Parents of children receiving services in Advanced Learning in home/neighborhood/choice school
If your child tested into the Advanced Learning (formally Gifted) program in Bellevue School District, and you chose for them to receive services in Advanced Learning in home/neighborhood/choice schools, you can expect to receive the below communication from Lora McHugh, Director of Advanced Learning. Your child's teachers will also receive the Advanced Learning Classroom-Based Student Plan. BGA also recommends that parents communicate with teachers directly, if necessary, to discuss student needs with respect to services in Advanced Learning.
Dear Parent/Guardian,
On the reverse side of this document is the Advanced Learning Service Plan that has been provided to your child’s teacher(s) for the 2018-19 school year. For the past several weeks, teachers have been getting to know their students and through classroom experiences and collected assignments, they have begun to understand your child’s strengths. Each school, classroom, teacher and child is different, and what works best in one classroom may not work best in another. It is for this reason that each teacher chooses instructional practices that work best in his/her school, classroom, and for the particular students in the classroom. The instructional options listed on the plan are for teachers in the event that they need additional strategies to those already implemented in their classroom setting.
Differentiation of instruction may be necessary for some units of study in the content areas for which your child shows the most strength, but teachers may find that at times, your child needs more standardized instruction. Research on students with high potential shows that sometimes they have advanced ability in certain areas of a specific content, but they may need intentional instruction in other areas in order for them to be able to extend their learning. What this means is that teachers act as diagnosticians throughout the school year and make decisions to best meet the needs of your child. Please note that your child should not be doing something completely different than their peers in the classroom. Collaboration with peers is an important aspect of learning, so your child will work with other students in the classroom, while at the same time the teacher will work to ensure that all students learning needs are met.
I wish you and your child a successful year of learning!
Sincerely, Lora McHugh
DIRECTOR | ADVANCED LEARNING
Bellevue School District
12111 NE 1st Street | Bellevue, WA 98005
PHONE 425.456.4136 | FAX 425.456.4176 | mchughl@bsd405.org
Advanced Learning Classroom-Based Student Plan
This document is designed to assist teachers and support staff in supporting their students identified as in need of advanced learning services. Cognitive ability test score data is listed below along with instructional options that teachers may wish to implement based upon student need.
*Students identified through the K-1 process may not have score data included in their plan.
Student Information Teacher(s)/School
Name: XXXX XXXXXX Grade: XX NAME: XXXXX
School: XXXXX
Data Cognitive
Type/Assessment Ability Explanation of Strength Instructional Options
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Verbal/Literacy XX ability to comprehend and * Utilize pre-assessment to drive instruction
reason using concepts expressed through words; * Use higher level reading materials
can extract the correct meaning from complex * Provide opportunities to explore
written information current events and other topics through
non-fiction materials
* Probe with advanced comprehension and
open-ended questions
* Include writing projects/extensions for writing
assignments
* Provide tiered assignments/choice menus
* Group students based on reading levels
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Quantitative/Math XX ability to interpret real-world * Reduce repetitious instruction and practice
quantitative information in the context of a * Utilize pre-assessment and provide rich tasks,
discipline to draw conclusions that are relevant design challenges and extensions in areas of
to daily life mastery
* Establish differentiated math groups
* Engage in math talk through active listening,
questioning and explaining
* Utilize strategies that focus on mathematical
reasoning
* Provide open-ended projects
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Non-Verbal XX ability to understand and * Provide advanced, abstract and complex
analyze visual information and solve problems material at a faster pace
using visual spatial skills * Engage in hands-on experiences and use
of manipulatives
* Provide rich problem-solving tasks and design
challenges
* Allow creation of models, pictures and diagrams
during learning and to show understanding
* Promote creation of own methods to solve
problems
* Provide tiered assignments/choice menus
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Comments/Notes
*Under explanation of strength, based upon a student’s cognitive ability, they will have well-above average, above average, or average ability.
This document is designed to assist teachers and support staff in supporting their students identified as in need of advanced learning services. Cognitive ability test score data is listed below along with instructional options that teachers may wish to implement based upon student need.
*Students identified through the K-1 process may not have score data included in their plan.
Student Information Teacher(s)/School
Name: XXXX XXXXXX Grade: XX NAME: XXXXX
School: XXXXX
Data Cognitive
Type/Assessment Ability Explanation of Strength Instructional Options
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Verbal/Literacy XX ability to comprehend and * Utilize pre-assessment to drive instruction
reason using concepts expressed through words; * Use higher level reading materials
can extract the correct meaning from complex * Provide opportunities to explore
written information current events and other topics through
non-fiction materials
* Probe with advanced comprehension and
open-ended questions
* Include writing projects/extensions for writing
assignments
* Provide tiered assignments/choice menus
* Group students based on reading levels
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Quantitative/Math XX ability to interpret real-world * Reduce repetitious instruction and practice
quantitative information in the context of a * Utilize pre-assessment and provide rich tasks,
discipline to draw conclusions that are relevant design challenges and extensions in areas of
to daily life mastery
* Establish differentiated math groups
* Engage in math talk through active listening,
questioning and explaining
* Utilize strategies that focus on mathematical
reasoning
* Provide open-ended projects
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Non-Verbal XX ability to understand and * Provide advanced, abstract and complex
analyze visual information and solve problems material at a faster pace
using visual spatial skills * Engage in hands-on experiences and use
of manipulatives
* Provide rich problem-solving tasks and design
challenges
* Allow creation of models, pictures and diagrams
during learning and to show understanding
* Promote creation of own methods to solve
problems
* Provide tiered assignments/choice menus
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Comments/Notes
*Under explanation of strength, based upon a student’s cognitive ability, they will have well-above average, above average, or average ability.
