Students Explore & Expand Knowledge

SEEK

Differentiated Learning Experience for Gifted Students

Aptakisic-Tripp is committed to the belief that education is a means by which each individual has the opportunity to reach his or her fullest potential. We believe that all students have a right to educational experiences that challenge their individual development whether it is below, at, or beyond the level of their age peers. In accordance with this philosophy, District 102 schools provide educational experiences that recognize and make provisions for the special needs of gifted and talented learners.

In the Elementary buildings all students participate in lessons that have been differentiated by product, process, or content to students’ individual talents. This is an ongoing, daily, practice for classroom teachers. There are a variety of enrichment opportunities that are co-facilitated with a Gifted Education Specialist.  The staff uses strategies like Word Masters Challenge, an in-depth word study to enrich vocabulary and language development through the use of analogies and vocabulary strategies. There are Book Clubs that offer independent reading challenge for fourth graders culminating in a non-competitive question-answer meet between schools. The schools also participate in the Monarch Book Club, an independent reading challenge for third graders culminating in a noncompetitive question/answer meet.  Students also participants in flexibly grouped math units, where students are pre-tested and placed in an appropriately challenging classroom.

Gifted education experiences continue at Meridian Middle School.  Students experience lessons that are differentiated for “just right” instruction and activities that meet the individualized needs of gifted learners. Gifted Education Specialists work with classroom teachers to co-plan, co-teach, and offer enrichment projects.  Students have an opportunity to participate in the Rebecca Caudill Reading Challenge, parent child book clubs, Stress club, and some talented students take the SAT through Lake County Regional Education Office.

Aptakisic Junior High School meets the needs of students by offering a variety of enrichment opportunities including co-planning with a Gifted Education Specialist, co-teaching, and of course differentiation of instruction in all classrooms to capture the capitalize on the skills of all learners.  We host differentiated math levels and differentiate classes within language arts through content, process, and product and will also be offering the Rebecca Caudill club for the first time!  There are many different enrichment activities like Scholastic Bowl, Science Fair, Math Counts, Spelling Bee, National Junior Honor Society, Student Leadership, Business Club, Newspaper Club, Science Olympiad, Accelerated Foreign Language, Expanded Humanities: drama, debate, art, music, and applied technology. Gifted education experiences aim to meet the needs of students who thrive on complexity, absorb information, and have desire a challenge themselves.