School District of Oconee County

Gifted and talented students are those who are identified in grades 2-12 as demonstrating high performance ability or potential in academic and/or artistic areas and therefore require an educational program beyond that normally provided by the general school program in order to achieve their potential.

Educational programs for gifted and talented students exhibit the following characteristics:

• Content, process, and product standards that exceed the state adopted standards for all students
• Goals and indicators that require students to demonstrate depth and complexity of knowledge and skills
• Instructional strategies that accommodate the unique needs of gifted learners
• An integrated approach that incorporates acceleration and enrichment;
• Opportunities for worldwide communications/research
• Evaluation of student performance

Referrals for screening for the gifted and talented program may be made by administrators, parents, teachers, and/or students. Parents should contact their student's school to begin the referral process.

The following models may be used to deliver services to academically gifted and talented students:

• Pull-Out Class - In this model, gifted and talented students are removed from the regular classroom for a specified period each week to receive differentiated instruction.
• Special Class - This model is a self-contained gifted and talented class organized around one or more academic disciplines. The special class delivers services to identified students through a curriculum accelerated to meet their needs.

Our district uses both models to serve elementary school students.

Middle and High School students are served through advanced and honors classes.