For qualified students, the GATE program will embed and accelerate the skills of the Diocesan Consensus Curriculum. The National Association of Gifted Children Programming Standards are also followed as they focus on the social, emotional, and academic needs of our GATE students. The goal of the GATE program is to address the learning needs of gifted and talented learners by differentiating the curriculum through academic challenge, extension, inquiry, creativity, interest, and inventive critical and higher-level thinking and questioning. Grades 2-5 GATE classes meet once a week for 90 minutes.
SGGS has a GATE student identification committee of certified, gifted-endorsed teachers. The identification process for rising Grades 3-5 occurs at the end of each school year. After the GATE Committee has reviewed the scores on the spring MAP Growth testing, those students who have a National Percentile Rank of 85 or above will be referred for further evaluation on the Renzulli Scales for Rating the Behavioral Characteristics of Gifted and Talented Students. Final grades will also be reviewed. Letters will be sent to newly identified students in June of that school year.
The identification process for Second Grade students occurs after the first quarter of second grade. This timing allows for students to be assessed on Fall MAP Growth testing. The GATE Committee reviews the MAP scores (85 National Percentile Rank in either Reading or Math) in addition to First Quarter grades, and may then refer students for further information gathered from the administration of the Renzulli Scales for Rating the Behavioral Characteristics of Gifted and Talented Students. Parents receive notification of their child’s acceptance to join our Grade 2 GATE program in the Second Quarter.
