Franklin Independent School District

Students who participate in services designed for gifted/talented students will demonstrate skills in self-directed learning, thinking, research, and communication as evidenced by the development of innovative products and performances that reflect individually and creativity and are advanced in relation to students of similar age, experience, or environment.

Franklin ISD conducts a program for students with above average potential in academic and creative/productive thinking skills.  Students in grades K – 12 are served in this enrichment program that is designed to challenge students to accelerate above and beyond the regular school curriculum.  

Each year, the nomination window opens in January and remains open for several weeks. During the open nomination window, parents, teachers, students or any adult familiar with a particular student's abilities in the classroom may refer the student for testing if they believe the student exhibits characteristics indicating giftedness.  

If you would like to nominate a student believed to be an intellectually or creatively gifted learner, please complete the form or contact Donna COlley through email at dcolley@franklinisd.net

All nominations may be submitted by turning in the nomination form electronically or the PDF version can be downloaded, printed, filled out and returned by email to Donna Colley or turned in to the High School Front Office. 

Franklin ISD will undertake to identify at every grade and at every school those students who are gifted and talented in the four core areas of language arts, math, science, and social studies.

With this goal in mind and in compliance with the state rules, the final selection of students will be made by a committee of at least three local district educators who have received training in the area of gifted education, a campus principal, a campus counselor, and the GT coordinator.  Data and procedures used during the identification process will be analyzed and scrutinized to assure that the population of the program for gifted students reflects the population of the total district.  Students will be identified in kindergarten through grade twelve.  Those kindergarten students showing clear gifted and talented abilities will be placed and begin receiving services by March 1.  All other students will begin services at the beginning of the next school year.

Once students are identified for the Gifted/Talented program in Franklin ISD according to its guidelines and criteria, those students are continuously eligible for the district’s programs up to grade twelve.  Participation within the program is voluntary, and students in conjunction with parents, teachers, and administrators will continually assess the effectiveness of the program for the student and his/her unique needs. 

NOMINATION PHASE:

The nomination phase takes place once a year during the spring semester for grades K-12.  Nominations open in January by sending notice to all parents and teachers, as well as posting notice in the local newspapers.

SCREENING PHASE:

The screening phase occurs once a year in the spring semester:

A. Students in grades K-12 who have been nominated will be screened.

B. Formal testing will be administered by the campus personnel.

1) Abilities test K-12

2) Teacher Evaluation K-12

3) Parent evaluation K-12

    4) Other testing K-12 (Examples may include, but are not limited to ESTAR, MSTAR, STAAR testing.) 

C. All information is transferred to a Student Profile sheet that then goes to the GT committee.

SELECTION PHASE:

The selection phase occurs when the Student Profile sheets are complete.  A meeting of the gifted and talented committee is then scheduled to review all information gathered about each student.  The committee will consist of at least three teachers trained in gifted and talented, a campus principal, a campus counselor, and the GT coordinator.  Acceptance is based on whether the student has met the criteria above the district line on the Student Profile sheet.  At this time letters of acceptance or rejection are sent to parents.  In order to serve those students accepted into the program, parents must return a permission to participate form for the student’s permanent GT file.  Otherwise, the student may not participate.  Kindergarten students must be selected and begin receiving services by March 1.  Students in grades 1-12 selected for the gifted and talented program will begin being served at the beginning of the next school year.

Once the nomination, screening and selection process for the Franklin ISD Gifted and Talented program has been completed and if your child has been accepted into the program, parent/guardians will be required to complete the "Permission for Participation" form. This form will need to be completed electronically, by Google Form, or the PDF version can be downloaded, printed filled out and returned by email to Callie Weikert, cweikert@franklinisd.net or turned in to the High School Front Office

Any parent wishing to file an appeal may do so within ten working days of receiving the rejection notice.  Such an appeal must be done in writing and sent to the campus principal or GT coordinator.  Also at this time the student/parent(s) must provide additional material(s) such as outside tests, products, etc. to present to the GT committee.  The district reserves the right to administer additional measures if needed, and the committee will review the new data.  A written reply will be sent within thirty days as to the committee’s decision.

Students who transfer into Franklin ISD who have formerly been identified as gifted and talented will be placed in our GT program on a conditional acceptance until supporting documentation showing previous GT placement has been received.  The district does reserve the right to require tests when scores are not comparable or are more than two years old.  If testing has to be done, it will occur in the spring of the year when all other testing takes place.  In all other instances, Franklin ISD will strive to consider a transfer student within six weeks of his/her admission to the district.  Parents will be notified in writing of the committee’s decision.  Students will be admitted to programs at six weeks or semester openings to facilitate a smooth transition into the course or program design. 

Some students may not be adequately served nor appropriately identified through Franklin ISD’s Gifted and Talented program.  However, discipline and poor performance are not grounds for automatic dismissal.  If a child consistently has difficulty in the program, the teacher, the student, the parent, or the school administrator may request that a conference be held to discuss the problems in an effort to provide intervention strategies and to determine the nature of the problems.  The student and the teacher will conference first in an effort to correct the situation.  If the situation persists, the parents will be invited to the second conference.  Should problems continue, the school administrator along with parents would attend the third conference with the teacher and the student. The recommendations and outcomes from each conference will be recorded with specific attention given to the nature of the problem and the methods of intervention to be attempted.  Three interventions must be made which will incorporate modification of the curriculum and program along with modifications in the student’s efforts in relation to the problem before a student will be dismissed from the program.

Parents may withdraw students from the program at any time by contacting the school principal and submitting written notification.  This is considered an exit procedure. Students who have been selected for participation in the program of gifted education may choose to withdraw (not to be confused by a furlough) from participation by signing a participation/non-participation option form at the beginning of the school year.  Students may choose to withdraw from participation at other times during the year and may do so provided that a written statement expressing this desire is presented to the campus principal or GT coordinator.  Upon receipt of the student’s request, parents will be notified and asked to submit a written acknowledgement verifying that the parent is aware of the student’s desire to withdraw from the GT program.

Routine reassessments are not performed by Franklin ISD.  Reassessments are performed based upon recommendations by the Campus Selection Committees.  They are performed for the purpose of improving the educational opportunities of the student being reassessed.

A furlough will be considered not longer than a year or shorter than a semester.  This procedure will be for GT students who have a schedule conflict or some other problem recognized by the committee as one needing a furlough.  Parents may furlough their child at any time if they feel that it is in the best interest for their child’s social and emotional development.  Any student wishing a furlough must fill out a furlough form that will be submitted to the committee for approval.  Furlough forms will be available through the GT coordinator.  Any student who remains out of the GT program past the approved furlough date will automatically be exited.

Franklin ISD will undertake to provide program organizational patterns in grades K-12 which are compatible with the district’s philosophy, goals, and objectives and that promote differentiated learning experiences for its gifted and talented population as previously defined.

Grades K-12 will organize GT students through core academic classes in language arts, math, science, and social studies.  This type of programming will assure an array of learning opportunities that are commensurate with the abilities of gifted and talented students.  Also, such organization will allow students to work together as a group, work with other students, and work independently during the school day as well as the entire year.

Franklin ISD will continually seek to expand on educational opportunities within the school curriculum, outside the school curriculum, and within the community itself.

Curriculum development for gifted and talented students centers upon the importance of recognizing the skills that these students must acquire in order to become life-long learners.  Such curriculum should incorporate both cognitive as well as affective skills that recognize unique learning styles of GT students.  Appropriately modified programs for GT students should be built on standards of differentiation such as those offered by the National State Leadership Training Institute for the Gifted and Talented.

1. Present content that is related to broad-based issues, themes, or problems.

2. Integrate multiple disciplines into the area of study.

3. Present comprehensive, related, and mutually reinforcing experiences within an area of study. 

4. Allow for the in-depth learning of a self-selected topic within the area of study.

5. Develop independent or self-directed study skills.

6. Develop productive, complex, abstract, and/or higher level thinking skills.

7. Focus on open-ended tasks.

8. Develop research skills and methods.

9. Integrate basic skills and high level thinking skills into the curriculum.

10. Encourage the development of products that challenge existing ideas and produce “new” ideas.

11. Encourage the development of products that use new techniques, materials, and forms.

12. Encourage the development of self-understanding, i.e. recognizing and using one’s abilities, becoming self-directed, appreciating likenesses and differences between oneself and others.

13. Evaluate student outcomes by using appropriate and specific criteria through self-appraisal, criterion referenced and/or standardized instruments.

K-12 programs should be developed around learner objectives and a scope and sequence of skills in core curriculum areas such as critical, creative, and productive thinking, independent research, and affective growth to include leadership skills.  The curriculum presented to GT students can be modified in its pace, sequence, content, process, and products. Additionally, the curriculum should guarantee that basic skills are acquired and that individual interests and talents are explored and nurtured.  Staff development options then provide training for teachers in the writing and designing of curriculum, the selection of instructional resources, and the acquisition of teaching strategies and methods.  Working with these tenets, Franklin ISD will provide an appropriate curriculum that enables gifted and talented students to develop their fullest potential to become intellectually and creatively capable, productive individuals.

Franklin ISD will provide appropriate learning experiences regarding the characteristics and the needs of gifted and talented students for district personnel in various roles. Teachers of the gifted and talented students will be required to show evidence of thirty hours of staff development in GT education prior to their designation as GT teachers.  Teachers will be urged to obtain the GT endorsement.  Ongoing, coordinated staff development will be planned for all district personnel based on the data collected from needs assessments, program evaluations, and appraisals of the teachers of the gifted. 

Positive parent and community involvement distinguishes successful gifted and talented programs from those that fail.  Parents and students need to be involved in the evaluation and subsequence planning of GT programs as well as in providing support for the programs by serving as community resource people.  The district will encourage parental involvement in gifted education.  Franklin ISD will foster opportunities for parents and the community to support the district’s gifted and talented program.

Franklin ISD will improve programs for gifted and talented students through the use of a continuous and ongoing evaluation and planning process.  Ongoing planning and evaluation are important components of programs that continue to meet the needs of the changing population and times.  Successful programs seek to evaluate both the affective and cognitive growth of these students based on information from numerous sources.  Objective data from both norm and criteria referenced standardized tests as well as subjective information from parents, regular education teachers, GT teachers, students, and community people will be incorporated into the planning process to guarantee that the program options continue to meet the expressed goals of GT education.