Gifted & Talented

The Gifted and Talented Program at Morris Brandon

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 very specific needs of these students and extend competencies in the areas of cognitive skills, learning skills, research and reference skills, communication skills, and metacognitive skills beyond the experience of the regular classroom.

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

Interested in having your child tested for Gifted?

The first round of gifted assessments for students who are classified as “First Look” students will begin on Tuesday, December 3rd and run through Wednesday, December 18th. A “First Look” student is a student who has not been tested before or whose previous test scores have now expired. These students will receive the full battery of gifted assessments.

The first assessment they will take is the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT). The TTCT is very different from an intelligence or reasoning test. It is a test where students are scored on a number of aspects, including creative titles for pictures, expressions, imagery, and humor. Due to the nature of this assessment, students may not feel like they were “tested.” Please make every effort to have your child at school during the week of his/her grade level’s testing. Results will become available to testing coordinators in the spring after completion and scoring of ALL tests required to determine gifted eligibility. Once available, you will receive an eligibility report by US Mail that will include your child’s scores from each assessment and his/her eligibility determination. While we do not know the exact date of when scores will be available, we do know that it will be spring 2019.

TTCT Testing Dates
● December 3rd -12th (Kindergarten, 1st & 2nd)
● December 12th -18th (3rd, 4th & 5th)

Thank you for your support.
Gifted and Talented Team

The Parent Referral window for gifted testing ends on Monday, September 30, 2019.

If you would like to refer your child for gifted testing, please secure a Parent Consent to Test Form from the office on either campus. For record keeping, you must return consent form to the office and sign the ledger. You cannot return Parent Consent to Test Form via email or to homeroom teachers. ALL forms must be returned to the office.

• Primary Center: Please retain a Parent Consent to Test Form from Ms. Cole or Ms. Milner. Please complete the entire form, sign, date, and sign ledger in notebook from Ms. Cole or Ms. Milner.
• Main Campus: Please retain a Parent Consent to Test Form from Mary Plumer. Please complete the entire form, sign, date, and sign ledger in notebook from Ms. Plumer.

Screening and Referral FAQs:

• English Version
• Spanish Version

The Gifted and Talented Program at Morris Brandon offers qualifying students an opportunity to develop the following skills:

• Advanced Communication Skills (ACS):  Learners will express ideas clearly and effectively using advanced communication skills for a variety of purposes.

• Creativity (CRT): Learners will generate and/or produce items, ideas, and solutions using creative thinking skills.

• Creative Problem Solving (CPS) Learners will insightfully evaluate a variety of problems and arrive at innovative and reasonable conclusions.

• Leadership (LEAD): Students will develop an awareness of leadership skills, analyze and evaluate components of leadership, and demonstrate an effective leadership style.

• Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS): Learners will analytically critique a system or set of complex ideas, utilizing logic and reasoning skills in novel ways, to create and/or modify knowledge.

• Global Citizenship (GCZ): Learners will develop an awareness of global cultures, connections and issues in order to become actively engaged citizens of the world, with respect for differing values and goals.

• Advanced Research Skills (ARS): Learners will select and explore a topic, research using a variety of sources, analyze and evaluate the information.

• Social Emotional Learning (SEL): Learners will develop an understanding of their unique social emotional needs as a gifted learner and develop their coping and social interaction skills.

The APS Multiple Criteria Identification Process assesses students in four areas and requires that students meet minimum score levels in any three of the four areas in order to gain admittance to the gifted program. The minimum score requirements in the four assessment areas are:

1. Mental Ability– a score greater than or equal to the 96th percentile on a standardized test of mental ability. An APS mental ability assessment must be given. Students must complete the entire APS identification process before any eligibility decisions are finalized.
2. Achievement – a score greater than or equal to the 90th percentile in reading or math on a standardized achievement test or a score of at least 90 on a student generated product or performance as judged by a panel of qualified evaluators.
3. Creativity – a score greater than or equal to the 90th percentile on a standardized creativity instrument or a superior rating on a student generated product or performance as judged by a panel of qualified evaluators.
4. Motivation– 90th or greater percentile on a Motivation Rating Scale (K-8), or superior product/performance with a score of 90 or greater of 1-100, as evaluated by a panel of 3 or more qualified evaluators, or winners of academic competitions as determined by the Office of Gifted and Talented.

Questions regarding the Gifted & Talented Program should be addressed to the appropriate Grade Level Coordinators:

Grade Level Coordinators

Existing Families of Students in the Gifted and Talented Program

Click here if you are interested in donating money to support the Gifted and Talented program. Donations to the program are completely voluntary. Please note the Gifted option is at the end of the list, after Field Trips.

Gifted Service Models Parent Information:
Collaboration
Resource

Gifted Testing

• Mark your calendar – There are 3 ways to refer a child for Gifted screenings:

1. Automatic
2. Teacher
3. Parent The deadline for parent referrals is Mon., Sept. 30th. *No forms will be accepted after the deadline. Parents can retrieve a Consent to Evaluate form from notebooks that are housed at both the PC (Ms. Cole) and MC (Ms. Plummer). All completed consents should be placed in the notebook and parents must sign the log. No forms should be scanned, emailed, or returned to the homeroom or Gifted Support teacher.

• 2nd Look Assessments: Heads-Up! The 2nd Look testing window opens on 9/10 and closes on 9/30. Notifications will be sent out on 9/4 to parents of students that meet the district requirements to sit for the alternative assessments. *The notices will be hand-delivered to the students. Check your child’s backpack. Be mindful of attendance during the testing window.

Math Olympiad Tryouts

Calling all 4th and 5th graders who LOVE math! If you are interested in trying out for the 2019-2020 Math Olympiad Team, the pretest will be administered only on Monday, September 30, 2019 at 2:45 – 3:45 in room 108 at the Main Campus. The Math Team meets every Monday from 2:45 until 3:45 October until March. Students will receive written notifications regarding the outcome of the tryouts. Deadline to turn in consent to tryout is September 20, 2019. Students can secure a consent form from Mrs. Kendall or Dr. Porter.