. Creative thinking, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills are taught using our collaborative and innovative process which can transfer to other areas of academic curricula. Students participate in in-depth performance units taking on Roles of the Discipline as choreographer, producer, designer, and collaborator. Students learn, rehearse, and perform works choreographed for them by professional guest artists, by the dance instructors, as well as by themselves. Physical skill development is nurtured as well as knowledge of dance theory, history, performance, presentation, and critical thinking using creative and collaborative tools.
Identified students attend ODS in lieu of their home school one-day-per-week for instruction and activities designed to develop their potential in dance. Transportation to and from the one-day-per-week program to ODS is provided using assigned bus stops in the student’s neighborhood.
Gifted Visual Arts Program (Grades 6-8)
Admission into the Gifted Visual Arts Program is determined through an application process. The Gifted Visual Arts and Gifted Dance Education Application Management System begins accepting applications in the fall of each year, and the deadlines for submission will be posted on https://danceandartapplication.vbcps.com and on www.VBSchools.com.
The Gifted Visual Arts Program curriculum integrates aesthetic perception, creativity, and skill development through visual arts objectives. Each nine-week unit takes a conceptual look at art related to two-Dimensional art, three-Dimensional art, color, and innovation in the arts. Students create art with meaning that involves the understanding of the theories of art, including design concepts, as well as art history, appreciation, and criticism.
The middle school Gifted Visual Arts Program is housed at Virginia Beach Middle School (VBMS). Identified gifted visual arts students in grades six through eight attend VBMS as full-time students. The Gifted Visual Arts Program is incorporated within the middle school daily schedule. Transportation to and from VBMS is provided using assigned bus stops in the student’s neighborhood.