Texarkana Independent School District is committed to developing creative and productive leaders. This commitment can be met by nurturing the abilities of academically gifted children in a creative and stimulating environment.

A gifted/talented (G/T) student is a child or youth who performs at or shows the potential for performing at a remarkably high level of accomplishment when compared to others of the same age, experience, or environment and who

• Exhibits high performance capability in an intellectual, creative, or artistic area;
• Possesses an unusual capacity for leadership; or
• Excels in a specific academic field.

A program for the gifted must be flexible and individualized to provide for the maximum development of academic talents, creativity, original thinking, and self-actualization. Our G/T program focuses on teaching the child to think and encourages the child to create. The curriculum is purposeful, motivating, and dynamic and gives the learner freedom to experience a wide-range of approaches to learning and doing, including interaction with the community.

TISD students who participate in services designed for gifted students demonstrate skill in self-directed learning, higher-level thinking, and research and communication as evidenced by the development of innovative products and performances that reflect individuality and creativity and are advanced in relation to students of similar age, experience, and/or environment. High school graduates who have participated in services for gifted students will have produced products and performances of professional quality as part of their program services.

The abilities of students participating in the TISD G/T program are fostered as follows:

• In higher-level thinking skills through research using content that is related to broad-based issues and problems within units of study.
• In logical reasoning and critical thinking skills.
• In creative and productive thinking through fluency, flexibility, originality, and elaboration.
• In understanding of self and others, developing self-confidence, and recognizing the worth of others.
• In enhancement of interpersonal skills by utilizing the expertise of leaders within the community.

Kindergarten
Kindergarten students who are identified to receive G/T services are served within their regular classrooms beginning no later than March 1 of their kindergarten year.

Grades 1^st - 5^th
GT Academy is a full-day program designed to provide G/T services to first through fifth grade students from neighborhood schools from across the district. Students who have been identified for the program attend G/T classes one day each week at the GT Academy which is located on the Westlawn Elementary campus.

Grades 6^th - 8^th
The purpose of the G/T program at the middle school level is to provide a bridge from GT Academy to the secondary program. Students in grades sixth through eighth receive differentiated curriculum for gifted students provided through Pre-Advanced Placement (Pre-AP) courses and Think Tank Factory, an advanced studies course.

Grades 9^th - 12^th
Students in grades ninth through twelfth have many options for furthering their development as gifted learners. The Advanced Placement (AP) program allows students the opportunity to enroll in college-level courses while still in high school. Students are given the opportunity to show mastery and earn college credit by taking AP exams that are administered in May of each school year. The concurrent enrollment program allows high school students the opportunity to enroll in college-level courses and to earn high school as well as college credit for the completed coursework. The program provides a continuum of learning from high school to college for those students who choose to pursue a post-secondary degree or certificate after high school graduation. This continuum will increase opportunities for students to progress through the program of study at an accelerated pace. High school G/T students may also take courses that focus on the needs of gifted students. Additionally, independent research is an avenue through which high school G/T students may pursue their talents and interests.

Kim Lee
Coordinator of Gifted & Talented and Advanced Academics
410 Westlawn Drive
Texarkana, Texas 75503
Phone: 903.223.4252 ext. 6103
Fax: 903.223.4262