Gifted Program
- Christie Brown, Assistant Principal
Program Description
The Gifted Program in Buford City School System provides enriching experiences for the intellectually advanced and exceptionally creative student. Gifted services are available in all Buford City Schools for students in kindergarten through grade 12. All procedures for identification and service of gifted students meet guidelines of Georgia Board of Education Rule 160-4-2-.38.
Gifted students are served in a variety of models in the Buford City School System: Resource pull-out gifted class, cluster grouping with gifted endorsed teacher(s), advanced-content model, honors/advanced placement classes, and dual enrollment. Students are identified and placed in gifted education based on criteria established by the Georgia General Assembly and the Georgia Board of Education. Students who transfer from gifted education programs within the state of Georgia will be placed into the Buford Gifted Program providing the original placement was completed correctly. Students who transfer from out of state must meet Georgia requirements. This is reviewed by the Gifted Eligibility Committee at each school. For more information, contact the local school or the Gifted Supervisor, Stephanie Ledford. [email protected]
Referral
The referral process is the first step for entrance into the gifted program. A referral may come from teachers, parents, guardians, peers, or as a result of a norm-referenced test as defined by the GaDOE Resource Manual for Gifted Education Services. Referrals are reviewed by each school’s Gifted Eligibility Committee to determine whether further assessment of a student for gifted eligibility is appropriate.The Gifted Eligibility Committee at each Buford City School is made of least three people (a local school administrator, a teacher, a counselor and/or the gifted program teacher).
Testing for gifted eligibility will occur within the windows below:
| School Year 2022-2023 Referral and Testing Timeline | Grades | Referral Window | Testing Window |
| Fall Referral/Testing | 2, 4, 6, 8 | September 6 - November 1 | September 6 - December 16 |
| Spring Referral/Testing | K | March 13 - April 14 | March 13 - May 5 |
| Nominations for referrals may be taken at any time throughout the school year. However, if a nomination is submitted after the Referral Window has ended, the student will be looked at by the school’s Eligibility Team on a case-by-case basis. | |||
Evaluation
After parental consent, the local school evaluates the student’s mental ability, achievement, creativity and motivation through the use of nationally normed group tests and survey checklists. BCS administers state approved tests for gifted eligibility. The tests administered adhere to the State of Georgia Board of Education Policy 160-4-2-38, having been reviewed for bias and are normed on a nationllly representative sample with respect to race, religion, national orgiin, sex, diabiliites, and ecomoic background within a 10-year period prior to adminstration.
Any assessment approved by the GaDOE may be considered for gifted eligibility by the Gifted Eligibility Committee if the following applies: less than 2 years old and administered by a certified school-based educator or a school-based psychologist. Assessments administered by a private practice psychologist can be considered as part of the body of evidence but cannot be a reported score in any of the 4 criteria areas for determining gifted eligibility.
Likewise, assessments administered by a private practice psychologist can be considered as part of the body of evidence for purposes of whole grade and/or content acceleration but cannot be a reported score used for final whole grade and/or content acceleration determination.
Eligibility
The Gifted Eligibility Committee follows guidelines established by the State Department of Education when making a decision about the student’s placement in the gifted program. The local BCS notifies parent(s) as to the team’s decision.
Determination of Eligibility:
Eligibility may be established in one of two ways:
Option A: The student must meet eligibility requirements in both Mental Abilities and Achievement:
Mental Ability: 99th percentile (K-2) or 96th percentile (3-12) on a standardized test of mental ability – Composite Score only
Achievement: 90th percentile in total battery, total reading, or total math section of a standardized achievement battery
Option B: The student must meet eligibility requirements in three of the four following areas:
Mental Ability: 96th percentile on a standardized test of mental ability –approved component or composite score
Achievement: 90th percentile in total battery, total reading, or total math section of a standardized achievement battery
Creativity: 90th percentile / 90 percent on a creativity assessment or rating scale
Motivation: 90th percentile / 90 percent on a motivation evaluation or rating scale OR for grades 7-12 only, a GPA equivalent to a 3.5 on a 4.0 scale
NOTE: A rating scale can only be used to establish eligibility in one area.
If you have questions regarding any of these programs, please contact:
Stephanie Ledford, Gifted Supervisor
Parent Resources
GADOE Gifted Website (https://www.gadoe.org/Curriculum-Instruction-and-Assessment/Curriculum-and-Instruction/Pages/Gifted-Education.aspx)
National Association for Gifted Children (https://www.nagc.org/)
Georgia Association for Gifted Children (https://www.gagc.org/)