Gifted & Talented

The Gifted and Talented Program at Morris Brandon

Welcome to the 2026-2027 school year! We are delighted to welcome our students as they begin a journey filled with opportunities for learning, growth, and achievement. This year promises to be enriching and transformative for everyone involved.

We are proud to announce that all of our classroom teachers in grades 1 through 5 are gifted-endorsed, allowing us to fully implement the cluster grouping gifted delivery model. This means that your child’s gifted teacher is also their classroom teacher. Mrs. Carla Kendall and Mrs. Lena Minock will work closely with our teachers to craft engaging instruction, provide essential resources, and ensure the effective implementation of our Gifted and Talented Program instructional standards.

In the spring, Mrs. Kendall and Mrs. Minock will conduct gifted identification testing. We strongly encourage you to attend our parent informational session during curriculum night, where you can learn about the identification process and the gifted delivery model in detail. 

Please visit the Atlanta Public Schools Gifted and Talented website for more information. You will find answers to frequently asked questions about how we identify, serve, enrich, and support gifted students: https://www.atlantapublicschools.us/about/departments/teaching-learning/academic-enrichment/gifted-talented 

Thank you for your support and partnership as we embark on this school year together. If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out via email.

Our Vision

Gifted and Talented Education in Atlanta Public Schools will architect globally competitive, critical, and creative thinkers of the 21st Century.

Mission

Through advocacy and innovation, gifted and talented students’ unique needs will be recognized, valued, and nurtured so their inspired minds are equipped to change the world.

The Georgia State Board of Education defines a gifted student as “…a student who demonstrates a high degree of intellectual, and/or creative ability(ies), exhibits an exceptionally high degree of motivation, and/or excels in specific academic fields, and who needs special instruction and/or special ancillary services to achieve at levels commensurate with his or her abilities.”

Atlanta Public Schools provide services for identified gifted students at all levels.  The gifted program is designed to meet the particular needs of these students and extend competencies in cognitive skills, learning skills, research and reference skills, communication skills, and metacognitive skills beyond the regular classroom experience.

The Georgia State Department of Education governs the procedures for identifying and placing students in the gifted program.

Gifted and Talented Education in Atlanta Public Schools (APS) provides differentiated instruction for intellectually advanced and creatively gifted students.  Gifted services are available for students at Morris Brandon in first through fifth grade who are actively enrolled in APS school.  Students in Atlanta enrolled in private schools or home study programs are not eligible for APS gifted testing and services.

Morris Brandon’s gifted delivery models are Collaboration and Cluster Grouping. They are the only approved models that align with the International Baccalaureate (IB) Primary Years Program (PYP).

In the Collaboration Model, gifted students are served daily within their homeroom through targeted instructional collaboration between the homeroom (content-certified) teacher and a gifted-endorsed teacher.

The Cluster Grouping model is when the teacher of record is gifted-endorsed, so students receive services daily from their homeroom teacher.