Gifted

Spectrum is the name given to the gifted education program at Wright City R-II Schools. 

Spectrum serves qualifying gifted students in grades 2-8. In the elementary building, grades 3-5 meet one day a week for the
entire day. 2nd grade meets for a half day once a week. In the Middle School building, 6-8 grades meet one half day a week as well. The identification of students for this program follows closely the guidelines set by the State Department of Education. 
Characteristics:  There is no single group of characteristics which apply to gifted students.  They may be perfectionists or underachievers. They may exhibit qualities of leaders or be stubborn and uncooperative.  All gifted students do, however, have great societal and learning potential.

​Areas of emphasis in curriculum:

1. Development of creative thinking and reasoning abilities through the use of inductive and deductive reasoning processes in making predictions and arriving at conclusions as well as in the production of original and unique ideas or products.
2. Development of communication skills through presentations, both oral and written, for a variety of audiences.
3. Development of skills needed to be an independent, self-directed learner responsible for decisions, choices, and evaluation related to projects.
4. Personal and social growth through recognition of and responses to the strengths and needs of self and others.

Advice to a Parent of an Exceptional Child

Your gifted student will need support that may look different, but is no less important, than their peers. Active parenting, establishing a rapport with your child's teacher, showing them that you value education, seeking to understand the modern school system, supporting the school and district, setting high expectations, showing that practice and hard work are necessary and important, making yourself aware of school events, embracing failure as a learning opportunity, and fostering good habits and friendships are all shown by research to help your student take advantage of their gifts. 

If you have any questions you may contact Mr. Johnson at shane.johnson@wrightcity.k12.mo.us

“Do not dwell on what once was, but rather look forward and ponder how you can make the future brighter”   ― Christopher Paolini, Eragon

SOME LEARNING CHARACTERISTICS OF GIFTED CHILDREN

May V. Seagoe, Professor of Education-University of California at Los Angeles

Wright City School District Gifted Identification and Appeals Process

Missouri DESE Gifted Program Guidelines 
Students need to qualify in the top 5% on measures 2.1 (general mental) and 2.2 (academic ability)

1. All 2nd Grade students take the Naglieri as a Universal Screener and 2.3 Creativity, Reasoning, and Problem-Solving Ability 

   1. Top 20% move on to next phase and qualify as 2.3 criteria 

   2. Top 5% to count as group test 1 of 2 for 2.1 criteria
       

2. Academic Ability 

   1. Analyze their Aimsweb Plus Math and ELA most recent score (Need to score at the top 5th national percentile on either)

   2. MAP - Need Advanced scores in either Math or ELA, but cannot have any score below Proficient 

   3. If students are not in the top 5% and if they do not have Advanced or Proficient scores, but could potentially qualify as a twice-exceptional student they will be given the WIAT-IV (Need to score at 95%)

      1. If students do not score at the 95% on any, the process concludes. 

      2. If they score 95% on a, b, or c they move on to Phase 3
          

3. General Mental Ability

   1. Group IQ assessment (CoGat)

   2. Top 20% to qualify as 2.3 criteria

   3. Top 5% to count as test group measure 1 of 2 for 2.1 criteria

4. Other: Gifted Teacher observation of student with rating scale

Wright City Gifted Testing Appeals Process

The district may consider an appeal of the gifted testing process if;

• Student's ability to take the assessments was impacted by language skills
• There is new information that was not available or not shared at the time of the initial referral that affected assessment or screening.

Below are listed each grade levels' focus for the year. These are in addition to Research to Action Projects, Problem Based Learning Math Situations, Debates, Dissection, Logic Exercises, Phenomena Discussions, Long-term Strategy Games, Instant  Challenges, and Public Speaking Exercises.

-2nd Grade- Informational Report Project
-3rd Grade- Create-a-Creature and Ecosystem Research
-4th Grade- Culinary /Chemistry Project, Abstract Art Analysis and Creation Project
-5th Grade- Toothpick Bridge Engineering, Book Study
-6th Grade- Create-a-Country, All About Me
-7th Grade- Tabletop Roleplaying Simulation
-8th Grade- College/ Career Research, Stock Market Simulation