Procedures Manual

Table of Contents

Kindergarten

Kindergarten students are not served at this time.

Grade 1-2 Primary Enrichment Program

For nomination of placement into the Primary Enrichment Class, first and second grade students may be assessed with specially designed activities conducted in the classroom. Another way students can be nominated is through discussions between the ELP teacher and the classroom teacher.

Nomination:

Students are nominated for the Enrichment Class through assessment activities and Characteristics of Giftedness Checklist (see ELP Filemaker paperwork) or through discussions with the classroom teacher. 

If using assessment activities, the screening will take place during the first semester.

Elementary Grade 3

Students eligible for the Extended Learning Program will have the opportunity to participate in enrichment and pull-out services. Student Plans will be developed annually outlining student interests.

Grade 3 Testing Dates and Times:

Within the 1st quarter of each school year the School District will schedule testing dates for the school year and will notify ELP teachers and school principals of these dates. Cognitive testing for every 3rd grade student in the district will occur 1st quarter. Any student who misses this date will have the opportunity to be tested during a district specified week in the fourth quarter. 

The ELP teacher will inform parents of test dates through at least one form of school-parent communication, such as PTA or school newsletter, teacher newsletters, school calendar, or school website. (See Initial Raven Letter or Second Round Raven Letter in ELP Filemaker paperwork.) The ELP facilitator will post the notification of the testing week on the school website and in the News Miner. All notices should be posted or sent to parents 2 weeks prior to the first day of testing.

Grade 3 Referral:

Students in grade 3 are not referred for initial testing as every 3rd grade student in the district, with the exception of students already identified as intensive resource, is given a cognitive evaluation during district specified testing times. See testing dates. If the student requires any additional testing based upon the results of the initial cognitive screening, then an Elementary Referral form must be sent home and signed before any further testing can take place.

To determine the need for further testing the ELP teacher will:

1. Send home an Elementary Referral for students who score in the 99 percentile as they are automatically recommended for further testing.
2. Discuss cognitive screening results of other students with the classroom teacher.
3. If further testing is recommended by the classroom teacher or by parents, you may ask that a Characteristics of Giftedness Checklist is completed or use this checklist as a guideline while discussing the referral with the classroom teacher.  This form is not, however, required.
4. Review and copy any relevant data from the student’s cumulative file or from PowerSchool.
5. Consider the need for an intervention team meeting on an individual basis.
6. Send the Elementary Referral form (see ELP Filemaker paperwork.) home to parents if further testing has been recommended. This must be signed and returned before any further testing can take place.

Grade 3 Testing:

Group cognitive testing will occur twice a year during the first and fourth quarters for all 3rd grade students. (See testing dates.)  The results are mailed home to parents as well as shared with the principal and appropriate classroom teachers.  No Matrix is required to be filled out for those students who receive no further testing for the Extended Learning Program. Students who have been referred for further testing will then be placed on the ELP teacher’s testing schedule after receiving a signed Elementary Referral (see ELP Filemaker paperwork) from a parent.

1. The ELP teacher will administer any achievement and/or cognitive testing the student requires.
2. The ELP teacher will complete the Eligibility Matrix (see ELP Filemaker paperwork) and notify parents of test results. If parent cannot meet with the ELP teacher, scores may be discussed over the phone. Make note of phone conversation at the bottom of the Eligibility Matrix and make sure you add the date. For DNQ students, this is the official DNQ date.
3. If a parent cannot be reached, the ELP teacher will mail a copy of all test results to the parent using “Return Receipt Requested”. Make sure to note on the Eligibility Matrix that the scores were mailed home and the date they were mailed. For DNQ students this is the official DNQ date.
4. ELP teacher will send a copy of all paperwork to the ELP facilitator. Both the Q and DNQ paperwork will then become accessible online in Powerschool or in Optix.  Because of scanning, please use white paper and black ink where possible. Paperwork for students being presented to the school review team should be sent after the review team determination.  Paperwork for students who qualify should not be sent until there is a parent signature on the Student Plan (see ELP Filemaker paperwork) actually placing the student in the program. The parent signature on this form gives permission for the student to be placed in ELP and the parent date is the date of placement.
5. For students who are eligible for the Extended Learning Program, the ELP teacher will place a copy of the Eligibility Matrix in the student’s cumulative file. See the school secretary for that procedure.

Elementary Grades 4-6

Grades 4 - 6 Testing Dates and Times:

Students in 4th through 6th grades are tested throughout the school year as referrals are made. ELP teachers will build a testing time into their schedules to allow for testing to take place in a timely fashion.

Grades 4 - 6 Referral:

Students in the 4th through 6th grades may be referred for testing at any time during the school year. Anyone (i.e. school staff, parent, student) may refer a student for ELP services by speaking directly to the ELP teacher. Parents are also encouraged to discuss a desire to refer their child with the child's classroom teacher.

ELP teacher will:

Grades 4 - 6 Testing:

Testing will occur as needed for all students referred for ELP testing in grades four through six.

Middle School

Students eligible for the Extended Learning Program will have the opportunity to participate in special GT classes designed for gifted students. Student Plans (see ELP Filemaker paperwork) will be developed outlining student interests.

Scheduling

Counselors will schedule students who are eligible for the Extended Learning Program before scheduling any students who have been recommended as invitational students.

Testing Dates and Times:

Cognitive testing for 7th and 8th grades will take place during the 1st and 4th quarters. (See testing dates.) A substitute teacher will be provided for the testing weeks upon request.

Within the first quarter of each school year:

• The School District will schedule testing dates for the school year and notify ELP teachers of the dates.
• The ELP teacher will inform parents of test dates through at least one form of school-parent communication, such as PTA or school newsletter, teacher newsletters, school calendar, or school website.

Referral:

Anyone (i.e. school staff, parent, student) may refer a student for ELP services by speaking directly to the ELP teacher. Parents are also encouraged to discuss a desire to refer their child with the child's classroom teacher.

ELP teacher will:

Testing:

• Testing will occur during a district specified week in the first quarter and again in the third quarter. (See testing dates)
• District achievement test scores from PowerSchool or from the cumulative file may be used as long as these scores are less than one year old. If scores are older, then the student must be given an achievement test (currently the WJ-III scored according to grade), or wait for achievement results from the current year’s district wide testing.
• The ELP teacher will complete the Eligibility Matrix (see ELP Filemaker paperwork) and notify parents of test results. If parent cannot or does not wish to meet with the ELP teacher, scores may be discussed over the phone. Make note of phone conversation on the bottom of the Eligibility Matrix and make sure you add the date. For DNQ students this is the DNQ date.
• If parent cannot be reached, ELP teacher will mail a copy of all test results to the parent using “Return Receipt Requested”. Make sure to note on the bottom of the Eligibility Matrix that the scores were mailed home and the date they were mailed. For DNQ students this is the DNQ date.
• ELP teacher will send a copy of all paperwork to the ELP facilitator. Both the Q and DNQ paperwork will then become accessible online in Powerschool or in Optix.  Because of scanning, please use white paper and black ink where possible. Paperwork for students being presented to the school review team should be sent after the review team determination.  Paperwork for students who qualify should not be sent until there is a parent signature on the Student Plan (see ELP Filemaker paperwork) actually placing the student in the program.
• For students who are eligible for the Extended Learning Program, the ELP teacher will place a copy of the Eligibility Matrix in the student’s cumulative file. See the school secretary for this procedure.

High School

The ELP facilitator may work with guidance counselors, teachers, and parents to accommodate schedule requests, including independent study options, and special topics as well as classroom modifications. There is no ELP testing in high school.

*Students who have a compacting or acceleration contract in a class are allowed to take the final exam for that course whenever they have mastered the material required on that final exam. This final exam may take place earlier than the posted, scheduled exam dates.

School Level Review Team

Review Team meetings may be called if a student has not met all of the eligibility requirements, but there are other indicators of the student’s need for gifted services. The school's Review Team should meet within 2 weeks after all testing has been completed and scores finalized.

Members

ELP teacher, student's current teacher(s), principal, and school psychologist. Others may be included as needed or as appropriate (i.e. counselor, ELP facilitator, speech-language or resource teacher, ANE or bilingual liaison, etc.).

Before the meeting the ELP teacher will:

During the meeting the ELP teacher will:

During the meeting, the discussion focuses on the child’s test scores, work and behaviors that give evidence of giftedness. The team will work for group consensus although unanimity is not required.

Following the meeting the ELP teacher will:

If the review team has determined that an IQ test is required for eligibility determination then the ELP teacher will:

Eligibility

The eligibility for grades 3-8 is determined as follows:

Eligibility is determined by a combination of cognitive and achievement scores calculated on the Eligibility Matrix (see ELP Filemaker paperwork.)

• Cognitive scores fall into five major categories: verbal, quantitative, nonverbal on the cognitive test based on age norms; Total Score/Percentile on the Raven; or full-scale on an IQ test.
• Achievement scores must be broad or composite scores based on grade level norms.
• A student who achieves a full-scale IQ score at or above the 95th percentile on the WISC IV or Stanford-Binet IQ tests is eligible without further academic testing. This is true even if the results are more than one year old.
• If the student is eligible, a Student Plan (see ELP Filemaker paperwork) will be developed. The parent must sign and date the initial Student Plan for student placement into the Extended Learning Program.
• Once a student is placed in ELP in the FNSBSD, the student remains eligible through 12th grade. This applies even to students who leave the district and later return.

Although multiple tests may be used to determine eligibility, when completing the Eligibility Matrix, scores from only one test may be placed in each section.  In other words a math score from the standardized assessments may not be combined with the broad reading score from the WJ III in order to gain enough points in the achievement section for eligibility.

Some unusual circumstances:

New Students

For students moving from another district where they were receiving gifted education services:

Invitational or Visiting Students

Students who do not qualify, but are highly referred by their teacher and demonstrate exceptionally high performance or unusual thinking skills may be invited to participate in ELP classes on a temporary basis. ELP teachers send home a letter of invitation (see Grades 3-8 Invitational Enrichment in ELP Filemaker paperwork.) Parents must sign and return this letter before a student can be allowed to participate in ELP on an invitational basis. This letter should be renewed each year the student is invited to receive services.

Transitions and In-District Transfer Students

Transition to Middle and High School

• The sending school's ELP teacher will bring the students' work files to the last ELP meeting of the school year and give them to the receiving school's ELP teacher. If the new school is unknown, the sending school should give the file to the ELP facilitator.
• The middle school ELP teacher should accompany middle school counselors to visit feeder elementary schools in the spring to meet with students transitioning to the middle school.

Moving to a new school at other times

Non-Returning Students

When a student does not return to a school in the fall, the ELP teacher sends the student's file to the ELP facilitator unless one of the following situations apply.

• Home schooled students’ files are kept at the transportation zone school the student would attend if not home schooled.
• Students who are out of district and will be returning to the same school at a future date.

Paperwork Filing

The Eligibility Matrix or the Alternative Pathways form will be stored in the student's cumulative file in the office. Check with the office secretary to determine procedures for putting papers in the cumulative files.

On the outside of the cumulative folder, write ELP.

The following paperwork will be stored in the ELP teacher's work file and a clean copy should be sent to the ELP facilitator:

• Elementary Referral or Middle School Referral Form
• Test protocols (keep until the end of the school year, then destroy them. Do not send to the ELP facilitator.)
• Test score sheets and scoring summaries used for determining placement for that student (i.e. CogAT Scoring Summary, Raven answer sheet, the WJ-III Compuscore, or the Torrance Scoring Summary.)
• Eligibility Matrix
• Alternative Pathways (if used.)
• IQ scores (if used.)
• Student Plan. Only the initial Student Plan with the dated parent signature for placement must be sent to the ELP facilitator. A student’s most recent Student Plan and the initial Student Plan with dated parent signature must remain in work file. Other Student Plans may be included.

All purged paperwork (i.e. old Student Plans, test protocols, or discarded copies or paperwork) must be shredded or otherwise destroyed. DO NOT throw confidential documents in the trash.

Student work files should be kept in a locked file cabinet. Files should not be taken home.

Non-participation

Students who have already been placed in the FNSBSD Extended Learning Program and do not participate for a period of time, for any reason, may again begin participating without retesting.

For students electing not to participate at the elementary level, mark the Student Plan “No services required at this time.” Send a copy of the Student Plan home to parents. Make sure parents approve that their child not receive services before making the change.

No change is required for students at middle school who are unable to attend the ELP class.

When a student returns to the program, a new Student Plan is written.

Student Plan

• Classroom consultation (ELP teacher checks on student progress in classroom on a regular basis. ELP teacher may consult with classroom teacher regarding classroom teaching strategies and curriculum.)
• Compacting (Classroom teacher compacts curriculum according to demonstrated student performance.)
• Content acceleration (Student works on content at a faster rate than grade-level expectations.)
• Differentiated instruction (Classroom teacher modifies classroom assignments.)
• Mentorship (Adult collaboration on project in specific talent/interest area.)

1. Acceleration will be beneficial to the student socially, emotionally, and academically; and
2. There is no other way to provide for the student's needs.

1. Before the meeting the ELP teacher reviews the available standardized and teacher made testing data to determine if further testing is needed before proceeding. If the student does not have a nationally normed achievement test (such as an IOWA test of basic skills, Terra Nova, California Achievement Test, Woodcock Johnson, etc.) then the ELP teacher may administer any or all sections of the WJ III required to obtain scores for: broad reading, broad math, broad written language, and reading vocabulary.
2. After all necessary test data has been collected, the ELP teacher will help to facilitate a meeting where the team uses the Iowa Acceleration Scale (IAS) as a tool to guide discussion and collect pertinent data. (IAS forms can be obtained from the ELP facilitator.)
3. The principal is responsible for making the final decision regarding placement based upon the input from the acceleration team.
4. If acceleration is selected, the plan should incorporate:
   • a receiving teacher who is accepting of the accelerated student
   • support for the receiving teacher
   • a plan for an easy transition for the student to return to the age-appropriate grade level if the acceleration is unsuccessful.
5. If acceleration is not selected then a plan should be made to meet the needs of the student at the present grade.
   • The plan may, but does not have to include, single subject acceleration and/or enrichment activities.

• CogAT scores are based on age-level norms.
• Required for all students tested in grade 4 through grade 8.
• May be administered to 3rd grade students who were not eligible after the school-wide administration of Raven’s Standard Progressive Matrices, but have at least 3 points in achievement on the Eligibility Matrix.

• Required for all students tested in grade 3 group testing.
• May be used for further information for Review when testing grades 4 through 6.

• Required for all students if available.

• SBS scores are not available.
• Existing achievement scores are too low.
• If more achievement information is needed to determine eligibility.

• Test 1: Letter-Word Identification
• Test 2: Reading Fluency
• Test 9: Passage Comprehension

2. To get a broad writing score use the following three subtests:

• Test 7: Spelling
• Test 8: Writing Fluency
• Test 11: Writing Samples

• Test 5: Calculation
• Test 6: Math Fluency
• Test 10: Applied Problems

• Academic Knowledge

• Torrance Test of Creativity (if needed). Send to the ELP facilitator for scoring.

• Other WJ-III Broad Achievement batteries may be administered as necessary.
• Stanford-Binet or WISC IV (administered by school psychologist).