Huntersville Elementary Talent Development: Differentiated Education Plan (DEP) Informational Meeting Welcome families of TD-certified students! Please Sign In September 10, 2015

Huntersville TD Contact Info: Mrs. Sabrina Walters, Talent Development Teacher

TD Catalyst Teacher Responsibilities Provides professional development for staff on instructional best practices in gifted education Models best teaching practices Utilizes collaboration and consultation skills to implement the TD Catalyst Model Provides assignments, activities, contracts, and other learning opportunities to assist teachers in differentiating curriculum

The Catalyst Model “Gifted learners are gifted all the time” – Mary S. Landrum Therefore, gifted education is not an add on for ninety minutes a week. The focus of the Catalyst Model is to differentiate instruction for the gifted and high performing students. An organizational delivery model in which the TD teacher and the classroom teacher(s) work collaboratively to meet the needs of gifted and high ability learners.

So how does the Catalyst Model work? The classroom teacher and Talent Development teacher share responsibility for the education of gifted students The TD teacher provides lessons and activities for teachers to use in the heterogeneous classroom AND/OR teaches students directly The TD teacher provides enrichment and acceleration for students who have shown mastery of objectives being taught in the regular classroom through direct or indirect instruction

What are Direct Services?  Direct services, or “face time,” are lessons that are created and taught by the TD Teacher  Direct services can be “pull out” (students pulled into TD/Catalyst classroom) or “push in” (students remain with classroom teacher when TD Teacher comes in to co-teach with classroom teacher)

What are Indirect Services? Indirect services are lessons and activities developed by the TD/Catalyst teacher and provided to the classroom teacher for him/her to use in his/her classroom Examples are: curriculum compacting, centers, independent contracts, projects, alternative homework/classwork, lessons

Why the need for direct and indirect services? Often there are too many students for one person to reach alone. Differentiation is required in the regular classroom to provide all students with the education they need and deserve. Since the TD Teacher cannot see all children, all day, every day, the classroom teacher requires activities and lessons from the TD Teacher for those students while they are in the regular classroom. Without differentiation, everyone would move at the same pace, be evaluated in the same way, and complete the same activities – regardless of their prior knowledge or individual needs

How do we teach gifted learners differently? O Differentiated Instruction O Interest/Choice Projects O Learning Contracts O Tailored small group instruction O Curriculum compacting O Greater depth of exploration O Subject integration O Standard curriculum extensively supplemented with research-based gifted resources & strategies O William & Mary Language Arts Units O Jacob’s Ladder O Project M3 Math

different? How are TD student expectations different? Critical & Creative Thinking Handle accelerated & advanced pace (Refer to Performance Review document)

NOT TD is NOT … an add-on separate more of the same extra work a status symbol boring punishment for being smart punishment for being smart!

How do you determine who is in your math and reading groups?  Depends on pre-assessments – math and reading; behavior and ability to work independently; class work; space in the classroom; formative testing; teacher- created assessments – MANY data points, not just TD certification  Groups are flexible and can change from unit to unit, novel to novel, and/or quarter to quarter  See both TD certified and catalyst students  Direct – 40%, Indirect – 60% services  Students can be seen for both or just reading or just math, depending on their individual needs and the factors listed above

3 rd – 5th Grade Literacy Services PUSH-IN Literacy enrichment will be integrated into Reader’s Workshop time – Mrs. Walters will “PUSH-IN” to the regular classroom and work in collaboration with the reading teacher 2 days/week minutes per session Students will continue differentiated direct instruction with the classroom teacher when Mrs. Walters is not present

3 rd – 5th Grade Literacy Services  Mastery of pre-tested objectives, classroom performance, student interests, and reading level help determine who is placed into direct services group with Mrs. Walters when applicable  Students will work on novel studies, figurative language, poetry, informational text analysis, themes/concepts, higher order thinking, and academic writing  Mrs. Walters will plan with classroom teachers weekly to collaborate, analyze data, and provide needed extensions, projects, and other differentiation resources for classroom use

3 rd – 5 th Grade Mathematics Services Math enrichment will be two-fold PUSH-IN PULL-OUT” Mrs. Walters will “PUSH-IN” to the regular classroom and work in collaboration with the math teachers or Mrs. Walters will “PULL-OUT” to the TD classroom depending on pre- assessment results Students will continue differentiated direct instruction with the classroom teacher when not with Mrs. Walters

3 rd – 5 th Grade Mathematics Services:  Mastery of pre-tested objectives, classroom performance, and student interests help determine who is placed into direct services group with Mrs. Walters when applicable  Students will work on real-life applications, math extensions, problem-based learning activities, etc.  Mrs. Walters will plan with classroom teachers weekly to collaborate, analyze data, and provide needed extensions, projects, and other differentiation resources for classroom use

DEP: Differentiated Education Plan A document completed annually which lists learning environment, content modifications, and special programs available to the student during that year This information is kept on file in the cumulative folder Social/emotional goals are only included as needed

End-of-Year Performance Reviews At the end of each year, each TD-certified student in grades 2-5 receives a TD student performance rating, in addition to their regular report card. Students are evaluated in the following domains… Content (Understanding and Use of Subject Matter) Product (Learning Outcomes) Process (Skill Development) Affective (Attitudes and Behaviors)

THESE RATINGS ARE BASED ON TD-LEVEL EXPECTATIONS…NOT ON GRADE-LEVEL WORK! THESE RATINGS ARE BASED ON TD-LEVEL EXPECTATIONS…NOT ON GRADE-LEVEL WORK! Ratings of “2” and “3” are the expectation. A “4” is extraordinary! These ratings do not affect the report card grades or class placement. Each of the 4 sections are scored from 1-4, as follows: 1 – Needs immediate improvement 1 – Needs immediate improvement 2 – Needs some improvement 2 – Needs some improvement 3 – Meets expectations 3 – Meets expectations 4 – Exceeds expectations 4 – Exceeds expectations

PAGE O Partners for the Advancement of Gifted Education Comprised of parents, educators, and community members working together to advocate for the needs of gifted learners. Steering Committee members needed to reestablish Mecklenberg chapter (will create by-laws, hold membership drive, and determine formats for meetings) If interested, please contact Sabrina Walters TD Teacher at Huntersville Elementary

What questions do YOU have for me?