A
new enrichment program designed to challenge highly capable students in
reading and science will begin in September for first and second
graders and expand to serve kindergartners by late fall.
Parents
and guardians of students who will enter first or second grade this
fall are encouraged to apply by April 30 to have their children tested
this spring for the new “Young Scholars” highly capable enrichment
program.
Applications
are available in all district elementary schools and on the school
district website at www.puyallup.k12.wa.us. On the Home page, point to
the Programs tab and click Highly Capable.
Parents
of incoming kindergartners do not need to apply yet for the program.
Kindergartners will be observed and identified for the new enrichment
program after school starts and begin the program by late fall.
The
Puyallup School District already offers challenging instructional
programs with specially designed curriculum and instruction for highly
capable students in grades three through nine, as well as rigorous
Advanced Placement courses at the high school.
Recent
changes in state law, however, require that all school districts
provide services for identified highly capable students in kindergarten
through grade 12.
At
the high school level, Puyallup has added specialized counseling for
highly capable students in grades 10-12 at registration. The counseling
is designed to educate students and their families about classes and
career pathways that best meet their needs.
In
addition, a team of parents, students, community members, and educators
will begin meeting next month to study rigorous academic program
options for students in grades 10 through 12.
K-2 enrichment program
Students
identified as highly capable will leave their classrooms at each of the
district’s 21 elementary schools for two hours each week to receive
more challenging reading and science lessons.
The
students will remain at their same schools and meet in small groups in
available space identified on each campus, said Director of
Instructional Leadership Mark Vetter.
“They
will have an opportunity to work with intellectual peers in a rigorous
environment of discovery and exploration,” Vetter said.
Educators
trained to teach highly capable students will develop lessons for
students, and paraeducators (teaching assistants) will be trained to
present the curriculum, he said.
Woodland Elementary second-grade teacher Andrea DeBruler is excited about the new offering.
“Highly
capable learners thrive on challenge and opportunities to work with
other students who demonstrate similar gifts and talents,” she said.
“And all students benefit from instruction that is tailored to meet
their individual needs.”
Multiple criteria will be used to determine which students will be accepted into the Young Scholars program.
Criteria
will include a cognitive abilities test that challenges students to
think and reason with words, numbers, and shapes. A reading
comprehension test, a writing assessment, various school assessments,
and teacher and parent observations will also be considered, said Nancy
Velazquez, coordinator of the district’s highly capable programs.
A
screening committee of psychologists, teachers who work in the
district’s highly capable student programs, and administrators will
review the data and select participants, Vetter said.

Student names will not be visible to screeners during the selection process to maintain anonymity, he said.
In
addition to the Young Scholars enrichment program, schools will
continue to have the option of accelerating highly capable students into
upper grade-level classrooms as appropriate for reading and math, as
well as clustering them all day in a mixed-ability classroom.
When
students are clustered all day in a mixed-ability classroom, the
teacher is trained to present lessons to a diverse student population,
including highly capable learners, Vetter said. This practice has
already been occurring in some second-grade classrooms in the district.
As
the new K-2 enrichment program gets under way, the district will
continue to offer the Quality Experiences to Stimulate Thinking (QUEST)
program at eight regional school sites for highly capable students in
grades three through six.
Junior high and high school
Efforts
will be intensified throughout the school district to counsel and
encourage students who are above standard academically to enroll in
challenging junior high and high school courses, Vetter said.
Ninth
graders who meet required course prerequisites will also be allowed to
enroll in advanced math or world language classes when feasible at the
high school in their geographic region. The district will provide
transportation for those students to their area high school.
The
district will continue to offer the Puyallup Accelerated and Gifted
Education (PAGE) program at Kalles Junior High for highly capable
students identified districtwide in grades seven through nine.
Additionally,
all high school students who meet course requirements will continue to
be encouraged to take rigorous classes such as Advanced Placement and
those that offer dual high school and college credit, Vetter said.
Exploring high school rigor
A
team of parents, community members, students, and educators has been
formed to explore “highly rigorous academic program options” for grades
10-12 as an alternative to the traditional comprehensive high school
experience, said Brian Lowney, chief academic officer of Regional
Learning Community #3.
The
High School Academic Program Options Lead Team is expected to begin
meeting in May and plans to submit a report with recommendations to the
school board in early October for possible new program implementation in
fall 2015.
The
district spent time earlier this year exploring the idea of opening an
international school for grades 10-12 on the Edgemont Junior High
campus. This work will continue with the recent formation of the lead
team to examine all rigorous academic program options, Lowney said.
A
separate study group made up of junior high and high school educators
is also exploring the possibility of initiating an International
Baccalaureate (IB) program in this district. The educators have already
toured several Washington schools that offer the international education
program and attended an IB training workshop.
“The
goal in all of our efforts is to give each child in kindergarten
through grade 12 every opportunity to grow and learn at the highest
level,” Vetter said.