Cold Spring School

All qualified K-6 students are eligible for participation in the Cold Spring GATE program.  Multiple measures are used to identify GATE students. Formal identification takes place in grades four to six through the use of assessments in intellectual ability and high achievement based on the Cognitive Abilities Test, the CAT-6 achievement test, and the California Content Standards tests. Although students in kindergarten and grades one through three are not formally identified, the teachers annually evaluate the needs, interests, and abilities of all students in these grades to determine an appropriate educational program. Each student identified as high achieving, or who possesses the characteristics of a giftedness, is provided an appropriately modified program. The goals for these identified children are communicated to the parents early in the school year.

Students in grades four to six are formally identified each year. Parents are apprised of the application process, which is available to all students, as well as the criteria for identification through a parent information meeting held each year, through the weekly newsletter and by district mailings. Signed parent permission slips are kept with the students’ cumulative records. Students in grades four and six (transfer students may test in fifth grade) are tested each winter, and results are reviewed by a committee including the principal, the GATE coordinator, and teachers before formal identification takes place. Parents of students who participate in GATE testing are notified of the results.  Files are maintained within the cumulative records of identified students for progress reports, individual student goals, and student achievement records. Students remain identified for as long as they remain in our district.  Upon parent request, the district will provide identification information to a new district. Once formally identified as eligible for the GATE Program in the upper grades, a student remains identified throughout the program at Cold Spring School District and will be considered eligible for services if the student attends the Santa Barbara School District in the secondary grades.

Identification measures and criteria are evaluated on an annual basis, and attention is given to current practices and overall needs of gifted students in our district. All students are encouraged to take the test and accommodations are made for testing students whenever necessary.  Special testing situations are available for students of diverse cultural backgrounds who may qualify for GATE.  Whenever possible, students are given the opportunity to take the GATE test in their native languages.

Since our students feed into the Santa Barbara School District for junior and senior high school, we have chosen to align our identification criteria with theirs. Although students are identified in compliance with state requirements and in conformation with Santa Barbara Counties criteria, gifted and talented education is available to all students at Cold Spring who demonstrate the ability and high level of achievement necessary for participation.  Placement is based on the assessed needs of each individual student and is periodically reviewed.  Artistic and musical talent, leadership qualities, motivation and high academic achievement, are all considered when eligibility is determined.  Teachers receive training through in-service, professional development, and at faculty meetings, which enables them to recognize and serve gifted students, including transfer students, who have not yet been formally identified.  The GATE program is not limited to formally identified students, and all students are exposed to and benefit from many of the components of the program.

Criteria for Identification

Students may be identified for GATE based on intellectual ability or academic ability.  Students may meet the standard in one of the following ways:

Intellectual Ability

The student has a composite score on the Cognitive Abilities Test of 95th percentile or above.

OR

Two or more subscale scores, with one having to be non-verbal, on the CogAT in the 95th percentile or above.

Academic Achievement

The student has a composite score on the CogAT in the 93rd percentile and two subscale scores in the 93rd percentile or above, with one having to be a non-verbal score,

AND

a Scaled score of 451 in English/Language Arts or a 531 in math on the STAR Content Standards tests.

CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION

The Cold Spring School District has developed instructional models for acceleration and differentiation of curriculum that maximize the use of our limited resources and work within our small, one-school district of 195 students. The interests, abilities and learning needs of each child are considered in the design of the differentiated curriculum, which  is integrated into the core academic program and is part of daily instruction. Learning goals are communicated at the fall parent-teacher conferences and progress is evaluated and shared at regular reporting periods or more often if necessary.

In an effort to avoid redundancy and ensure that curriculum is developmentally appropriate for gifted students, curriculum is compacted and accelerated whenever possible.  Our teachers, with support from instructional aides, rely on cluster groupings to deliver accelerated curriculum in language arts and mathematics.  In language arts, the Accelerated Reader program and a wide variety of leveled reading books assists teachers as they track the progress of students in independent reading and
allows students to read at the appropriate level of challenge. Students are given challenging writing assignments, spelling words, and other projects that allow them to exceed state curriculum standards.  In mathematics, students who demonstrate mastery of grade level content standards are allowed to move at a faster pace, or to work on content materials at the a higher level. Teachers regularly assess students to determine content standard mastery and need for acceleration and
enrichment.

Depth and complexity are added to and aligned with the content standards in all subjects through a variety of modalities, including book clubs, in-depth literature response, simulations, open-ended science labs, problem solving activities, debates of ethical and socially relevant issues, drama, guest speakers from UCSB and Westmont, and math club.  For example, math clubs in the upper grades meet throughout the year to challenge students in high level problem solving and computation activities, and to prepare students for participation in a county wide Math Super Bowl.  One of many book clubs offered meets with the librarian over the course of several months to prepare for a county wide Battle of the Books.

Differentiated curriculum is taught with appropriate instructional models, including direct instruction, independent study and cooperative group projects.  Students are grouped for instruction in a variety of ways, including whole class directed lessons, small heterogeneous groupings, homogeneous ability groupings and independent study groups, depending on the project or lesson. Independent study projects enable students to pursue individual interests and nurture specific talents, once they have mastered the required curriculum. As the differentiated curriculum is directly aligned with the content standards, continuity and comprehensiveness of learning experiences are assured.

The Character Counts program and Positive Action Program provide students with direct instruction in behaviors that will result in success both academically and as members of the community and the world. It also provides the students with a context for ethical debate and positive choices. The student council offers leadership opportunities to students with talent in this area. Technology is integrated throughout the curriculum, and students are encouraged and provided with instruction in research skills and in the development of multimedia projects and presentations. The district will pilot Renzulli Learning during the 2006-7 school year as a research and independent study tool to assist teachers as they differentiate curriculum for gifted students.