Our district pullout gifted program is 3 hrs/week. Each teacher administers the program differently, but mostly it's enrichment rather than acceleration. They participate in competitions like Continental Math or Knowledge Bowl and essay contests. They do the Stock Market Game, quiz bowl, chess tournament, theater per formances, research topics for papers, field trips and guest speakers (museum outreach programs). There is an elementary school with a large population of gifted students (so that they have 2 full-time gifted teachers--maybe 50 kids?--doing the pull-out program). Everyone loves that.
BUT it's like a "club" there--seems elitist. An older friend of mine asked, "wouldn't every child enjoy and benefit from participating in those activites?" I agree. My kids don't participate in the pull-out because they're in the self-contained class. They participate in some of the activities of the pull-out that are for the entire district gifted students, but mostly it's in class accelerated material.
Another teacher who I always thought was mediocre who administers the pull out program at our school I now realize focusses on accelerated subject material rather than all the enrichment--guess she's actually better in my mind.
