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1. Program Design

How does the district provide a flexible system of program options that delivers a continuum of appropriate curricular and instructional services to gifted learners through its administrative structures and related services? These are based on student needs, interests, and abilities. Please provide a detailed summary of your plan.

Statement of Philosophy

The Roseville Joint Union High School District GATE Program shall enrich and challenge gifted students through courses, enrichment opportunities and differentiated curriculum.

Goals

The goals of the Roseville Joint Union High School District GATE Program shall be to provide:

1. Training opportunities for staff working with GATE students.
2. Procedures for identification for GATE students.
3. Enrichment materials and activities GATE students.
4. Access to local resources to help serve the GATE population.
5. Avenues for parent communication and education.
6. Avenues for student input.

Program Design

The Roseville Joint Union High School District GATE program provides specific program options and activities for high achieving and underachieving pupils who are identified as gifted and talented. Roseville Joint Union High School District serves 2185 GATE students at all 7 schools within the district including Independence High School (independent study for individual and accelerated learning), Adelante High School (continuation) and Success High School (opportunity). The District also works closely with the feeder districts on the transfer of incoming GATE student names.

Administrative grouping of services include serving students through advanced placement and honors courses, on-site college courses, special events such as Academic Decathlon, study trips, individual projects, internships, mentoring, academy participation and visual and performing arts performances. Students of all ages are served both during the regular school day in advanced placement, honors, college courses, and visual and performing arts classes as well as extension activities such as clubs, student government/leadership opportunities, dramatic/musical performances, academic competitions, and study trips held after school and during the evening.

The management of the GATE program centers on site GATE Coordinators from each comprehensive and alternative high school. These individuals attend specific conferences and training that relates to the gifted and talented students they work with and receive stipends for their duties. In addition, a District GATE Coordinator with recent training in Gifted and Talented Education oversees administrative activities including financial, compliance and assessment activities. A part-time clerk provides administrative support for the program.

GATE Coordinators meet on a monthly basis during the school year. Each year, several Coordinator Meetings are also attended by parents and administrators to help provide input regarding program and finance.

Students and parents receive guidance information through the school program-planning guide, individual/group counseling sessions, and evening meetings/presentations on GATE activities. Written information regarding academic opportunities, counseling, and school events are mailed to all students by the individual schools. As the District website structure is modified, opportunities to include GATE information will be added. Currently, individual schools and departments maintain their own web sites and include this information as appropriate. In addition, a district GATE newsletter is mailed to all GATE families. This newsletter includes site GATE activities, college and career information, and parent activities.

Articulation with feeder elementary districts include: on-site visits, registration meetings, evening open houses such as Showcase and High School on the Hill, invitations to Honors/AP Parent Meetings, sharing of newsletters/brochures, and vertical curricular teaming with the Dry Creek District.

Counselors work with students by developing 4-year plans, attending special events such as Showcase and Honors/AP Parent Meetings, and conducting student registration twice each year for schools on the 4 x 4 schedule, (2 times each year for other sites). Although students may request to see a counselor at any time, a specific schedule of meetings has been developed including family, group, and individual appointments.

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2. Identification

How does your district develop identification procedures that are equitable and comprehensive, and does it reflect the definition of giftedness and its relationship with current state criteria? Please provide detailed information. Which of the following categories will the district use in identifying gifted and talented students?

__X__ Intellectual Ability (required)

__X__ Leadership Ability

__X__ Creative Ability

__X__ High Achievement

__X__ Specific Academic Ability

__X__ Performing and Visual Arts

_____ Other (please describe):

Identification of GATE students begins with the classroom teachers, with self and family referrals also considered. Training on characteristics and identification for gifted and talented students is shared at the department level by site GATE Coordinators. These individuals provide referral information and forms to site teachers in all subject areas. Individual teachers may also request a recommendation form from the site GATE Coordinator. The requesting teacher completes the form including a description of tangible evidence of high achievements and comments supporting recommendation for GATE placement. Evidence may include student test scores, portfolio/work samples, and teacher observation notes. The recommendation form is reviewed by the Site GATE Committee and then brought to the District GATE Committee. If approved by the District GATE Committee, the District GATE Coordinator mails notification/permission letters to parents of recommended students. Upon receipt of permission slip, the student is added to the District GATE list by site Student Services Clerk.

This process, implemented in the 2000-01 school year has resulted in additional students being identified and added to the list of GATE students. These students have included individuals from underrepresented groups and those participating in alternative education programs.

Once identified, students remain in the GATE program during their high school years. Student experiences vary each year, based on course schedule, student interest, and activities/opportunities available at that time.

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3. Curriculum and Instruction

How does your district develop curriculum and instructional models that provide both differentiated curriculum and instruction on an ongoing basis, which include measures of student outcomes.

GATE students receive differentiated curriculum by course and within course. Honors and Advanced Placement courses follow the approved curricular guidelines set up by College Board and established District curriculum. These courses provide students with a more accelerated, rigorous course of study than general coursework. The Honors and Advanced Placement courses offered by the Roseville Joint Union High School District include:

Honors:

Honors Algebra 2 AP Art History

Honors Chemistry AP Biology

Honors English 11 AP Calculus

Honors Geometry AP Calculus AB

Honors Physics AP Calculus BC

Honors Pre-Calculus AP Chemistry

Advanced Placement:

AP English Language & Composition

AP Environmental Science

AP European History

AP Spanish

AP French

AP Literature & Composition

AP Macroeconomics

AP Statistics

AP U.S. History

AP Studio Art

AP U.S. Government & Economics

These courses include sequences within content areas and include: teaching strategies to engage gifted students such as group/individual research, concept analysis, deduction, and independent study. Differentiation within courses allows students the opportunity to have self-selected projects, use a variety of technology and conduct advanced research activities.

Computers and other technology are integrated into the program through class and individual use of labs and media centers. Technology is integrated into the 9th grade program to help develop the skills needed for future classes. Programs such as Skills Tutor, Choices, ECOS, Plato and AIMS Multi-media help students investigate areas of interest and skills to help customize their education. Students use technology for presentations, research, product preparation, artistic design, and on-line communication.

Teachers use a variety of assessment tools such as of rubrics, performances, tests, and student products. Through continued training, these materials are modified and refined to more closely match the standards and student outcomes.

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4. Social and Emotional Development

How does your district establish and implement plans to support the social and emotional development of gifted learners to increase responsibility, self-awareness, and other issues of affective development?

The social and emotional development of gifted learners is met through the support of teachers, counselors, and administration. Counseling services include 8th grade family counseling both in groups and individual appointments. This meeting is intended to give students information to assist with a seamless transition from middle school to high school. Freshmen work with their counselor to develop a four-year plan as well as an introduction to counseling services and career planning. Sophomores participate in transcript analysis and update their four-year plan. Juniors meet in groups to have more in depth review of transcripts and review post-secondary options. Seniors are each seen individually in the fall to finalize post-graduation plans, help identify any deficiencies.

Students may request a counseling meeting at anytime. Counselors are trained to work with the emotional problems of adolescents and utilize referrals to community agencies as appropriate.

College and career information is available through the counseling department, Career Centers, and at special activities such as College and Career Nights, Showcase, High School on the Hill, Back to School Night, and Financial Aide Night. Students may also participate in internships as part of the many Small Learning Communities within the District. Future GATE activities relating to college and career information include using successful graduates as part of college and career panels.

GATE students receive information from peer counselors. Many GATE students also serve as Peer Counselors and middle school mentors. Students may participate in conflict mediation, anger management, and intervention counseling activities. In addition, Peer Counselors from comprehensive sites (GBHS) and alternative sites (AHS) participate in collaborative activities targeting affective development.

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5. Professional Development

What policy does your district have regarding in-service opportunities available to administrators, teachers and support staff who work with gifted learners with expectations for their attendance? What in-service opportunities are available?

Administrators, teachers, and support staff receive professional development information from their site as well as from the district. Inservice needs are discussed at site council, design team, department coordinator, and school-to-career meetings. In addition, Site GATE Coordinators share information on inservice opportunities with staff members.

Teachers attending inservice activities using GATE funds complete a Professional Development Report, which includes an evaluation of the activity and future application of knowledge gained. Information is also shared with site instructors through faculty meeting presentations and department-specific sharing.

New and experienced staff participate in workshops as appropriate for their subject area such as the Jane Shaffer writing training. Schools also use the “trainer of trainers” model to disseminate information from staff development/conferences. Teachers teaching Honors and Advanced Placement courses are all credentialed in their specific areas and many have advanced degrees. These teachers attend specialized Advance Placement workshops to better work with high achieving GATE students.

Other inservice activities use SB 1882, Eisenhower, Digital High School, Small Learning Communities and Carl Perkins funds. The collaborative use of funds allows for more GATE funding to be used directly for students.

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6. Parent and Community Involvement

How does your district regularly encourage family and community participation in services designed for gifted and talented students?

Comprehensive sites held special evening events prior to registration to discuss class options for GATE students. Presentations by the GATE Coordinators, Counselors, and GATE Teachers helped parents and students learn more about courses, college requirements, and the GATE program at their schools. Alternative education sites share information with parents through counseling sessions, career fairs and other activities which suit the needs of their populations. Site meetings with GATE teachers and parents are held either independently, or in conjunction with, Site Council and/or Design Team meetings. Parents also attend the District GATE Coordinator meetings to provide input on the GATE program including the district plan and budget. The district GATE plan is included in the Board approval process which includes the public posting of agenda items.

This year, a GATE Survey was distributed at all parents attending the evening GATE activities and mailed home to GATE families. This survey was also sent home with GATE students. Questions about the financial needs, services requested, and extra curricular activities of the students were included. Comments and an invitation to participate in the site/district committee were also solicited. These surveys were reviewed by each site and the information was used in planning both site and District GATE activities. The success of this survey has generated a student survey/evaluation of GATE services to be disseminated in June.

Information is shared with parents through the Roseville Joint Union High School District GATE Newsletter. This newsletter, mailed to every GATE family in the District gives an update of GATE activities at each site, as well as college/career information and special opportunities for parents. Information sent to the District Coordinator from California Association of the Gifted is directed to each Site GATE Coordinator and included in the newsletter for parents. Site newsletters include information regarding counseling and special events that may be of interest to GATE families.

For the first time, a letter describing GATE services and opportunities was sent to the feeder schools for distribution to incoming 8th grade students entering the Roseville Joint Union High School District in 2002. An invitation to the evening GATE information events held at each site, information on extra curricular activities and college/career contacts were included in this letter to allow for a more seamless transition to high school.

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7. Program Assessment

How does your district design and implement a systematic evaluation of the value and impact of the programs and educational services that are provided for gifted students?

Parent and student GATE Surveys are used to provide input regarding the needs and effectiveness of the GATE program. Each Site Coordinator creates an end-of-year report with input from the GATE teachers at his/her school. This report reviews the services offered, use of funds, outcomes achieved and areas for improvement for the next year.

Additional evaluation includes teacher review of the results of standardized testing including the CAHSEE, STAR, Golden State and SAT tests. Advanced Placement data is reviewed by teachers and administration with 69% of District students receiving a score of 3 or more on Advanced Placement Tests in the 2001 school year. Site Coordinators also meet monthly to share site activities and successful practices. This group helps develop, support, review, and evaluate of GATE programs.

The newly formed Continuous Improvement Leadership Team will be reviewing a variety of assessment data. Performance data will be reviewed by the District Subject Area Coordinator Teams with an initial focus on English and math. As the feedback from these groups is made available, GATE Coordinators and teachers will be able to review subject area performance as it relates to GATE students.

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8. Budgets

How does your district formulate budgets which ensure an articulated program for gifted learners that meets or exceeds the state standards for gifted education?

Starting in the 2002-03 school year, funds will be allocated to sites based on ADA with a minimum base level being established for the alternative sites. Each site has the autonomy to use GATE funding to best meet the needs of their students. Teachers use a Proposal for Expenditure Form to justify all GATE expenditures. GATE funds supplement programs such as study trip expenses, supplemental books and materials for courses, staff training, and student scholarships for enrichment activities. Funds are coordinated with a variety of funding sources to allow more effective uses. Examples of this collaboration are the purchase of specialized technology using a combination of GATE and Carl Perkins funding at Oakmont High School. The expenditures from the Roseville Joint Union High School District have resulted in minimal carryover funds.

The Roseville Joint Union High School District provides support through a part time District Coordinator and District Clerk.

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