Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Working on a High School

Hello all,
I need informational resources. I'm working on creating a Charter High School. While it's not going to be specifically geared towards gifted students, I want to be absolutely sure I take their needs into account.

Having two gifted children and being gifted myself, I am well aware of the strategies, such a clustering and differentiation, that are considered good curriculum tactics to include the gifted. What I need from anyone who knows, are clear examples of High Schools that have implemented gifted strategies successfully, or that have implemented other strategies and found them to work. Charters get approved much more easily if there are exemplary curriculums out there already using the strategies you propose.

Thank you for reading this.:) I look forward to the suggestions.

"A Nation Deceived" is a great place to find out what works and doesn't work in terms of options for acceleration in meeting the needs of gifted children.

http://www.accelerationinstitute.org/nation_deceived/

Since high schools typically offer classes at various levels of difficulty, for example advanced placement, honors, and "college-prep", I think they do a better job of serving gifted children than middle schools such as mine, which has no grouping for any subject except math. That's part of the "middle school philosophy". When I went to junior high school, academic subjects had grouping from grade 7 on.

You might find this of interest. I know that it is not exactly what you've asked for, but it is an interesting scheme. It also speaks to Bostonian's comment, that it can be much more challenging to get a "best fit" for gifted kids in middle school (and elementary school).

http://covingtonlatin.org/view/home/about-us.aspx

"The School's commitment to acceleration, allows advanced fifth, sixth and seventh grade students the opportunity to begin their high school career. For many of these students, acceleration offers a more challenging and rewarding educational experience than a regular grade process.

Admitted students completing their fifth grade year may enter into the Prep year, which is a combined seventh and eighth grade year. Admitted students completing seventh grade may enter into the Freshman year, also known as Form I. Admitted students completing sixth grade, however, have the option of entering into either the Prep or Freshman year based on a joint determination between CLS and families as to whether students should accelerate one or two years."

I think that as long as you've looked carefully at "what NOT to do" then you're already leagues ahead of where most current high schools are:

• DO NOT use GT students as "unofficial Teaching Assistants" in advanced coursework and think that this means that you're serving all of the students in those courses that much better... sure, GT students in mainstreamed/integrated classrooms are "good" for other students-- but don't lose sight of the fact that someone should be doing good FOR those students, too,
• Don't buy into 'enrichment' strategies in a class intended to serve struggling and average learners as making such a class suitable for GT students. It doesn't, and putting lipstick on that pig still doesn't make it anything but a pig. Throwing GT students extra work doesn't make the class better for them, and it serves to isolate them from the rest of the class.
• differentiate MATERIALS and INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES to make GT coursework truly meaningful for gifted learners. There's only so much "depth" to be had from 'basic' or basal reader selections and in basic math textbooks, if you see what I mean.

There's been a very strong trend in mixed-ability high schools toward DE-grouping by ability-- with this (IMO, misguided) notion that with good "enrichment and in-class differentiation strategies," such classrooms really CAN serve all of the learners in them-- from the struggling students with slow processing speeds to the PG students seated next to them.

That's just mind-boggling, when you consider it. There is no way that conventional direct instruction aimed at forty kids can possibly be "appropriate" for both of those students, given their very real (and very different) needs.

If you offer instruction that is meaningful for the one, you have come up with a solution which is meaningless and frustrating for the other.

Thanks for the feedback.:)