IDEAL4Gifted

IDEAL4Gifted is an innovative program for academically advanced, gifted, and twice-exceptional students where they can learn to love learning again. It follows best practices in gifted education and brings joy, freedom, and mutual respect to the learning experience. Classes are small so everyone has a chance for attention and input. Teachers are live and in real-time, all the time. Classes have a lot of hands-on learning and dialogue. It’s definitely not one-size-fits-all. It’s a program where subject acceleration is alive and well, creativity and student interests are encouraged and supported, differentiation and enrichment are constants, and there are opportunities for leadership too. It provides challenges without frustration or boredom at a pace that moves comfortably and constantly forward. Students are placed subject-by-subject for the best fit so age is not a limiter. Classes usually have mixed ages. We understand the asynchronous development of students so we are very comfortable with adaptations according to student needs. We’re sensitive to their special social-emotional needs. Students are affirmed through their connections with other like-minded peers and the informal opportunities that they have to connect each day. Anxiety and stress are less because assessment is formative which is what propels lessons forward. It is common for students to cover more than a year’s worth of content in 30 weeks so regular classes are only Monday - Thursday. (Math, Science, Social Studies, ELA, Tech & Engineering, Visual Art, and Foreign Language) Fridays are devoted to field trips where we explore weird, whacky, and wonderful things in the world away from the screens. Fridays are also for pursuing independent projects on students’ interests. As one student put it, “ You not only learn what you need to know but also, what you want to know.” This is all contained in the school day. This gives students the freedom to get out and participate in activities in their com