Individual Subject and Grade Level Acceleration

Individual subject and grade level acceleration provides students with highly advanced skills the opportunity to skip a grade in a specific subject or to skip a whole grade in order to access appropriately challenging learning opportunities. The procedures for subject-specific and grade-level acceleration are as follows:

• Elementary school students will initially be considered for acceleration through the D428 MTSS (Multi-tiered Systems of Support) process. As part of the MTSS process, student data is systematically reviewed during regularly scheduled data team meetings. This process facilitates a continuous review of student progress, which in turn fosters an accelerated program identification approach that is responsive to student need. Students may be referred for acceleration consideration through a data team, or by a request from a principal, teacher, other educational staff, or parent or guardian.

• Secondary school students will initially be considered for accelerated services through referrals from PLT/grade-level/content data team meetings or the classroom teacher, who has in-depth knowledge and understanding of a student’s abilities. Principals, other educational staff, parents or guardians, or the student themselves may also nominate students for identification.

• A student learning profile for students who have been referred for subject-specific or grade-level acceleration will be compiled by building-level teams with support from the Curriculum and Instruction department. The student learning profile will include indicators of academic skills, ability, and social-emotional skills. Additional information may be gathered through assessments (objective norm-referenced assessments of academic and/or cognitive ability), inventories, checklists, classroom data, and/or anecdotal information. Using a wide variety of assessments will allow the school team to make determinations to meet the needs of gifted and talented students. Any assessments that are used as part of the evaluation process will be appropriate given the needs of the student and will include any accommodations to which a student is entitled.

• After the student learning profile is compiled, parents or guardians will be invited to a feedback conference with the school team. Members of the school team and the principal will review the assessment results, and give parents a written summary of the student learning profile.

• The decision about accelerated placement will be made by the school team.

• The progress of students who are accelerated will be monitored to ensure that the placement is a good fit for the student.