Developing a School Gifted and Talented Students Policy and Strategic Plan Taking up the challenge

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1 Developing a School Gifted and Talented Students Policy and Strategic Plan Taking up the challenge Dr Suzanne Vasilevska Differentiating to Maximise Achievement 19th State Conference, 9-10 April, 2011 Queensland Association for Gifted and Talented Children Our Lady's College, Annerley, Brisbane, Queensland Have you been asked to develop a school Gifted and Talented Students policy or strategic plan? Embrace the challenge! These documents are significant change agent tools that can contribute to the implementation of clear procedures to recognize, identify and cater for gifted and talented students in your school. Policy and strategic plans The development of a school gifted and talented students (GATS) policy fits well with the analogy of building a new home. A building plan will provide all stakeholders with an overview of what the completed house will look like. It will not, however provide the nitty gritty details of compliance issues for Occupational Health and Safety, procedures for identifying good builders or instructions on how to install electrical cables. This detail will be provided in the strategic plan or implementation strategy document which although based on the policy is really more like a practical instructional handbook. If your school prefers to have an all inclusive document the policy could perhaps be presented as an executive summary. This paper will explore a range of scaffolds to assist in the development of a school policy and a complimentary strategic plan. Developing a school gifted and talented students policy. In order to build a house or develop a policy there are a number of essential steps in the planning and building process. These include: commitment to build, the appointment of an architect, consultation, the development of a plan to meet the client's needs, compliance with legal and safety procedures, a team of builders and trades people, ongoing evaluation and a final sign off. Significantly, once the building is completed it may not stay this way. As client needs change there may be minor internal changes made or serious additions and extensions. In rare cases there may be demolition! Consequently, any school policy needs to be a living document which is regularly reviewed by all stakeholders and changed according to client need. So, let's get started. Why do we need a school GATS policy? School personnel may argue that as their employers already provide a mandatory GATS policy there is no need for an additional school policy. The distinguishing variable is that one is an overarching bureaucratic policy, the other is a policy designed specifically to suit a unique school context, and the learning needs of students and teachers. West (2005) describes the gifted and talented policy as: A management plan and a mission statement all in one. It expresses the school's aims for G&T students and describes how these aims will be met. Consequently the policy will clarify for all key stakeholders at a glance both how your school defines gifted and talented students and the ways in which they can be supported. The policy will need to make explicit that although gifted and talented students have some needs in common with other students that they also have special needs (Derby City Council Educational Services, 2004). Gifted students like all students are entitled to a balance of support, challenge and new learning. Commitment - initiating the development of a school policy The development of a school gifted and talented students policy must have more value than the ticking off of a mandatory box. The school policy should be a living document which represents a whole school commitment to identifying and providing for gifted students within a unique, individual school and therefore must be adequately resourced. These resources may also take the form of dollars for planning, professional learning or timetable and student provisions. The most essential

2 resource will be the creation of a gifted and talented team with a team leader often referred to as the GATS co-ordinator. Essential policy components The gifted education literature is quite consistent in it's approach to the components and issues a gifted policy should address. These components would include a rationale, purpose, a definition of gifted and talented students, a set of guidelines or procedures, e.g. identification procedures, programs and provisions, staff responsibilities including an identified person or group that is responsible for implementing the policy and a regular review. If your employing educational authority has a gifted and talented students policy then your school can easily replicate the headings used in this document to scaffold your school policy. This will ensure that you are working within official guidelines but still allow you to personalize the policy to suit your school's clientele. Alternatively, the headings below suggested from the literature and a range of Australian, State and Territory gifted education policies will also provide a good policy framework. Rationale The purpose of the rationale is to explain why the policy has been developed. It should reflect the school's aims and philosophy, weaving opportunities for gifted children into the "total fabric" of the school (New Zealand Ministery of Education, 2010) and may also address issues of equity, special needs or mandatory guidelines. For example: To develop the innate potential of students with special abilities, their abilities need to be recognized, valued, and catered for appropriately. Their right to this provision is contained in the National Educational Guidelines which are part of of every school's Charter, and in the Ministry of Education curriculum documents. (Taylor,1998, p.8) The following questions adapted from Freeman (2008) may be useful in developing a rational: Why is the policy needed? How does this policy reflect the school's philosophy? Which other school policies does this policy overlap with? What do you want this policy to achieve or change? Purpose or statement of intent The school GATS policy is a statement of intent which needs to be developed in response not only to a mandatory requirement but to a perceived need in the school. This section of the policy outlines in broad statements what the school is trying to achieve. Riley (2000) argues that there should be three to five purpose statements. For example: To encourage the achievement of personal excellence in all students. To encourage and assist students with special abilities to achieve their potential. To raise student and parent awareness of opportunities and challenges to students with special abilities. (Riley 2000) The purpose or statement of intent should be embedded in your school's school plan in addition to a clearly stated set of SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, timed) targets to be achieved. Role of the Gifted and talented team leader and team The role of the GATS team is to ensure that the policy is implemented within agreed upon time frames. Ideally the team leader should be from within the senior management team (West, 2005,Freeman, 2008). In many cases the team will also be developing or revising the policy. This

3 will assist in the successful implementation of the policy as it will ensure there is a common understanding of what the policy stands for. There should be regular training for all members of the GATS team to ensure that they are in the best possible position to support staff. This team are then in a stronger position to conduct a needs analysis and to collect additional data to celebrate the success of existing best practice and to establish future priority areas. The team can then develop a draft strategic plan for comment on by all school and community stakeholders. After receiving feedback the team can then finalize the strategic plan and begin implementation. The role of staff including the principal This section should clearly set out the responsibilities of all staff including the school principal. Definition of giftedness and talent The school policy should clearly state how your school defines giftedness and talent. The school may choose to use the definition provided by it's educational authority, or to change or elaborate on the definition. Remember that definitions are often revised so check to ensure that you have the most current definition. The definition of giftedness and talent should be easily understood by all who read the policy. The policy should also include the terms used to describe these students at the school, e.g. GATS students. Identification procedures The policy should outline the range of strategies used to identify gifted and talented students. These procedures should also target those students who may be underachieving in addition to taking into account cultural, gender, ethnic and ability considerations. The policy should allow opportunities for self, peer, teacher and family nomination. Identification procedures will need to allow for different entry points into the school and will need to be ongoing. Teacher professional learning Staff need to be supported in order to identify students and to differentiate their curriculum. If the policy is to be implemented effectively schools must be able to identify and provide for the professional learning needs of their staff. Resources Resources needed to implement the policy should be listed here. These may include human e.g. access to the counsellor for testing, physical, financial resources, programs, differentiated units of work, flexibility in the timetable etc. The Review Process This section should outline how often the policy will be reviewed and by whom. It should also outline how the review will take place. It will include the last date on which the policy was reviewed. The Strategic Plan The school gifted and talented students policy provides an overview of your school context. It explains how your school defines and identifies gifted students and lists the types of provisions and opportunities available to them. Staff responsibilities are defined and evaluation requirements provided. As West (2005) explains, a policy is like a road map. It clearly shows your destination, available opportunities and places of interest. It does not however, provide you with resources such as a vehicle, fuel, driver or detailed information on the length of the journey or the best place to stay. The strategic plan is an action plan that will ensure your policy comes to life. It is an essential travel handbook designed so that you reach your destination in the time, mode and comfort of your choice. Situational analysis

4 Once a GATS co-ordinator and/ or team has been established and roles and responsibilities set it is essential to conduct a situational or needs analysis. Just as we should pretest students before beginning a new unit pre assess we should pre assess and evaluate the current state of provision. A pre-assessment will allow the school to identify current best practice and areas of need. From here the team can develop a list of objectives and a set of clear strategies to address them. Communication Without clear communication with and by all stakeholders the policy will not achieve it's goals. Consequently, the strategic plan must explain how communication of the policy will take place: between home and school amongst staff, administration team the GATS team. with the wider community (adapted from The New Zealand Ministry of Education, 2008). The policy can promote "common understandings" (McNamara, 1994) between the GATS team members, parents, community members, teachers and students. The policy should state how each of these groups may comment on, contribute to and evaluate the policy. For example the draft policy could go on the school website, newsletter or staff to enable students, teachers and families to make comments. It is essential that the policy objectives be part of the school plan. This will ensure they are given recognition, priority and ongoing evaluation. Whole staff responsibilities The strategic plan should clearly indicate the responsibilities of all school staff. This could include using identification strategies such as pre-testing, differentiating units of work, completing evaluations of accelerated students or participating in professional learning. Organisational issues The successful implementation of the policy will require whole school management. Monitoring and tracking of both students and procedures will be essential. The following questions provide a useful checklist for the GATS team leader and team to discuss. Is there of data base of gifted and talented students? Have correct procedures been put in place before accelerating students? How does the mandatory evaluation of accelerated students take place? How are accelerated students tracked? This will be needed if the student changes schools. What process is in place to identify students new to the school? What accommodation, if any will need to be made to the school timetable? Identification Procedure In addition to outlining available procedures for self, peer, teacher and family identification the strategic plan should provide identification processes to be used for transition such as entry to primary or high school, late enrollment and additional tools used to assist in the identification of non English speaking background or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. The policy should clearly demonstrate how the identification of gifted and talented students is an ongoing process. These processes should not be confined to student entry points. Templates used for checklists, tests, both verbal and non-verbal should be listed. The following identification tools are examples of some strategies to consider; Teacher observation - These could include rating scales/ behavior checklists to assist teachers to identify common characteristics and behaviors displayed by gifted learners. Standardized tests- intelligence tests, e.g. The Stanford - Binet Intelligence Scale, Standardised tests of achievement, e.g. PAT and Standardised tests of creativity, e.g. Torence Tests of Creativity. Peer nomination - this could be by questionnaires or conversations

5 Parental nomination - for e.g. parent questionnaire asking for information re child's interests, characteristics, achievements to date including certificates/ awards, past reports, reading ability, number of languages spoken, musical ability etc. Self-nomination - this could be by student application for a program, questionnaire, conversation or portfolio. Product and portfolio evaluation (adapted from McAlpine, 1996, p.73) Professional Learning The first step is to audit the professional learning needs of the GATS team. It is essential that this group is confident both to lead and support other staff and to be in a credible position to assess the learning needs of staff and current provisions. The next step is to prioritise the areas of their professional learning. Once the GATS team are empowered with appropriate content and skills they will be able to assist additional staff with their professional learning. Provisions and programs Provisions for gifted and talented students will generally fit under the heading of opportunities provided within the classroom and whole school provisions which may occur outside of the regular classroom or require whole school organization. In class provisions Every student has the right to an appropriate curriculum and to achieve new learning each year. This is a challenging task for teachers who nee to cater to students with many levels of ability. A range of provisions and strategies can be used, a selection of which are listed below. Curriculum differentiation - promote differentiation of content, process, product and learning environment. Acceleration - within the current class Extension work Enrichment Individual Education Plans (IEPS) / contracts Special groupings Cluster groups - opportunity to work with others of like ability. Independent study Mentors Differentiated homework Whole school provisions Whole school provisions can not normally be provided within the student s regular classroom. They require whole school organization or agreement. Examples of some whole school provisions are listed below: Acceleration - whole class Acceleration by year or individual subject/s Graded classes Enrichment days School clubs e.g. art club Musical, performing, sports opportunities Access to competitions / activities within and outside of the school. Resources This section should deal with the financial, e.g. computer software, human and physical resources required to support change. Without appropriate resources the policy simply remains a document. The Review Process The review process will outline how your school policy's aims and objectives will be monitored and evaluated. In addition it should state the frequency of the reviews and the person or team responsible. It may be that the overall policy is reviewed annually but that progress of accelerated students occurs each term.

6 This section should also outline how the review will take place. For example will it involve surveys, interview, data on provisions or value added to state or national results? When evaluating the policy and the programs within it the following questions, adapted from Simonsen, (2000) may be useful: Which staff, students and community members should be part of the evaluation process? Has the program or provision been worthwhile? Are there sufficient resources to implement this policy? Are we meeting the requirements of this policy? The following additional questions will also provide some substantive discussion: What data is there to support improvement in student performance? This could be in school assessments, observations, performance in regional, state or national tests. What evidence is there to indicate an improvement in student well being? What can students now do differently What can staff now do differently? What do we offer our gifted students on a daily basis in classrooms? What systems do we have in place to track gifted underachievers? Conclusion The school GATS policy just like bricks provides an invaluable, solid foundation for documenting your school philosophy, systems and expectations. Just as bricks alone can not build a house, a stand alone policy will not produce change. In this case, the mortar or the strategic plan will provide increased stability and an invaluable instruction manual which can be used and referred to by all stakeholders to make a significant difference to the quality of education and well being of gifted students at your school. Bibliography Best, B. Craven, S. & West, J. (2008) The Gifted and Talented Coordinator's Handbook Practical Strategies for supporting more able students in secondary education, Optimus Education.United Kingdom. Derby City Council Educational Services. (2004) Gifted and Talented LEA guidelines. Derby,. United Kingdom. Freeman, J. (2008) Guidelines for Writing a School Policy For Able, Gifted and Talented Pupils. g20%t%20 policy%20 July%2008.doc McAlpine (1996). Who are the gifted and talented? Concepts and Definitions. In D..McAlpine and R.Moltzen (eds),gifted and Talented: A New Zealand Perspective. Palmerstone North: ERDC Press Massey University. McNamara, K. (1994). The Policy Handbook. Canberra.AECA. New Zealand Ministry of Education (2010). Gifted and talented students: Policy Development, Te Kete Ipurangi, Riley, T. (2000). A quick glance at school policies. Administration Handbook Palmerston North: Department of Learning and Teaching. Simonsen, Yvette, (2000). Bright or Gifted. Policy development. July, Massey University, New Zealand. Taylor, S. (1998). Advocacy through policy writing. Tall Poppies. Spring/ Summer, West, Jane (2005). G&T policy and the role of a G&T Governor, G&T update e-bulletin, Optimus Professional Publishing Limited.

7 Gifted and Talented Students Policy Template Rationale Aims Definition of giftedness and talent. GATS team and co-ordinator Resources Provisions In class Whole school Identification Procedures Organisation Review process Date of next review