The federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act defines gifted and talented students as “Students, children, or youth who give evidence of high achievement capability in areas such as intellectual, creative, artistic, or leadership capacity, or in specific academic fields, and who need services and activities not ordinarily provided by the school in order to fully develop those capabilities.” [Title IX, Part A, Definition 22. (2002)].
 
Gifted Education then may be best defined as the continuum of programs, services and interventions designed to meet these distinct academic needs. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, these services will provide the following opportunities: acceleration, enrichment, and individualization in which instruction is matched specifically to the student’s achievement, ability, and interests.

.5 Credit      1.01 Weight

.5 Credit      1.01 Weight

.5 Credit      1.01 Weight

Prerequisite(s):  Available to students in the Special Interest program

This course enables gifted students to collaborate with the gifted support teacher to customize their educational experiences. Students may design the course to align with their academic strengths and interests to help them fulfill GIEP goals. The course encourages the development of transferable skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, creativity, communication, leadership, and project management. This personalized-learning curriculum may include completing in-depth studies and/or projects that may culminate in presentation, publication, competition, original products, or solutions to real-world problems. The student and teacher develop plans, timelines, and benchmarks for evaluation.