Gifted & Talented Program

Below are links to information about each of the assessments that are part of the Gifted and Talented identification process.

• i-Ready Diagnostic Assessment
• On-Demand Writing Rubric Sample
• Screening Assessment for Gifted Elementary and Middle School Students (SAGES-3)
• Scales for Identifying Gifted Students (SIGS)

In September of every school year, all students take the i-Ready English Language Arts and Math Assessments. Similarly, teachers administer on-demand writing assignments that help them determine their students’ current writing ability in terms of content, style and mechanics. The initial screenings help teachers identify each child’s individual strengths and areas in which he or she can improve. Perhaps more importantly, however, this valuable information aids teachers in identifying the zone of proximal development for each student so they can provide instruction that is appropriately challenging so that learning can occur.

Because these assessments only look at a few elements of the whole child, teachers may complete the Scale for Identifying Gifted Students (SIGS) to gather information on a student’s leadership, creativity and general ability level. This component is based on teacher observation and provides more insight into the whole child.

With initial screenings complete, students who obtain a specified number of points as outlined in the charts below will qualify for further assessment of their cognitive ability. At this point, the district will notify parents regarding their child, as they will need to work with the school to provide input about their child through the completion of the SIGS parent surveys, which are available in both English and Spanish. Furthermore, the district will administer the Screening Assessment for Gifted Elementary and Middle School Students (SAGES-3), which allows for a deeper dive into students’ understanding of language arts, social studies, mathematics, science, non-verbal and verbal reasoning skills. The Raven Progressive Matrices may be used to determine giftedness for high school students, English language learners and non-verbal children. Finally, for some programs, auditions, performance assessments/portfolios and student interviews will be employed.

Conducting these assessments and doing so in a manner that is thorough and comprehensive, takes time. Under typical conditions, teachers complete the first battery of assessments before the end of September, which will allow for the second round of assessments to be completed shortly thereafter. This year, due to our current circumstances, we ask for your patience as we work to minimize any further delays.

When a student is identified as meeting all criteria, parents will again be notified of their child’s eligibility to participate in the continuum of services available for gifted students. All students who enter the district during the year will have the opportunity to move through the process outlined above.

Program Criteria

• Elementary Grades K-3
• Elementary Grades 4-5
• Middle School
• High School

The Bergenfield School District offers a variety of services to further enrich and engage its gifted and talented students. Below is an overview of how the district is able to address the needs of this unique population of learners. Please know that we are continually looking at ways to build upon our current programming, and do anticipate the ability to expand our offerings throughout this school year.

Gifted and Talented Program Design:

Differentiating Instruction: The district provides students at all grade levels with differentiated instruction to challenge children based upon their abilities across all areas of the curriculum. One way in which teacher are able to do this is administering pretests; those students who demonstrate mastery of core skills on this assessment will be able to compact out of the instructional unit. Teachers will provide students with alternate assignment that extend current understanding through tasks that build upon these concepts and encourage synthesis, evaluation and authentic application of the material.

Push-In Services: As the district expands its gifted and talented program, it is currently developing a push-in gifted and talented program in grades P-2 that will enable a gifted and talented teacher to be able to work on extension activities with identified students within the classroom setting. More information on this program model will be forthcoming.

Pull-Out Services: The district is currently developing a comprehensive pull-out gifted and talented program that will be interdisciplinary and inquiry-based in nature, and center around the principals of research, exploration, presentation and performance.

Select Coursework: Beginning in middle school and continuing through graduation, there are specific courses that are available to our gifted and talented students. Such courses include but are not limited to Geometry and Advanced Physics at the middle school, and the AP Capstone program, AP Studio Art and specified Career and Technical course that may require performance-based assessments and academic criteria in order to be eligible.

Co-curricular and Extension Activities:

Accelerated Learning Program (ALP): The district offers the Accelerated Learning Program after school for elementary –aged students. In this program, teachers provide students with enrichment opportunities that will help to grow and extend their current understanding of concepts in mathematics, science, English language arts and social studies.

STEAM: At the district elementary schools, and coming soon to the secondary level, are a series of ten-week after school programs grounded in the study of science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics. Through inquiry-based instruction, students are provided with opportunities to research, experiment and employ the design process to solve real-world problems.

Gifted and Talented Visual Arts (GTVA): The Gifted and Talented Visual Arts program is one of several ways that the district recognizes giftedness in areas that extend beyond the core academic subjects. Participants in this program are encouraged to pair their creativity and knowledge through a variety of artistic mediums in order to construct their masterpieces.

Honors Choir, Orchestra and Band: Each grade span, beginning at the elementary schools all the way through high school, has a version of this programming that offers advanced coursework during the school day, as well as additional practices before or after school to build on the talents of the district’s gifted musicians.

Quiz Bowl, Robotics Math Team: Reserved for students at the secondary level, these enrichment opportunities, though open to all, provide advanced coursework in core subject areas and allow students to further expand their knowledge and application of skills.

• District Policy and Complaint Process

• Open House Presentation