GT - FAQs

Parent Nominations for the GT program will open in early September 2022!

Click on this link <GT Advocate will include link here when nominations are open>. Clicking submit gives AISD permission to test your student in October for entry into the GT program. If your student is already identified in AISD, you DO NOT NEED to submit a new application. The nomination window closes at midnight on Friday, October 1, 2022. If you miss this deadline, you must wait for the nominations to re-open next fall. You will receive notification of your child's identification or non-identification in late December. If you have questions, please contact your GT Advocate, christie.manners@austinisd.org.

Are you curious about GT programming at Small? Do you think your kiddo might qualify for GT services? Are you worried about being "That Mom"? Find your answers by reading the sections below. If you have read all the sections, and you still have questions, please contact your Campus GT Advocate, christie.manners@austinisd.org

If your kiddo was previously identified into the GT program in your school or district, please send an email to giovana.mcgettrick@austinisd.org with: your kiddo's full name, date of birth, school name, city, state, and website of the school that they most recently attended. The registrar will send a records request to the school. Then, the helpful AISD district GATE office will review the paperwork and make a decision if that paperwork is sufficient to include your kiddo in the AISD GATE program. If they determine that the paperwork does not meet the State of Texas and AISD criteria, see the above column "How Does My Child Enter the GATE Identification Process at Small?"

At AISD, we aim to educate each child, the whole child and support their academic, social and emotional needs. GT students have particular academic, social, and emotional needs. Having your child identified means that teachers, counselors, and administrators have more tools and information to support the demonstrated needs of the individual child.

Class Selection

Students who are identified in the GATE program will be registered in the most advanced course available at their campus for the subject in which they are identified. For example, if your child is identified in Science, they will be placed in an Advanced Science class. In addition, your child will be identified on the teacher's roster as a student who has been identified in the GATE program.

Classroom Activities

Students in the GATE program are identified on teacher rosters. Teachers have the knowledge, training, and ability to provide extension activities in the classroom. When making curriculum and grouping choices, the teacher addresses the academic, social and emotional needs of GATE students in the classroom and in online learning activities. In many, perhaps even most, cases, your child will not be able to recognize when those extension activities happen; in middle school, many students do NOT want to be singled out for any reason. In addition, when the teacher provides an extension activity that may be deeper or more complex in the presentation or the assignment product, the teacher is careful not to make MORE work for GT identified students, but they strive to curate activities that appeal to student GT abilities and interests.

DukeTip Program

DukeTIP has cancelled all programming for the foreseeable future. Click this link to read more.

Summer Camp Idea Bank

In the early Spring, the GT Advocate posts a link in the Cougar News to a list of summer camps that would specifically appeal to students who have been identified in the GATE program. Of course, there's STEAM camp that is hosted at Small, and a list of several other camps are included.

Small supports the academic-social-emotional needs of GT Students with...

-Connection to Sunday Morning Math Games! This event, hosted by UT, runs each Sunday. Pre-Covid, we used to meet on the UT Campus and students would get to participate in a lecture around Mathematical Topics. It was fun and they had bagels. I'm delighted to see how they've re-purposed the group for the fall and distance learning. Click here to see the intro video and sign up with your email to get reminders of SMMG every other week!

- Accelerated Learning, Math- Students with demonstrated ability progress through the math track and some leave Small ready to take Algebra I, Geometry or Algebra II in high school.

- Credit-by-exam is available for some students in Spanish Language Courses.

-Project Lead the Way, options for advanced learning in STEM. Click here for more information.

-High School Credit Courses, Health, Spanish, Latin I-III, Algebra I, Geometry, Project Lead the Way

-UIL - Small typically has a large contingent of UIL-academic participants in a variety of subjects. Look for ways to participate in the Cougar News this Spring! Sara Teel is the UIL coordinator. Contact her at sara.teel@austinisd.org in January if your kiddo is interested in UIL.

-Electives- Small has a host of electives across the curriculum to support the interests and abilities of GATE-identified students. Mythology, Creative Writing, Fine Arts, Green Academy Classes...

-CAT Classes- Students may request to join a CAT Class that appeals to their area of giftedness, or they may request to join the Great Thinkers CAT Class. The Great Thinkers CAT class appeals to students with fast processing speeds and large working memories to enjoy cooperatively competitive games and activities.

-Athletics- Small is very proud of our scholar-athletes. GT Students are welcomed and encouraged to participate in any of our athletic teams!

If your kiddo was identified in an Austin ISD school, the identification will be carried throughout their career in AISD. As long as you stay in AISD, you do NOT need to re-nominate them.

If your student was identified in the GT program in another district, please contact our campus registrar giovana.mcgettrick@austinisd.org and let her know your child's full name, birth date, and name, state, and district of their previous school and we will begin the paperwork to transfer the GT status as applicable. If the paperwork doesn't fulfill the requirements of the Austin ISD, we will let you know and you may nominate your student during the nomination window in September.

These dates are current for the 2021-2022 school year and are subject to change, but they are ballpark dates.

Sept 14-Oct 1 Parent Nomination Window for students not previously identified in AISD.

Sept 28 - Oct 16 Teacher Observation Window

Sept 28 - Oct 30 Voice and Choice Window (Candidates and parents will be notified of the date of the Voice and Choice and CoGAT testing dates)

Oct 16-Dec 1 GT Committee Reviews Data and Determines Eligibility

Dec 11 Notice of GATE status of identification/non-identification is snail-mailed to student's primary contact.

Click here for more information about GT from a district level!

Your Campus GT Advocate is Christie Manners. If you have a question, please email me at christie.manners@austinisd.org.

Email: christie.manners@austinisd.org
Website: smallmiddleschool.org
Location: 4801 Monterey Oaks Boulevard, Austin, TX, USA
Phone: 512.841.6700